Gordo Burrito — Restaurant in Chico

Glowing reviews from devoted fans, allusions that shrimp burritos were the best in town, that they could do no wrong, etc etc. Curiosity and the chance of finding the one Mexican place to outdo the rest made my lovely companion and not so lovely me drive to Gordo Burrito. First impressions at around 12:30 PM: busy (which is always a good thing) patrons coming and going, a nice outfit of what appeared an all women crew in constant preparation, and knowing that when it comes to good food there are no barriers I ordered from a congenial attendant named Jose the Shrimp Burrito for around $14. Tried to encourage them to make it count, meaning pretty darn good! Even went as far to insinuate I came from headquarters, whatever the heck that meant. Turns out there is a convenience store right beside Gordo. Not a bad option. Burrito arrived wrapped in aluminum foil, not an impressive sight in size. One half went to the beauty, gave her the smallest of the two, the other for the beast not much bigger. Removed the wrapping, looked inside and did not see but one or two shrimp, certainly not whole ones. The bulk of this relatively small burrito was no surprise: rice and refried beans, about 94% of it. This is the sad reality in the world of burritos making, load it with everything but almost never with the main star. My small half tasted good, and apparently my companion’s also did, as she decimated her half rapidly. Their green salsa and fresh diced cucumbers helped. Yes, prices have gone up, I get that but the best in Chico? No way, Jose. Edible, at $7 a small half you bet your hot...

Taco Tuesday is getting progressively harder to review, due to not too many establishments left to rate. So, this time I went to Gordo Burrito in search of tacos I hadn't eaten. Chalk this up to another learning experience. Normally I only try street tacos, but they had a special on hard shell (3 for $6) with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and choice of meat (carne asada). I then got 2 street tacos ($1.75 ea), both carne asada, extra spicy (🙄). To say the meat was bland is an understatement... it had ZERO flavor with the exception of the lard it must've been sitting in. Very little onion, mostly cilantro, no lime...and mild at BEST for claiming spicy. The hard shell tacos were overflowing with lettuce, hardly any tomato, a large amount of the sour cream, lemon wedge, and again, NOT spicy. The shells were crisp, but fell apart with the 1st bite. It's getting to the point I may have to try dine-in restaurants for my Taco experiences, but I will NOT return here unless I'm high jacked. I'm getting to old to eat at sub-par food trucks. Read my other reviews...PLENTY of stellar food trucks in town, just...

Best Mexican food in Chico!

The quality of their ingredients is what easily separates them from all... order the nachos and they will blow your mind. I love their al pastor (different than most, but amazing!). I normally get the spicy, al pastor chimichonga. Also, their habanero salsa is the heat you've been looking for.

Notes: Very small place sharing a wing of the gas station. Not for large groups but they do have an outside eating area. Drinks, other than self serve water are purchased at the gas station. To go ordering is awesome over the phone so you can bring back your order to the office to save you that wait time and still be back within your 30min break. They have amazing breakfast burritos! They do catering.

If there was a con, I'd say parking (maybe 10 places total with the gas station) and their hours. This place is too awesome to not...