Starring: Rice, tortillas, cilantro and your tastebuds
The Rice Student Association's HedgeHopper program will soon provide the campus community with discounts at sixteen Houston restaurants by way of the revamped HedgeHopper card. Soon to be distributed to undergrads and made available to Rice faculty and staff, the card will serve as a permanent coupon for the 2008-2009 school year. In support of this program, the Thresher has embarked upon a journey to review its sponsors. This week: Mission Burrito in the Rice Village.A good burrito is now closer than ever. With its new location on Morningside Dr. between Times Blvd. and University Blvd. across from Brian O'Neill's, Mission Burrito has created quite a fervor among the Rice population.
Opening shortly before classes ended in May, this Village location has proved to be dangerous competition for Chipotle, formerly the sole purveyor of delicious and cheap burritos near campus. Its excellent summer marketing plan quickly and decisively gained the customer base of Rice by offering burritos, burrito bowls and salads free of charge every Monday to anyone with a university ID. Students who missed out on the sweltering Houston summer also missed the experience of traveling to a lunchtime spot with one's coworkers only to meet up with one's entire office and all of one's friends.
The good folks at Mission Burrito must not have known what they were getting themselves into when they advertised free food to the Rice community each and every Monday because they were soon swamped with lines that wrapped around the establishment and twisted and turned inside the restaurant. When crafty students began abusing the offer by returning later in the day to claim one or two more burritos, Mission shortened the cherished Monday time period to 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Although Free Burrito Mondays have ended, Mission Burrito has taken steps to sustain its popularity. Offer a whopping 25 percent discount with presentation of the HedgeHopper card, with no limited requirements on purchases, Mission has even extended its hours until midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to make sure students get something to eat late at night before going out to Rice Village bars or scavenging the fridge for the third time.
From a choice of three different soft flour tortillas - flour, whole wheat and sun-dried tomato basil - students can create their own masterpieces with a base of tender slow-cooked beef; succulent, lightly-peppered chicken; shredded spicy barbacoa pork; plump lime-broiled shrimp or grilled cod. Spanish or lime cilantro rice receives a magnificent flavor boost from the many vegetable options, including sautéed onions, mushrooms and spinach, green bell peppers, cilantro, corn and jicama slaw. Black beans or pinto beans can fill a void in any hungry stomach. As is typical of any good burrito restaurant, the guacamole is thick and chunky, and the salsas range from a mild roasted tomato sauce to a green tomatillo to arbol chili sauce, made with slow roasted peppers, all the way to the fiery, "why, oh, why did I try to show off and ask for the hottest sauce they have?" habañero sauce. Caution: Adding the habañero sauce will drown out any semblance of flavor in the burrito.
For only two bucks more, complete an order with salsa and chips, splashed with a hint of lime and coarse sea salt. Even with a drink, students can expect to pay less than eight dollars. Finish with one of the highly coveted, face-sized chocolate chip cookies, capable of satisfying anyone's fix. Huge chocolate chunks fill the spaces in every crevice of this cookie.
With late-night menu options like this, Chipotle will have some stiff competition for the stomachs of the Rice community this year. Either way, it is the Rice students who will win.
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