In my quest to expand the Honorary Street Food category, a friend recommended Burrito Box at 885 Ninth Ave, between 57th & 58th St. It certainly qualifies, with only a storefront and a couple of stools serving tacos, burritos, quesadillas and wraps – definitely street food served from a storefront. They also have the Lunch Box across the street with soups, sandwiches, salads and baked goodies.
The first time I went there a few day ago, the Burrito Box was closed at lunch due to problems they were having with their gas lines. A burrito restaurant with no gas – is that some kind of cosmic joke?
I went back today and it was quite busy, with 10-12 people having already ordered and waiting for their food. They had free tortilla chips and salsa while you waited, but all those people waiting was not a good sign. It did turn out to be pretty quick – I only waited about 5-7 minutes for a freshly-made burrito. False alarm.
Their menu was extensive, with tacos, burritos, quesadillas, wraps, tostada salads and tortilla salads. Each category has 6-8 choices of fillings with some interesting combinations, and an extensive vegetarian selection as well. Today’s Lunch is the grilled chicken burrito ($8.55 incl tax).
What a burrito it was, at least on the size front. It was short and very fat, the size of an overstuffed beer can, and quite heavy too. Lunch also included tortillas, 2 hot sauces and salsa. The red sauce was pretty hot and the green sauce was very hot. The salsa was medium-hot with fresh cilantro and small pieces of tomato.
The burrito was stuffed with grilled chicken, sour cream, rice, beans, cheese, lettuce and tomato. The first bite had a nice grilled chicken and sour cream taste. Subsequent bites included more of the rice and beans and the other ingredients. I didn’t taste much cheese, and there was a little more sour cream than expected, but this was a very good burrito – and I won’t be hungry again for a week after eating this monster!
Today’s Lunch gets an 8.5 out of 10. There was plenty of grilled chicken and the other ingredients, which were all fresh. It was a lot to eat for lunch and it was fairly pricey. I would have preferred a smaller, cheaper burrito (in size, not by skimping on the fresh ingredients). Honorary Street Food places need a little more room on the value/pricing front than food trucks and carts, since they have to pay NYC rents.
Burrito Box is a worthy addition to the NYSF Honorary Street Food category, and they will be added to our directory and map shortly.
