Saturday, March 19, 2011

Chipotle

Last week I met Jenny for lunch at Chipotle in Mountain View. Even though we got there at 1:00 pm, the line was at least fifteen-people long. With a burrito bowl being $6.50 and guacamole another $1.80, Jenny and I decided to split it.

The ingredients were fresh (the bowl had that vibrant flavor that could only come from fresh vegetables), but the quantity of meat was minimal. Moreover, nothing was hot--the rice was even a little cold. Jenny shared with me her guacamole, which was creamy and abundant (as it should be for the price) but salty. Wost of all, I left the restaurant hungry--so hungry I had to dive for the Trail Mix Bars I keep in my trunk for emergencies like this. I must be incorrect about the value proposition, though, as there was a long line of customers, even when we left at 1:30.

The story has a happy ending, though, since Jenny dropped her business card into the bowl for a drawing. Two hours later, she got a call to notify her that she won ten burritos or burrito bowls. I can say they were appetizing even after two days in the fridge (the salty guacamole notwithstanding).


Chipotle
2400 Charleston Road
Mountain View, CA 94043
(650) 969-6528

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Mini corn and ham muffins

Last weekend I made some mini corn muffins for an Oscars party we attended. I opted for mini-muffins as they seemed easy to handle and eat in a party environment. What I found, though, was these muffins were a bit bland. A reason could be because I skipped the chives part of the recipe, which went as follows (taken from food.com):

Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour (or self-raising gluten free flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
30 g butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
3 slices ham, finely chopped
125 g corn kernels, drained
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1/4 cup cheese, grated
1 slice ham, for decorating (optional)
Change Measurements: US Metric

Directions:
Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 35 mins
1 Preheat oven to 180°C Lightly grease a 24 hole mini-muffin pan.
2 Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.
3 Combine the butter, milk and eggs together. Then stir this mix into the sifted flour. Stir until only just combined-do not overmix.
4 Add remaining ingredients, except the cheese. Stir in very lightly.
5 Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pans. Fill the holes until 3/4 full. Sprinkle over the cheese, and some extra shredded ham if desired.
6 Bake 15 minutes or until lightly golden. If using gluten free flour allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before turning out.

If there was any spark to any of this, it was provided by the corn kernels, which I chopped up before mixing in. They had the taste and feel of raisins. Still, though, the flavor of the muffins was flat and I felt a little sorry for anyone who chanced upon them. If I were to do it again, I’d go a little easier on the baking powder and add a richer, saltier ham (I went with the common honey-baked).