Asi Es Guerrero

My friend Mike + I have a schtick to our "Burrito Sundays" ...Shortly after clocking out at work, we get into Mike's car + turn up Tito Puente.

Yes, I just completed a sentence with "schtick," "burrito" and (Puerto Rican by way of NYC turned "King of Latin Music") Tito Puente ...en route towards the week's Mexican joint.

This week I was surprised by the "Essential Tito Puente" + off we went ...We decided to drive through Humboldt Park towards the West Humboldt/Austin line. After a view slows past a couple promising Mexican restaurants ...We noticed a busy corner shop on N. Karlov + North Ave ...A few steps in, the place was packed + there didn't appear to be an opening anytime soon (good for them). We then went towards the other corner (N. Kedvale + North), where we found Asi Es Guerrero.

Somewhere along the short walk between corners we had crossed over any middle ground + had entered two extremes: Asi Es Guerrero was completely empty.

Perhaps it was the glaring overhead light, the paint by number murals that bled over to the ceiling or the Holiday Inn desk chairs (It was probably the chairs) ...We quickly chose a table + a woman walked over with two menus. If I could contain the sparkle in her eyes as she saw us (It was probably the lights) ...She couldn't have been more pleasant ...Though a bit hesitant in the shy sense ...As though if she walked towards us too quickly, we'd dissipate ...A customer mirage.

Ordering went as usual.

Woman: "You want no cheese? No crema? Only bean? Do you want rice?"
Me: "Beans, yes ...Rice, yes ...No cheese, no crema ...No meats or dairy, please ...But yes to everything else + avocado, please?"
Mike: "She's vegan"
Woman: [blank stare]
Me: "And a LARGE horchata, please"

Mike ordered a steak burrito + much to his delight carrot juice ...The woman came back w/ a basket of warm tortilla chips + two salsas (red/green) in separate mortars.

I can't take the suspense: Best green/verde I've ever had ...Hands down. Unbelievably fresh, the right hue of green, a nice kick of spice ...Needless to say by the end of the meal, the mortar w/ verde was scrapped clean.

Next came the carrot juice + horchata or "One orange, one white," as the woman pointed out after setting them on the table.

I was facing the kitchen, over Mike's shoulder, when I had seen the woman coming towards the counter, a large bucket of carrots in her arms. Right then + there she started juicing the carrots (in a juicer, of course ...Next to the cash register, of course) ...If I could contain the sparkle in Mike's eyes (Again, probably the lights).

Since Mike had ordered the steak, by this point I half expected to hear a "MOO!" coming from the back ...Soon we had our burritos.

Mine was just as I had ordered it ...I can't take the suspense any longer: An amazing burrito! My whole questioning what I seek, from the previous week, was gone within the first bite. I not only had my huge chunks of avocado, fresh beans (no paste!), lettuce, tomato + fluffy rice (all wrapped in a chewy/non-greasy, homemade tortilla) BUT there were carrots, green + red peppers w/ roasted onion ....A slight pause is needed.

.....

Mike's steak burrito w/ everything was cooked just right + all conversation ceased as we devoured what lay in front of us.

Halfway through our meal, the woman decided to turn the TV on (which was over hanging from the ceiling, above the restrooms) ...She settled on Telemundo's showcase of the Leonardo DiCaprio classic: Titanic.

The salsa, the horchata (which was quite tasty if not a touch plain), Mike's fresher than fresh carrot juice, my burrito, good company, the Mexican grandmother (in an elderly home setting, to boot w/ a fiesta flare) that my European mutt self never knew I had ...And Titanic, in Spanish.

I had arrived.

Both meals totaled under $10 a piece, plus tip. The receipt came back with Chicklets.

Why on Earth was this place empty? (Chairs, schmairs) ...The stakes are higher now after my Asi Es Guerrero experience.