Wednesday, November 16, 2011

True Grit Review

Well it is time for a break from the burrito reviews to talk some movies.   I recently rented the True Grit movie remake that recently was released.   Although entertaining,  I found that it didn't quite live up to the hype surrounding this movie.   I first want to preface my review by stating that I do enjoy good western movies but am not a die-hard John Wayne fan.   I really enjoyed the recent movie 3:10 to Yuma that came out and was hoping that this western remake of True Grit was equally as good.  Unfortunately,  I didn't think it was as good as it could have been.   I like Jeff Bridges as an actor and I think he did a good job,  but unfortunately there were a couple scenes where he seemed to turn up his accent so thick or mumbled his lines so much that I had a hard time understanding him (and no,  I didn't turn on closed captioning).    Josh Brolin is a good actor but his part in this movie is so small it could almost be considered a cameo.   Matt Damon took on a different type of role for him and I feel delivered it well.   However,  overall I think the young girl (Hailee Steinfeld) gave one of the best performances in the movie.    Granted the script was mainly about her story,  yet she played her part very well and helped keep the story interesting with her convincing acting.   Having never seen the original movie all the way through,  I can't comment on how it compared,  but I did find the movie enjoyable to watch,  just not as great as I was expecting.   I would give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5.   

Thursday, November 10, 2011

A Review on Burritos Part 2

Well the Burrito Boys have tackled another burrito and now I have finally sat down to write the second review.  For our second review we went to Moe's Southwest Grill and had the Moe's Monday Special.   For about $5.00 it is really hard to beat the value on a large burrito, plus chips and a fountain drink.   However,  that being said I thought it was necessary to do some comparisons to other burrito places in the area such as our last burrito from Chipotle.   Here is a listing of the pros and cons from Moe's:

PROS:  Hard to beat the value of one large burrito,  chips and a drink for $5.00,  Moe's offers ground beef which Chipotle doesn't have as an option,  Moe's will include guacamole which Chipotle charges extra for,  Moe's drink selection offers Mellow Yellow which is a very rare but tasty soda option,  and all Moe's burritos come with chips and salsa which is more than Chipotle offers.  Also one of the Burrito Boys made the remark that the steak at Moe's isn't as tough and dry as it seems from Chipotle.

CONS:  Although they offer burritos that are almost the same size as Chipotle,  the taste isn't quite as good.  After discussing this with the other Burrito Boys,  we came up with the chief reason why :  the rice.  Moe's offer's dirty rice, which has spices and flavorings.  While good,  we found the rice seasonings detracted from the overall burrito flavor,  rather than enhancing it.  Chipotle while more expensive,  does seem to keep the rice from overpowering the other wonderful burrito flavors.  Also all Moe's seem to have a tradition of yelling "welcome" when you walk in - some may consider this a friendly perk,  but I would prefer to not be greeted so loudly.  However, considering the value, these cons seem like things that are easy to overlook.

Overall,  I would give the Moe's burrito a 3.5 stars out of 5.   Maybe not quite as tasty as the burrito from Chipotle,  yet you definitely don't have to pay as much either.   Until the next burrito....

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

A Review on Burritos

It has been forever since I posted,  so I came up with something I want to write about.  BURRITOS!  Nowadays the burrito place is becoming as common as the hamburger place once was.  They are extremely tasty and rarely leave you hungry and unless you are turned off by Mexican food in general,  it is rare to meet someone who objects to a tasty burrito.    My co-workers and I (who will now be referred to as "The Burrito Boys") decided to try one burrito at a different place each week and review them.   This week the Burrito Boys decided to try Chipotle Mexican Grill.   I got a pork burrito with guacamole and my fellow Burrito Boy got a steak burrito with guacamole.    My burrito was very tasty and I thought I would list out the pros and cons of the burrito from Chipotle -

PROs:  Rarely hungry after a burrito from Chipotle,  each burrito packs about 1200 calories, ingredients taste fresh,  guacamole is amazing,  you may be able to maintain a healthy weight by only eating one meal from this place a day,  and don't have a loud greeting yelled out to you when you walk in.

CONs:  You feel really full and heavy after finishing one of their menu items,  guacamole costs extra (whereas many places include it at no extra charge),  no chips included with order, my fellow Burrito Boy felt the steak was a bit tough to eat,  at 1200 calories per burrito it is hard to consider how many people this would feed in third world countries,  unlikely to have any weight loss stories from consistently eating at this place,   beans can have after effects that I will not go into on this blog (but you may want to have Gas-X handy).

All in all - my review would be 4 out of 5 stars for a burrito at Chipotle.   I feel the food is high quality but if they offered a smaller size it would be nice.