Anna’s Taqueria is a local chain of “Mexican-fusion restaurants,” founded in 1995, with headquarters in Brookline, MA, according to its website. It has eight locations throughout the Greater Boston Area. It was “first conceived with the mission of bringing the home-style flavor of Mexican street food to the people of Boston,” according to its website. Since this is a local chain, it is with a heavy heart that we give it this not-so-great review.
John Fornagiel
When we both first heard of Anna’s Taqueria, we knew that we had to try it. We are both huge burrito fans, frequently using either Moe’s or Chipotle as the outlet for our fanaticism. Of course, since they offered a $3.50 bag of chips along with a Mexican spice-based salsa, we got that as well. The overall order for me was pretty cheap: $11.40 for a super burrito along with some chips before tax! Although the order was cheap, it is imperative to compare this price to other chains such as Chipotle or Moe’s. There, burritos are roughly the same price.
Now to compare with how this burrito tasted with these other chains. I have to say, the seasoning on the meat and on the ingredients in the Anna’s Taqueria burrito were very underwhelming and, as much as I hate to say it, the burrito was honestly a little bland. Not only this, but the burrito was extremely small. Whenever I order a burrito from either Chipotle or Moe’s, I am absolutely stuffed and satisfied. When I finished eating this burrito though, I not only gobbled the chips along with it, but I could have eaten even more. Speaking of the chips on the side, they were delicious! The salsa that came on the side of the chips were a little overpowering (I think it had too much cilantro), but honestly, it was more of an acquired taste because I ended up enjoying them at the end.
At the end of the day, a burrito is a burrito, so I definitely did enjoy it. In hindsight though, I would have been better off and more satisfied if I ordered from Chipotle or Moe’s, which despite how much it hurts me to say, is the harsh truth.
Sasha Skarbovicyhuk
I want to start this review by saying two things: I love burritos and I have wanted to try Anna’s Taqueria since I moved here over two years ago, so as you can imagine, I was very excited to try it. I decided to go with my usual approach to burritos: add everything I like onto it. I got a Super Chicken Ranchero burrito in a 12-inch white flour tortilla, with cheese, Mexican rice, lettuce, pico de gallo, hot sauce and jalapenos (I hate beans so no beans on my burrito). The Super Chicken Ranchero burrito will cost you $8.40.
What could go wrong? It’s a burrito and it has everything I like on it. Unfortunately, the disappointment came as soon as the food did. As soon as we got the burritos out of the bag we saw how tiny they are: they are probably about half the size of a Chipotle or Moe’s burrito, and it also costs more (a Chipotle chicken burrito is $7.50 while a Moe’s chicken burrito is $7.99). However I was willing to overlook this if the burrito actually tasted good. But that was not the case. The burrito as a whole was just bland. The problem was everything really. The chicken was bland, it tasted like plain boiled chicken. So was the Mexican rice: plain white rice tastes more flavourful. I was hoping that the pico would add at least some flavor, but I barely found any of it in my burrito. I also got extra hot sauce on the burrito, but instead of giving it any additional flavor, it just made it spicy. But not the good kind of spicy where it actually adds flavor, but the spicy that just burns your tongue. I actually drank milk to make it stop. I hate milk. The lettuce and cheese helped to tone down the spice, but it didn’t save the burrito.
Overall, I was left hungry, dissatisfied and with a burning tongue. As much as I wanted to like this burrito, it does not seem to have any redeeming qualities. If I was to rate it, I would give it a six out of ten in terms of general food, and a four out of ten in terms of burritos.
