Beach Burrito, Coogee
Can I just first start off by saying we're sorry for being on such a long hiatus but...two posts in ONE WEEK?! There's more to come ;)
A few weeks ago I got to catch up with an old friend, let's call him Ollie, who I met at a camp in 2012 (RYPEN for anyone who is interested). Not only did it seem like it had only been a day since camp ended but he still lived up to, "we'll catch up for lunch one day!". So of course, I couldn't decline the offer. Ollie has a very prim and proper vibe but when you give him the chance, he can be an absolute comedian which was something I definitely looked forward to when seeing him. I also have another friend, we'll call her Queenie/Q, who also came with us today because I really wanted Ollie and her to meet since I find them to be such fun characters. So after much planning, which mainly consisted of 'I'm not too fussed', we decided to venture and have lunch at the Beach Burrito Co., located in Coogee. Also because it was close to Ollie's campus where he boards because he pretty much lives in Perth. I've also been having a craving for some soft shell tacos for so long and I just kept putting it off until today, and for good reason.
Opened in late 2006 at the original location of Bondi, Beach Burrito has since been a favourite by many beach goers who are looking for a quick Californian style Mexican fix or for those who have 'a keen thirst for frozen margaritas'. Queenie and I drove today so we weren't able to have a very alluring margarita but Ollie, being the well-mannered soul that he is, declined having a drink so Q and I wouldn't feel left out. Aaaand it was like 12 in the afternoon... when's happy hour again?
Upon arriving, Q and I were sat down at a table... only to realise we were at the wrong restaurant! How we found out is as follows:
Me: -points to 'Viva La Mexico' sign- "Is that part of your restaurant too?"
Waitress: "Oh no, that's Beach Burrito"
You can probably figure out the rest. And you could probably guess that I was extremely embarrassed. But to be fair, the restaurant was sort of hidden behind the first one... I took the courtesy to snatch a screenshot off of Google Maps to show you.
Nevertheless, we made our way to Beach Burrito and waited for Ollie. BB had a (excuse me here but) typical rustic sorta feel to all the furniture as you would expect from such a restaurant nowadays but was still of course, cool. However, while having such a distinct feature, it was also beautifully decorated with many colours to show off the vibrant nature of the restaurant while also having an abundance of beach decorations. Ollie arrives so we get into the long and intricate process of choosing what to eat. Well, it was long and intricate for me, as usual. After much [one sided] discussion, we chose our individual dishes and some friendly nachos to share.
Starter Nachos - $9.95
First comes out the starter nachos, you can choose a bigger serving for $13.95, I believe. I glared at the plate of nachos in shock because I had forgotten to mention if we could have the guacamole on a separate dish. For those of you who don't know, I am very allergic to avocado. Not in a sense that I can't be around it or handle it, because I've made avo shakes before (but had to wash my hands very thoroughly afterwards) at a previous job. But more so in a sense that I can't ingest it or I'll just become really itchy and red and it's just horrible. ANYWAY, luckily the guac was not on top of all the nachos as you can obviously see and was put to the side of the plate along with the sour cream. Interestingly enough, I noticed that the cheese was underneath the chilli con carne rather than melted on top which didn't really make a difference to the taste but did make it a lot more pleasant to eat after it cooled down so you weren't left with a cold clump of cheese. Very basic flavours, but quite enjoyable if you were looking for something mild to chomp into.
Queenie and Ollie both ordered burritos which was intriguing to me as well but my lipstick was 'on fleek' today so I didn't want to bite into something so big. As a result from the questionable debate in my mind, I opted for tacos (which still ruined my lippy :( ).
Chilli Con Carne Burrito - $14.95
Ollie had the chilli con carne burrito which consisted of the chilli con carne, Mexican rice, blended cheese, smokey salsa, pico de gallo, lettuce, guac, sour cream and chilli salt. Q chose the chipotle chicken burrito which encased the same ingredients except instead of having lettuce, it contained frijoles especial. Ollie told me that all the flavours complimented each other and nothing was overpowering. Poshy-Ollie however, noted that there was more rice than there was chilli but I'm pretty sure the load of rice to meat ratio is normal in any burrito. I asked him what the texture was like and he replied "what the texture of a burrito would be." Thank you, Ollie. Having said that, he did enjoy it. Queenie is currently busy with work so I can't ask her questions about today's meal but I do recall her saying that she enjoyed it also. Or I could be assuming tales ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Grilled Fish Taco (PLEASE EXCUSE MY UGLY FINGERS, JEN IS USUALLY MY HAND MODEL BUT SHE WAS NOT WITH ME TODAY.)
I had the grilled fish taco first and hands down, the salsa blanco that covered the grilled fish was amazing. It was creamy and brought out the seasoning of the fish while salads, garnish and pico de gallo cut through the slight density of the salsa blanco. Easily even more enjoyable with a dash of hot sauce.
Secondly was the pulled pork. I didn't want to leave it to last because the meat looked dense so it wouldn't have been as enjoyable if it were cold. The pork was flavourful and was so considerately mixed with different textures such as the cabbage, beans and rice. I added some habanero hot sauce to it to heat things up and it was definitely not regrettable.
Lime Chilli Garlic Prawn Taco (Can you see the tear in the taco? :( )
And lastly, the lime chilli garlic prawn taco. Unfortunately, because I left this to last, the taco became too soft and drenched so it fell apart (moment of silence for all the broken tacos out there). No fear, I still ate it happily with the help of a trusty fork. I think this could have easily been my favourite taco out of the three because of the addition of mango and pineapple & jalapeno salsa. It just brought back memories of when I had my first soft taco from a food truck at the 'Off The Grid' event in Berkeley, California.
