R.I.P. Big Burrito

I am a man in mourning. Just recently I took a walk over Blackfriars Bridge to find that my favourite burrito joint, 'The Big Burrito Company' was no more.

Working in the Farringdon road area means being at something of an epicenter of burrito choice. Two branches of Chilangos within walking distance, a stones throw from the mighty Daddy Donkey Leather Lane, the varied fillings of Mexicana, and the popular Adobo.

However, a few months back deciding to venture away from the hustle and bustle of Fleet Street I ventured over Blackfriars Bridge deciding to see what was going down in Southwark. Beneath a bridge near the station I discovered this wondrous hole in the wall - like a pot of Mexican gold at the end of the rainbow.

On first glance I wasn't sure what to make of it. Everything about the place screamed 'put together over night' from to the chalk board menus adorning it's front down to the completely ramshackle interior. The there was the staff:

A random pairing lookalikes of actors Peter Capaldi and Danny Dyer. I always got the impression these two had only just met - and whenever the Malcolm Tucker type went to make a burrito he had to be talked through it by Dyer. Given the randomness of this coupling I wondered if they were on the run, and had just turned over a shipment of mexican ingredients on route elsewhere.

Which brings GLAC to the crowning glory of Big Burrito.... the food. Check out this bad boy:

A unique touch of this place was the vaiery of sizes - burritos could be bought as small, medium and large. The largest burrito, with guacamole as an extra, would come to close to around 6 pounds, the smallest around 4. Great value compared to almost every other chain I can name. The meat was always fresh, tasty and disitinctive, the guacamole bursting with freshness, and the hot sauce was sizzling!

Around the same time I came across this place I ventured with mates to 'Death By Burrito', another newly opened mexican place in Shoreditch. The decor was great, giving the feel of a San Francisco dive bar. It had a great range of beers on tap. However, the burritos themselves were the size of an iPhone. True they had some imaginative fillings, (duck and fish amongst them) but this didn't make up for the wraps which were like biting into cardboard. Oh and that vital ingredient of the burrito guacamole? That came as a side, for dipping.

The the bill - along with a drink this came close to 12 pound a head. All for an average burrito and coke. My nose twitched at the stench of 'style over substance'. Death by hipster-baiting.

The Big Burrito company did what it said on the tin. It was a cool, ramshackle hole in the wall where all that mattered was the food. There are some great chains out there now. Chilango's especially. But for ever Chilango\s there will be a Death By Burrito, ready and waiting to drag the name of my favourite meal through the dirt.

I loved this little underdog of a place, it will be missed. I hope somewhere Peter Capaldi and Danny Dyer are setting up another hole in the wall and giving the chains a serious run for their money.

This is what I sung the night I found it had closed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2dY2l4zO8c