A frugal meal at Pacific Beach Burritos on Washtenaw Avenue
Mary Bilyeu | Contributor
Jeremy accompanied me to an appointment recently, so I returned the favor by taking him out to eat as a way to say "thanks."
Fortunately, he doesn't expect to be treated to the most lavish meals in town; he wants quick, simple food and generous quantities of it — 20-year-old young men are good about that. And he's thoroughly enjoying our Frugal Floozie Friday mission of maximizing $5 expenditures, to see how much proverbial bang we can get for our bucks.
So I was happy to have Jeremy join me for my latest frugal adventure to Pacific Beach Burritos for an excellent, freshly made, wholesome lunch. That the meal we enjoyed was 562 steps beyond being fast food, despite the speed with which we were served, only made it better.
For $3.99, Jeremy received an entire plate of food with no need to order any accompaniments or side dishes. His three rolled chicken tacos were a generously stuffed, crispy feast served with shredded lettuce; drizzles of sour cream and a dollop of guacamole completed the dish.
He knew he'd have to play my little game of staring at his food while I positioned and re-positioned it for its moment in the spotlight, photographing the tacos for posterity — the curse of sharing a meal with someone who writes about food.
But it was abundantly clear that this was making him impatient — the man was hungry. And the food looked and smelled amazing! Jeremy was very grateful when I told him he could finally eat, and he thoroughly enjoyed his lunch.
I ordered two different tacos for a light but immensely flavorful — and surprisingly filling — lunch.
One was the Carne Asada taco, featuring marinated and seasoned beef. The other was the Al Pastor, filled with pork that had been marinated and then cooked on a rotisserie. Each came with a bright and tart green salsa, and the tacos also featured crisp onions and fresh cilantro to complement the meats.
At $1.49 each, these were a tremendous value! Had I been hungrier (or simply indulged in gluttony by ordering more because everything was so good), I could have eaten a third taco and still stayed within my Frugal Floozie Friday budget of $5 or less per person.
Jeremy and I arrived at Pacific Beach Burritos around 12:30 p.m., just barely in time to beat the lunch rush. As we sat down, we watched the ordering line start to grow. Within moments, truly, we counted 21 people waiting to enjoy a fabulous meal. It was better to be eating while watching this scene; but the food was so good that it really would have been worth waiting in such a line for a quick and excellent lunch.
Amazing what you can get for a mere $5 or less, isn't it?
Pacific Beach Burritos
2835 Washtenaw Ave.
Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197
734-434-9900
Mary Bilyeu has won or placed in more than 60 cooking contests and writes about her adventures in the kitchen. She was thrilled to have her post about Scottish Oatmeal Shortbread named as one of the daily "Best of the Blogs" by the prestigious Food News Journal.
Go visit Mary's blog — Food Floozie — on which she enthuses and effuses over all things food-related. Her newest feature is Frugal Floozie Friday, seeking fun and food for $5 or less ... really! Feel free to email her with questions or comments or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.
The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers as they cook along with her ... may you always be happy here.
Comments
DBH
Sat, Oct 22, 2011 : 1:21 p.m.
According to another poster (@Eighty Seven, in a story of Sabor Latino), Pacific Beach Burritos was observed being vacated so it appears they have closed.
DBH
Fri, Oct 21, 2011 : 1:47 a.m.
Ms. Bilyeu (and Executive Chef Jake Waldecker), have you seen the most recent Health Department Inspection report from the inspection on 8/30/11 (5 months after Chef Waldecker took charge), the inspection about which Chef Waldecker was "...not the slightest bit worried..."? The noncritical violations decreased from 11 to 9, a slight improvement. However, and far more important, the critical violations INCREASED from 2 to 5! Chef Waldecker, if you were not the slightest bit worried 3 months ago, I hope you are now, if not for your and your restaurant's sake, at least for the sake of the health of your patrons (one of whom I can most assuredly guarantee will not be me).
Mary Bilyeu
Thu, Jul 28, 2011 : 6:22 p.m.
I received the following email and am posting it after being given permission to do so: "Hello, I am Jake Waldecker and I am the executive chef at Pacific Beach Burritos …. The main reason I am writing is in response to one of the comments on your site. Its the one regarding the health inspection. Oddly enough, that health inspection was done on my first day training to take over the kitchen. There is no excuse for critical violations, however, since April 1st, I have been in charge and the things in violation have been addressed (as well as other health code issues that were not witnessed at the time, but were by me in the month while I trained). We haven't had a health inspection since, but I am not the slightest bit worried about when we do …. I wanted you to know that the managment has changed since that health inspection. I assure you that you ate in a clean and safe restaurant."
seldon
Fri, Jul 22, 2011 : 9:14 p.m.
Do they actually have a rotisserie there for the al pastor tacos? Most places around here that serve them don't.
Mary Bilyeu
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 1:41 p.m.
This is from the executive chef at Pacific Beach Burritos: "To answer the persons question, no, our Al Pastor is prepared much like the Carne Asada with a different marinade including our home made guajillo sauce, onion and pineapple."
Mary Bilyeu
Thu, Jul 28, 2011 : 6:21 p.m.
I don't know! I'll see if I can find out ....
Mary Bilyeu
Fri, Jul 22, 2011 : 5:26 p.m.
On the one hand, I like to know that I'm eating in a place that respects hygiene. On the other hand, though, if there's a problem I'm not sure I want to know it! I wouldn't have as much fun eating if I knew too much ....
DBH
Fri, Jul 22, 2011 : 9:59 p.m.
Not clear on why my previous reply was deleted. Although you might have fun at the time eating at an establishment with multiple health violations, do you think the likelihood of experiencing significant gastrointestinal distress increases with the number of violations cited by the health department? Is the risk worth ignorant bliss?
DBH
Fri, Jul 22, 2011 : 1:32 p.m.
It does sound like you got a lot of food for your money. I am not sure I would want to eat there, though, as their last health inspection on 2/28/11 showed 2 critical violations (corrected at the time of the inspection) and 11 noncritical violations, all of which (and the number of which) seem to imply a lack of due diligence regarding food safety issues.