The Fajita Burrito Picoso from Jardin Corona in Marble Falls.
San Antonio Burrito Bites, a weekly column searching for and grubbing on the best burritos in San Antonio and the Hill Country.
As the Texas Hill Country reporter, I am all over the map. So, finding quick stops to grab a bite to eat is key. And what better Texas food than burritos? This series will see me scouring Texas for burritos and trying some of the local favorite hotspots (with your help). My palate is a clean slate and ready to get to work for the good of the people. I understand that in South-Central Texas, tacos are the king, but great burritos are here too.
To check out last week's trio of Buc-ee's burritos, yes, Buc-ee's sells burritos, click here.
This week I made a stop in Marble Falls while I was covering the new renovations that are set to take place at Hidden Falls Inn. Walking around a hotel really gets you hungry. So, I decided to find a burrito in the area. Since it was already pretty late in the evening, there weren't too many Mexican restaurants that were open. So, I found Jardin Corona in the downtown district and I left disappointed.
Before I begin, here are a few ways I judge a burrito. Does it taste good? Is it worthy enough to go into my burrito rotation? Is it cooked? How does it stack up? How is the service? (I understand there is a staffing shortage, so I won't go too hard on this one for now). Is it worth the price of admission? How is the salsa for the burritos? Every question is crucial to providing my rankings.
Jardin Corona in Marble Falls.
Now, before I get into the burrito's faults, I need to say that the service was great. My drink was constantly getting filled and my server was checking on me every few minutes. The restaurant was packed when I went, so I definitely know my waiter was busting his hump bringing food and drinks to the area he was serving. The chips were thin and lightly fried. The red salsa was just fine, not hot, but plenty of flavor. The cashier told me they opened in 2020, so it is relatively new.
The chicken fajita burrito picoso at Jardin Corona in Marble Falls.
The menu said the burrito comes inside a large flour tortilla, "stuffed" with chile con queso, refried beans, and either chicken or beef fajita topped with chile con queso and jalapenos. The burrito even came with rice and guacamole. Now, that menu description really hooked me when I saw chile con queso. What I got ended up being the worst burrito I've eaten doing this series. I was just shocked to see that they actually serve this.
The small burrito probably was as big as an iPhone 4, so it was tiny. It had nacho cheese slopped on top, but when I read chile con queso, I expect some sort of handmade queso, especially since this is Texas. I took one bite of the burrito and since it was on the smaller side there was more tortilla than chicken. The chicken was good, but then the cheese started to harden, which made the burrito real hard to eat after a few minutes.
The rice was hard, like they just mixed old rice with new rice. It was not good at all. Usually I have a lot of fun eating burritos, but this was an absolute challenge because I haven't had a burrito that was so bad. Definitely pass on the burrito's here.
If you feel like your favorite burrito place should be adored by all, then hit me up and I will venture to wherever those burritos may take me. Email me at gabe.romero@mysa.com or on Twitter @romeroreports.
Gabriel Romero is the Hill Country reporter for MySA.com. He is a California transplant with a healthy curiosity of the Lone Star State.