Sunday, April 18, 2010

el Phantame del Bacón does Mexican



































The Pour House


907 Boylston St. Boston, MA


Price: $5.45


Rating: 65/100


Fullness: ¡aye aye aye!


I “broke the fast” yesterday as I pulled up to the counter at the Pour House on Boylston and ordered something a little different for the Bacon Phantom. The Pour House is a fine eating/drinking establishment if you, like me, seek bang for your buck. I ordered the Huervos Rancheros with a slight Mexican accent and waited a good while. It consisted of three scrambled eggs strewn across a flour tortilla with black beans, sour cream, melted cheddar and some sort of spicy Mexican tomato sauce which helped stoke the flames in my esophagus. Descending from a long line of Irish blood, my stomach says “no” to spice but my carefree American appetite says “yes”.


The burrito came out in an open-faced sandwich style, which caught me off-guard. To be honest I would have been fine if they cut the portions in half and rolled the burrito up themselves. Now that’s not to say I didn’t gorge myself and eat the whole pile of which I was served, but presentation is half the battle in my book. I successfully rolled two little burrito doobs cut from either end of flour tortilla (one of which is shown here in the bottom photo), but the middle portion was just too soggy and weighed down so I had to go at that with a knife and fork. Not terribly pleased by this. I generally like to do as little work as possible while eating.


I’ve been combing the city for a breakfast burrito worthy of reviewing and this one seemed to have fit the bill just fine. Since I set out to find a good breakfast burrito a couple months ago, I came across a few not really worth mentioning. One in particular, which I actually will mention was Allston Cafe’s veggie chili breakfast burrito. They certainly don’t spoil you rotten with sour cream/salsa. Stingy on condiments but heavy on indigestion, stay as far away from that one as possible.

“But, uh, back to the lecture at hand”... This breakfast burrito by the Pour House was... so-so at best. Not that I know really anything about authentic Mexican cuisine, but I feel like our friends to the South intended this menu item to be made differently? I also have a sneaking suspicion that the breakfast burrito was an entirely American invention based on Mexican food stereotypes.


Nevertheless, I finished every last bite and was pretty full among other things. I persevered despite the phrase “es no bueno” echoing in my ears with each bite. I really am excited about the prospect of a good breakfast burrito so if any of you out there would please point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.


If you find yourself at the Pour House and can’t resist the Huervos Rancheros, arm yourself with a roll of Tums and expect to taste some stereotypes.


¡Viva Bacón!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

a little lesson about me, the Bacon Phantom

One might say my palette has expanded over the past 23 [quasi]adventurous years... but no matter how "enlightened" or "worldly" one becomes, you always end up crawling back to what started it all. For me it's the McDonald's bacon, egg & cheese. It's my parents who are [ir]responsible for giving me that first taste at a ripe young age. My relationship with McDonald's breakfast is about 2 decades old by now, but I'd say it's still pretty [un]healthy. McD's suspended their use of bagels for a number of years, which I believe was the reason my brother and I started making our own bagel sandwiches in our grandmothers old house in Newton. During the Golden Arches suspension of the bagel, bacon, egg, and cheese, I was forced to turn to Dunkin Donuts attempt at it, which was hardly comparable. After a number of years, the bagel was reintroduced at America's "favorite fast-food chain" along with some sort of secret sauce? I gradually became accustomed to this new moisture-adding mystery sauce and here we are today. I love McDonald's bacon, egg & cheese and I'm not afraid to admit it. Take me or leave me. This was this morning getting my fix: