[mcdude]

From the Citizen

Mexican Flair Continues in Downtown Laconia
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
To a tremendous response, two local cousins have opened a burrito shop at the Laconia train station in the space most recently occupied by Las Piñatas Mexican restaurant.

Burrito Me — "my wife shouted it out one day," explained Aaron Bassett of the name of the eatery that he and his partner Reuben Bassett opened last week — is billed as "the Lakes Region's first Mission-style burrito shop."

According to Wikipedia, a Mission-style burrito is also known as a San Francisco burrito and is named after that city's Mission District where burritos come wrapped in aluminum foil and packed with sides, like rice and sauce, that other restaurants would serve up separately.

Wikipedia said the Mission-style burrito "is distinguished partly by the amount of rice and other side dishes included in the package and partly by sheer size."

Bassett, who is a graduate of Laconia Christian School and until recently was a computer programmer working in Boston, grew up in Belmont and now resides in Laconia. His cousin grew up in Michigan and Ohio and has a degree in marketing, and he, too, lives in the City on the Lakes.

The cousins opened Burrito Me on Feb. 16 and on their Facebook page last Friday, said that day was their busiest yet. The posting shows a photo from the kitchen "on a hopping Friday night last night. Our best day of sales yet! You guys are overwhelming us!"

"I really like cooking and I wanted to be a business owner and wanted to work more locally," said Aaron Bassett of how Burrito Me came to be. "I was commuting to Boston and I thought that we (he and Reuben) could do this together."

The concept behind the business is straightforward, like its menu.

Patrons pick a burrito, a quesadilla or a taco then choose a filling — chicken, pork, steak or veggies, including summer squash, zucchini and red pepper.

The burrito comes with cheese, rice, beans and salsa all wrapped in a steamed flour tortilla. The quesadilla, in a crunchy grilled tortilla, has cheese and salsa while the taco comes with salsa and fresh cilantro. A salad containing the aforementioned ingredients is also available. Extras include guacamole, sour cream and extra filling. Appetizers include chips with salsa, guacamole or both as well as a big plate of nachos.

"We don't have a large amount of money, we don't have a large number of ingredients but what we do have we start from scratch every morning. We make a few things and we make them well," said Bassett.

The "mission style" burrito, he added, is a good value and a good choice for people on the go.

"The entire meal is in the burrito. A lot of times if you go to a Mexican restaurant you get a tortilla stuffed with meat and beans and rice on the side. But here everything is in the burrito and it's really handy. You can take it to go or eat it standing up." The burrito comes wrapped in aluminum foil that the diner unwinds from the top down as he or she eats and the best past is that "you don't have to worry about buying anything extra with it," said Bassett.

"People keep asking me 'what are you going to do to set yourself apart' and I tell them we're selling burritos." Bassett said. He and his cousin did their homework, he noted, adding that "there's no burrito shop around and as far as getting into the restaurant business, this is an easier way than a full-service restaurant."

It's also very convenient, Bassett said, to be able to walk to work and to be located in the historic train station.

"Being in the downtown is pretty important to us," he said. "It was sad to see Las Piñatas go, but then the space was available and it worked out for us."

Burrito Me is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and accepts all major credit cards. For more information, call 556-7798 or visit Burrito Me on Facebook.