Burrito Year in Review

I’ve written and deleted numerous sentences to start this post. It’s hard to explain the significance of earning free burritos for a year at California Tortilla. How can I properly express my love of burritos, the subsequent desire never to have a burrito again and then the realization that burritos really are good? Well, let’s go back to August 2007. As part of the grand opening of a new location, California Tortilla has a promotion where the first 10 people in line at 11am will get free burritos every week for a year. When they opened last August, I was #8 and wrote all about my experiences waiting in line.

So now that the year is complete, here is the summary of my California Tortilla adventure:

Free Burritos: 34
Free Quesadillas: 13
Free Chips & Queso: 2
Free Salads: 1
Missed Weeks: 4
Total Savings: $278.09

I’m sure that you have lots of questions, so I’ll try to answer them.

Q: Did you get sick of burritos?

Yes. I had burritos for several months and decided that maybe I should eat a little healthier by having burrito bowls. I quickly determined that the burritos were much better with a tortilla and switched back. In early January, I had enough and attempted to sell the coupons on Craigslist. I think I posted an ad on three separate occasions, but only received one response from a guy named Jimm. Yes, there is more than one M. Jimm’s reply, "Trade you for my taco coupon lol." LOL? That’s not LOL. Spell your name correctly, Jim!

Q: I’m confused by the summary. You wrote that you received free burritos for a year. Why are there quesadillas and a salad?

There’s no need to be confused my friend. Around the time I first attempted to sell the burritos, I realized that a spinach quesadilla would be less expensive than a burrito and asked if I could use the coupon for something other than a burrito. California Tortilla was nice enough to say yes. Quesadillas got me through the cold winter months and allowed me the temporary break from burritos.

Q: So what was your favorite burrito?

Of all of the free burritos, I had the Blackened Chicken Caesar probably 75% of the time. The Honey Lime variety was a favorite during the final month or so, but the BCC is still the #1 seed.

Q: Did California Tortilla ever contact you?

Yes, actually (sort of). I met Pam, the Queen of Burritos, at the grand opening and she even commented on my blog when I tried to sell my coupons. Her quote: "You’re selling your California Tortilla burrito coupons, Sean? I'm shocked. SHOCKED! I tell you."

Q: $278 worth of California Tortilla food. Wow!

Um, this is not actually a question, but yes, the total amount I would have spent over the past year was $278.09. The number could have been well over $300 if I had more burritos than quesadillas or ordered the regular size burrito more often (I ate a small burrito most of the time – the small really isn’t that small).

I’ll be happy to answer any other burrito-related questions that you may have in the comments.

So that’s my burrito year in review. If you are wondering whether or not I would do this again, I definitely would. I would also like to thank my colleagues for encouraging me to wait in line for the burritos and the staff at the Reston California Tortilla who is always friendly and has never got my order wrong.