Carribean Corner

4948 Main Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515
(630) 541-8641
Website

I was visiting family in the Chicago area and stumbled upon the Caribbean Corner. Touting the "best Cuban in town" (Downers Grove), I figured it was worth a try. Though I was somewhat concerned about the robustness of the Cuban scene in a town with a 5.2% Latino population.

I started with some chicken empanadas. These were well fried, and had quite a bit of shredded chicken inside. The carrots and corn inside looked like they came from a frozen bag, but overall they were quite serviceable.

The sandwiches, while lacking in visual appeal, all had hefty flavor profiles. Cuban pictured below.

The pork was tender, the bread well griddled, and the general consistency was where it should be.

The shredded beef sandwich was similar to a torta or a bocadilla. The beef was tender and had a nice smack of meat to it. Sloppy, but quite good.

I like my bread to hold up a bit better than what you see here, but overall the flavors were pretty fantastic.

The shredded chicken was just like the shredded beef. But with chicken. Again, pretty sloppy, but tasted just fine. A good offering for the Chicago burbs, but I would not be breaking out the linen suit and a bottle of rum while rushing to eat here.

Neato Burrito

316 4th Street
New Cumberland, PA 17070
(717) 770-0390
Website

As part of the Chevy Cruze Diesel trip, there had to be some stops on the way to refuel. Not for the Cruze, because that gets like 40mpg, but for me, because I get around 1 bph (burrito per hour). Neato Burrito is a local chain (think Chipotle) that is known for its funky decor and riffs on Tex-Mex.

This is the second location (the original store in downtown Harrisburg recently moved, so I couldn't visit the flagship) and is located in an old firehouse in New Cumberland.

Curious onlookers.

I hear they have this great neon signage at almost every location.

I guess "eclectic" is the best way to describe this place. I do like the weird stuff on the walls, and the record-covered windows. It's almost like they shop at the Atomic Warehouse (see last post) for the decor.

It's relatively cheap, and there is nothing that stands out on the menu.

I assume this is perfect for those with social anxiety.

I figured a burrito bowl and a burrito would suffice.

This burrito was one of the largest I have ever seen. It was honestly the size of a football.

The jalapeno tortilla came stuffed with chicken, vegan beer chili, cowboy rice (smothered in BBQ sauce), lettuce, cucumber, onion, jalapenos, sour cream, guacamole, and their special salsa, which was basically a sour cream feta sauce. It was delicious. There was so much flavor packed in there, that it made every bite a new adventure.

The burrito bowl with beef (over chips) was disappointing.

Perhaps it was poor picking of toppings (outside of my suggestions, of course), but this particular version lacked flavor. Also, the chips were incredibly weak. In a matter of minutes they looked like boiled lasagna noodles. I think a major issue was skipping the BBQ sauce rice and feta cream sauce on this one.

They really made the burrito near to perfection, and pointed out the flaws in the bowl. I will definitely remember this for next time.