It is currently -3 degrees Celsius here in the UK and it has been threatening to snow for about a week at this point too. Which means that I am constantly craving warm comfort foods to get me through the horrid winter weather. I am not someone who does well in the cold (so a little unfortunate that I live in the UK!) but I am very thankful that one of the few vegan friendly places near me does comfort food perfectly.
Tortilla has become a staple of my week. They make burritos that can be personalised to contain what you want, so this has been one of my favourites especially after a hard gym session when I need lots of protein and carbs to help me recover. In the middle of winter, it is also the most perfect comfort food. They do burritos and burrito bowls, and they have a lot of vegan friendly options to choose from as standard, but I am very pleased to see that for Veganuary they have introduced a Beyond Meat steak option too.
I normally prefer a burrito bowl, simply because I am incapable of eating a burrito with any sort of dignity – I just end up making a mess no matter how hard I try not to – but as this was advertised as a special burrito, I decided to try it as recommended first to see if it was worth the internal hype I had for it. It is also available as a burrito bowl though if you too would prefer that option. I also went for a medium size but there is a large option available.
The Beyond Meat steak pieces were very tasty! I have only ever had Beyond Meat burgers before so the steak was another new thing for me to try. The steak does taste quite meaty (a big selling feature for Beyond Meat) and it does have a rather chewy texture to it. I have not had steak in a long time (if ever actually) but my husband had the same and he said it tasted scarily similar. The steak did have a slightly smoky flavour to it, but in all honesty it is mixed in with so many other flavours in the burrito that it doesn’t stand out. I also went for the tomato rice (called Mexican rice on the menu) and some veggies which did add some nice crunch to it, but this is all largely optional if you don’t want them included. I also went for the chimichurri sauce which was again something completely new for me. It was very light and fresh, and had a wonderful garlic flavour to it. I personally love garlic so this was a very welcome addition to me, but possibly something to be aware of if you are not a fan. Again, you can choose not to include the chimichurri if you so wish to. Needless to say this was a very yummy lunch option and it also kept me feeling full for the rest of the day until I had dinner – I had this at around 12 midday and didn’t have dinner until about 8pm, so a very solid meal option if you want something filling that doesn’t sit heavily on your stomach afterwards.
You can also get extra bits with it (all included in the price save for guacamole) which includes extra spices, but I will say that the chimichurri seemed to have quite a bit of heat to it anyway. Granted I am quite a pansy when it comes to heat in my food, but I found that the chimichurri alone was enough to give the meal quite a kick of heat to it by the end. It wasn’t so spicy as to cause me any actual pain like some hot spices can, but it definitely made itself known. You can of course add extra spices and extra salsa to the mix if you do want that little extra heat though.
The price of this burrito was ÂŁ11.10, which is slightly more expensive than the usual burrito price (usually around ÂŁ8-ÂŁ10 depending on the size you choose) but as it is a limited time option, it does make sense. I also must say that the staff at Tortilla are very generous with their servings so no matter what size you get, the portions are generous and it definitely feels like very good value for money. I am always left feeling full and well fuelled after a Tortilla meal, which I can’t always say for other restaurant meals, and Tortilla is considered to be fast food!
I am quite sad that this is only available during January as it is a very tasty option and would be a great meal to pick during these cold winter months. It is also nice to have a different vegan option that isn’t just grilled veggies or a vegan chilli filling. Both are tasty, but there are only two options and so flavour fatigue can set in rather quickly. In previous years, other brands have kept their Veganuary only option available year round so I am keeping everything crossed that this may also stay for the rest of the year!
Taylor Talks Vegan 