Jesse's Family Restaurant

Jesse's Family Restaurant
1941 Summer Street
Hammond, IN 46320 MAP
(219) 937-8339
Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Sunday: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

August 11th, 2010 UPDATE: New Ownership - Gorditas el Pueblo

October 30th, 12:30 p.m.

Jesse’s opened this summer in what appears to be a lousy location and site of more than a few failed ventures. There was only one other patron in the restaurant when I was there (during lunch hour, no less), and I have seen few cars in the parking lot when I have driven by.



Starting off this review on such a negative note might lead you to think I’m going to slam this place. Not the case. The steak burrito at Jesse’s contained beans, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and cheese all wrapped in an excellent, fresh tortilla of chewy goodness. The flavor of the steak was hard to determine due to the abundance of cheese inside. This was the cheesiest burrito I’ve had aside from a gimmicky Taco Bell creation. Only one piece of fat made an appearance, and I found the overall flavor very good. The salsa verde was hot and good while the red salsa simply brought the house down. I wish I had dined in to enjoy the red salsa with complimentary chips.

I hope Jesse’s makes it regardless of their location. If the rest of their menu is as good as the steak burrito, word of mouth should help them prosper.



Weight: 15.1 ounces
Length: 7 inches
Circumference: 9 inches
Price: $4.50 or 29.8¢ an ounce
Beer availability: No

Flavor: 8.5/10 sombreros
Value: 8/10 sombreros

Taco & Burrito Place Los 3 Panchos

Taco & Burrito Place Los 3 Panchos
1155 West Diversey Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614 MAP
(773) 935-3198
Hours:
Sunday – Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.
Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.
Friday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.

October 17th, 4:00 p.m.

Well, I have to say, as far as when and where to do a guest review, I sure lucked out on a good place! My husband (John, The Burrito Blogger) and I were downtown, and happened upon Los 3 Panchos: a little place, but a successful find. We ordered the biggest sized “Super Burrito” and split it. I’m typically a carne asada or chili relleno chica, but this experience may get me back on to burritos (though I consider burritos more of a man food, just so you know). This steak burrito had great meat. It had a good “brownness,” great flavor, and absolutely no gristle or fat (you know, the kind that compels you to spit into a napkin – hate that).



Ingredients listed on the take-out menu are meat, beans, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and sauce. I am a definite fan of tomato so would have liked to have had more than the ten-or-so dices of tomato that were in my half of the burrito. I would have traded a bit of the lettuce surplus for some more bits of tomato. Cheese was good, beans light, but that’s just fine. I have to admit I’m not even sure what the sauce was, unless it was just yummy steak “juice.” (The burrito was on the moist side but not overly so. I noticed when my husband weighted the thing there was some juice drippage on the scale.)

Now I am a HUGE chips and salsa fan; that is my favorite of all foods. (Second favorite: fried chicken livers with mashed potatoes and corn on the side – but don’t judge me.) Even the chips and salsa ($1.80 per order) were great, so this is a definite overall positive review. John made a point to refrain from comments while we dined, lest he sway me any; but he did blurt that the salsa was awesome. It’s true. To quote Goldie Locks, it was “just right” – not too hot, not too anything – “just right.”

I am also a fan of refried beans (rice… not so much) so I ordered a side for $1.00: good taste and ample amount.

Complaints: 1) whimpy Kleenexish napkins and 2) no grapefruit (best!) Jarritos. But that’s just looking for negatives, isn’t it?

Even though it is possible that I haven’t had a burrito in five or so years, I believe I am not off the mark and that John will agree with me: this was really a good burrito. Let’s see what he has to say in his rating. I’ll give him the last word/number.



John here. I enjoyed the excellent steak flavor and great ingredient distribution. Chips were very good and made better by the excellent salsa. Interestingly, this place was called Taco & Burrito Place Tres Hermanos a few years ago and received universally lousy reviews. With the change of name they’ve either taken care of the food quality issues or we got lucky on our visit. If asked, I’d go back.

Weight: 27.4 ounces
Length: 10.75 inches
Circumference: 9 inches
Price: $7.75 or 28.3¢ an ounce
Beer availability: No

Flavor: 9/10 sombreros
Value: 6.5/10 sombreros