burrito libre - edmonton, ab

burrito libre
6541 28 ave
780.577.7070

The Millwoods Burrito Libre location recently got together with the Salvation Army for a free burrito giveaway. While, not exactly free, it required either a food, clothing, or monetary donation in exchange for a large burrito of your choice.

Bins were situated right at the front, with a staff member there to say hi and take whatever donation you brought. The lineups moved extremely fast, with a huge amount of staff in the back making quick work of people's orders. I stopped by twice in the day, lunch and diner, and was lucky enough to try a few options.

Having previously visited this location, I understood the process and did my best to keep the line flowing smoothly.

I tried both the brown (whole wheat) and white tortilla, both of which did an equally good job. I really liked that they are steamed very quickly (5 seconds maybe), so they are soft and pliable when you open the wrapper. I added rice and beans to both burritos, deciding to skip the potato. As you can see from the whole wheat version, the rice was disproportionate to the rest of the ingredients. I realize this is a way to add bulk, but it can be a little too much starch on starch for some. I selected honey chipotle chicken for one, and spicy chicken for the other. I didn't pick up anything from the honey chipotle, disappointing as it's their big ad burrito at the moment, but quite enjoyed the spicy chicken.

The corn salsa found it's way on to both, and added a nice level of sweetness. I opted for the spicy salsa for both, and it was good with an acceptable level of heat. Although the staff warned me on both occasions it was VERY hot. The sour cream was well, sour creamy, while the small amount of shredded cheese did nothing in the overall package. Finally the guacamole was fresh and tasty, even having good sized chunks of avocado. My biggest complaint would be about the lack of evenly placed toppings. For example, cutting the whole wheat burrito in half left me with corn on one side, and salsa on the other. Sure the lineups could have been to blame for the quick dumping of ingredients, but an even scoop of toppings would have done wonders for the overall taste.

It would be pretty hard to come out totally disappointed with burrito's these days, and it would be no different here at Burrito Libre. The large burrito is fairly big and could easily provide some people with two meals. Would I go back, probably, but it wasn't about that. Just seeing the amount of food, money, and clothing donated goes to show what the day was really about. Cheers to Burrito Libre for taking the event.