Elio's Hot Dogs & Mexican Food

Elio’s Hot Dogs & Mexican Food
6210 West 5th Avenue
Gary, IN 46406 MAP
(219) 944-8155
Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 10:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday: Closed

As the first review since the death of Michael Jackson, I chose to venture into Mr. Jackson’s hometown of Gary for my burrito fix. Not that I wanted to do a tribute of sorts to him and use cheesy prose such as, “The hot sauce was so good, you just can’t beat it.” No, I can honestly say I could care less about his passing.



Elio’s “famous” burrito contained steak, rice, beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, and your choice of hot or mild sauce. I chose the hot sauce and was not disappointed. The heat was perfect, flavorful, and distributed nicely throughout the burrito. I am usually leery when a burrito contains rice as I find that places (especially chains like Chipotle, Qdoba, or Moe’s) use it liberally as a cheap way to make their burrito big and heavy. Elio’s burrito had a great ratio of ingredients that were, like the hot sauce, distributed well. I completely enjoyed this burrito although my only quibble is that the flavor of the steak never really came through. There was no fat or gristle in the steak although it was a little greasy at the end.



Complimentary chips and salsa are not offered and were not expected as Elio’s is a walk up and pay through the plexiglass establishment. Get your order to go, eat at one of the picnic tables, or hunt down the taco truck. You’ll get a good meal either way.



Weight: 20.6 ounces
Length: 7 inches
Circumference: 9.75 inches
Price: $5.00 or 24.3¢ an ounce
Beer availability: No

Flavor: 8/10 sombreros
Value: 7/10 sombreros

Supermercado Ortega

Supermercado Ortega
7234 Kennedy Avenue
Hammond, IN 46323 MAP
(219) 845-5899
Hours:
Monday – Sunday: 11:30 a.m to 7:00 p.m.

June 19th, 2009. 12:30 p.m.

A faded hand written sign in the front window of Supermercado Ortega says, “Now Open Taqueria La Cabaña.” Tucked in the back corner of the store next to the meat counter are a few stools, a table or two, and a counter to order from. The menu on the wall states that tacos, burritos, tortas, and another item or two that elude me are the only choices.



The supermarket is very clean and neatly merchandised with a wide variety packed goods as well as produce and meats. I had hoped that my burrito would be similar to that of La Balanza. That is, a nice portion of steak from the meat counter accompanied by fresh vegetables, sour cream and cheese from within the store. Not so. The steak was good and only had a couple pieces of fat in it, however the only other ingredients were soggy, wilted lettuce (see picture below) and sour cream. No cheese or tomatoes even? Separately, the salsa verde was quite hot and excellent and the salsa taquera was very good also.

I’m quite baffled by the poor quality of the burrito at Supermercado Ortega/Taqueria La Cabaña considering how fresh produce and cheese are within arms reach of the kitchen. The old, nasty lettuce is also a bit disturbing. This is an obvious skip.



Weight: 16.1 ounces
Length: 6.5 inches
Circumference: 10 inches
Price: $3.99 or 24.8¢ an ounce
Beer availability: No

Flavor: 5/10 sombreros
Value: 7/10 sombreros