To sum up the day, Q, Ollie and I happily enjoyed each other's company at Coogee beach, after all, Beach Burritos was literally across the street from the beach. It definitely exceeded my expectations while satisfying my undying cravings for tacos. Don't let someone else's bad experience cloud your experience!!! For those who have an excessively long lunch break during university or for others who are in the area, come check it out. Especially on Taco Tuesdays since they have $3 tacos ;).
A few weeks ago I got to catch up with an old friend, let's call him Ollie, who I met at a camp in 2012 (RYPEN for anyone who is interested). Not only did it seem like it had only been a day since camp ended but he still lived up to, "we'll catch up for lunch one day!". So of course, I couldn't decline the offer. Ollie has a very prim and proper vibe but when you give him the chance, he can be an absolute comedian which was something I definitely looked forward to when seeing him. I also have another friend, we'll call her Queenie/Q, who also came with us today because I really wanted Ollie and her to meet since I find them to be such fun characters. So after much planning, which mainly consisted of 'I'm not too fussed', we decided to venture and have lunch at the Beach Burrito Co., located in Coogee. Also because it was close to Ollie's campus where he boards because he pretty much lives in Perth. I've also been having a craving for some soft shell tacos for so long and I just kept putting it off until today, and for good reason.
Me: -points to 'Viva La Mexico' sign- "Is that part of your restaurant too?"
Waitress: "Oh no, that's Beach Burrito"
You can probably figure out the rest. And you could probably guess that I was extremely embarrassed. But to be fair, the restaurant was sort of hidden behind the first one... I took the courtesy to snatch a screenshot off of Google Maps to show you.
You see what I mean?!
Nevertheless, we made our way to Beach Burrito and waited for Ollie. BB had a (excuse me here but) typical rustic sorta feel to all the furniture as you would expect from such a restaurant nowadays but was still of course, cool. However, while having such a distinct feature, it was also beautifully decorated with many colours to show off the vibrant nature of the restaurant while also having an abundance of beach decorations. Ollie arrives so we get into the long and intricate process of choosing what to eat. Well, it was long and intricate for me, as usual. After much [one sided] discussion, we chose our individual dishes and some friendly nachos to share.
First comes out the starter nachos, you can choose a bigger serving for $13.95, I believe. I glared at the plate of nachos in shock because I had forgotten to mention if we could have the guacamole on a separate dish. For those of you who don't know, I am very allergic to avocado. Not in a sense that I can't be around it or handle it, because I've made avo shakes before (but had to wash my hands very thoroughly afterwards) at a previous job. But more so in a sense that I can't ingest it or I'll just become really itchy and red and it's just horrible. ANYWAY, luckily the guac was not on top of all the nachos as you can obviously see and was put to the side of the plate along with the sour cream. Interestingly enough, I noticed that the cheese was underneath the chilli con carne rather than melted on top which didn't really make a difference to the taste but did make it a lot more pleasant to eat after it cooled down so you weren't left with a cold clump of cheese. Very basic flavours, but quite enjoyable if you were looking for something mild to chomp into.
Queenie and Ollie both ordered burritos which was intriguing to me as well but my lipstick was 'on fleek' today so I didn't want to bite into something so big. As a result from the questionable debate in my mind, I opted for tacos (which still ruined my lippy :( ).
Chipotle Chicken Burrito - $14.95
Ollie had the chilli con carne burrito which consisted of the chilli con carne, Mexican rice, blended cheese, smokey salsa, pico de gallo, lettuce, guac, sour cream and chilli salt. Q chose the chipotle chicken burrito which encased the same ingredients except instead of having lettuce, it contained frijoles especial. Ollie told me that all the flavours complimented each other and nothing was overpowering. Poshy-Ollie however, noted that there was more rice than there was chilli but I'm pretty sure the load of rice to meat ratio is normal in any burrito. I asked him what the texture was like and he replied "what the texture of a burrito would be." Thank you, Ollie. Having said that, he did enjoy it. Queenie is currently busy with work so I can't ask her questions about today's meal but I do recall her saying that she enjoyed it also. Or I could be assuming tales ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Tacos - $5 each ($3 each on Taco Tuesdays!)
I had the grilled fish taco first and hands down, the salsa blanco that covered the grilled fish was amazing. It was creamy and brought out the seasoning of the fish while salads, garnish and pico de gallo cut through the slight density of the salsa blanco. Easily even more enjoyable with a dash of hot sauce.
Pulled Pork Taco
Lime Chilli Garlic Prawn Taco (Can you see the tear in the taco? :( )
And lastly, the lime chilli garlic prawn taco. Unfortunately, because I left this to last, the taco became too soft and drenched so it fell apart (moment of silence for all the broken tacos out there). No fear, I still ate it happily with the help of a trusty fork. I think this could have easily been my favourite taco out of the three because of the addition of mango and pineapple & jalapeno salsa. It just brought back memories of when I had my first soft taco from a food truck at the 'Off The Grid' event in Berkeley, California.
To sum up the day, Q, Ollie and I happily enjoyed each other's company at Coogee beach, after all, Beach Burritos was literally across the street from the beach. It definitely exceeded my expectations while satisfying my undying cravings for tacos. Don't let someone else's bad experience cloud your experience!!! For those who have an excessively long lunch break during university or for others who are in the area, come check it out. Especially on Taco Tuesdays since they have $3 tacos ;).
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