Johnny Burrito Mexican Food Charlotte

4 Stars 
301 S. Tryon Street
Charlotte 28282
(704) 371-4448
Review contributed by a Charlottecritic.com reader
Photo credited to http://www.johnnyburrito.com/burritopics.htm

Johnny Burrito is a great place for lunch if you are in the uptown area, though maybe sure you are either taking an early or late lunch, besides the line goes down the hall between 11:45 – 1pm. But if you come anytime before it you will be just fine.

Back in October, a friend of mine and I decided to try Johnny Burrito because it was the only Mexican restaurant we could find out downtown that look reasonably priced.

We were staying at the Omni so it was just a short walk over. Walking into the restaurant the first thing you will notice is that there is no seating, that is no problem because you can either go upstairs and eat in the Atrium or walk right now the hall and sit in the cafeteria and eat. Either place offers tables and chairs, but the cafeteria offers a booth if you are in the mood to relax. The first thing you do when you get to the restaurant is pay. You tell the casher what type you want and what you want to drink.

I had the Big Chicken (The BIG is not for average sized people, trust me if you do not eat much get a regular). I had with my BIG Chicken burrito a Sun Drop Slushy (this is the only place in town that I know that carries them).

After you pay, the burrito size you order is placed on tin foil and then put on the bar to slide down so they can add your toppings. My burrito was huge looking; maybe my eyes were too big for my belly. First you they put your chicken down, then your rice, and then the bean type you want. >From here you get to decide the rest of your toppings.

You are able to choose from the following: cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, bell pepper, black olive, sour cream, jalapeno & banana Pep, guacamole, Cilantro, and then you have four salsa to use from: Tomatillo Salsa (Tart), Salsa Casera (Mild), Pico de Gallo (Med), or Habanero (HOT! HOT!). For my burrito I went with the spicy chicken, Mexican rice, black beans, cheese, lettuce, and the Pico de Gallo (Med) salsa. At the end of the line you are handed your burrito in a bag, inside the bag is a piece of gum.

They do not want you to have bad breath for the rest of the day at the office. After getting your burrito you are you pick you drink, the Slushy was at the end of the line. The burrito was excellent; it ranks up there with my favorite burrito from Qdoba the Chicken Quaso with roasted chili corn salsa. Make sure though when you are eating it to only unwrap the foil wrapper as you each down the burrito. The foil wrapper helps to hold it together at the end, or else you will be eating it with a fork off your lap. I would have to get Johnny Burrito 4 Stars.

This is a link to their menu: http://www.johnnyburrito.com/menu.htm. The reason for the 4, is that unlike Qdoba you do not receive the free chips and salsa, and isn’t that something you always expected when you go get Mexican.

Also, if you are a first-time at it you might get a little scared because they try to move people very quickly in and out, so people do not have to wait in line too long. This is must try if you work in Uptown.