Lola's Burrito Joint

At our last weekly family gathering, we decided to hit up Lola's Burrito Joint which is the semi-new edition to the post/park/king street in riverside. For those of you who haven't been there, Lola's is a semi-dive, brightly colored Mexican inspired hang out/bar. I expected great things from all the raves I heard about their Mexican street corn and kick ass salsa. Maybe that's why I was a wee disappointed in the end results...



They started off on my bad side when I saw you had to pay $2.97 for your chips and salsa. That's like going to an Italian place and having to pay for your bread and dipping oil. It's just not right.


I then, of course, had to order the beloved "Mexican street corn" and I must say, it was just... meh. I was expecting fabulously grilled to perfection corn rubbed down with some mexico flava (yes, flava) but instead I was greeted with a deep fried cob absolutely smothered in parmesan cheese. It was just too greasy and overpowering for my liking.

After much debate, I decided on the "sweetie pie" burrito stuffed with sweet potato mash, smoked corn, cabbage, cheese, black beans and rice, lettuce, and tomato. As you can see, the portion is BIG!

Overall I found it to be lacking in flavor. I was thrown off a bit by the sweet potato mash because instead of the savory mix I was expecting, I was greeted with a bite of misplaced cinnamon and sugar. One disadvantage of having such a large tortilla is the bottom tends to get soggy after your first couple of bites. I couldn't really hold it together anymore, so I was forced to just pick out the stuffing and eat it eat it like a rice bowl (not what I was craving walking into a burrito joint).

Mom ordered the "bought the farm" which had chicken, pork, steak, grilled onions, grilled green peppers, grilled mushrooms, Mojo Sauce, beans, diced jalapeños, and cheese. Like mine, it was a little lacking in the flavor department, but the sour cream on the side helped a little (emphasis on little).

My Aunt's was by far the best. she ordered the "shrimp but no papers" with spicy shrimp, rice, cheese, cilantro, diced tomatoes, cabbage and Mojo Lime Aioli. I think the reason why it was so good is because the shrimp were actually seasoned (the aioli helped as well).

Overall I'd say Lola's is a hit or miss. I think that if I ever returned I would DEFINITELY spring for the shrimp no papers and keep the $3 instead of ordering the chips and salsa.