Pancheros is open in Arden Hills!
Snowy night....we'd thought we'd stop in and check out the new place in the neighborhood.
Our conclusion: "So far, we like Pancheros!"
Pancheros has been open about 1 day...this might be Day 2. Tonight
there wasn't much of a crowd - we went late (after 8 p.m.) and it was
snowing. So we almost had the place to ourselves.
This isn't any different from ordering at Chipotle, just a more limited
selection of proteins (3 meats plus tofu) and a different array of
salsa. The available 'forms' are burrito, bowl, quesadilla, tacos. You
can get extra tortillas, additional portions
of meat or guac or sour cream, etc for 50 cents to $1.25 Sides of
chips, chips and guac, chips and salsa....you know the rundown.
Be patient...it's clear these folks are all new, so they're still
working out the techniques for rolling a burrito and making an
attractive bowl. They were trying very, very hard...especially to place
things in the bowl in an appetizing way. Having observed,
if you're in a hurry, grab the bowl....they were still struggling with
filling and rolling the burritos...they took much longer than the bowls
tonight.
We decided to split a bowl (we had a great lunch at Brunson's today, so
didn't need a big dinner). Our choices tonight: a smaller portion of
rice, pintos, carnitas, veggies....more veggies(!), cheese, corn salsa
and the salsa verde (I couldn't get anyone
to explain exactly what was in the salsa verde...it looked like green
chiles and tomatillos...I'll check further on future visits). I
looked at the list...there's the verde which is medium heat; the
tomatillo is dark colored/not green....and has about the
highest heat level. There's also pico, etc.Pancheros Has Two Great Sauces: Greenade & Flavolcano
In addition to the choices on the line, there are two bottled
sauces...Greenade or Flavolcano. The red volcano sauce (Flavolcano) is quite
hotl---I had a few bites, then John tried it and coughed for a few
minutes. He lived! [John: "I liked it but it did overpower the other food flavors."] If you don't like 'hot' skip this one.
I found it tasty after the heat subsided. The Greenade was really,
really good. Jalapenos, tomatillos, habaneros and more.....an
excellent assortment of goodies in the bottle (having tried to figure
out what I was eating at Old Southern BBQ--they have unlabeled
bottles--bad if you have any food allergies, I appreciate that the
ingredients are on the sauce bottles at Pancheros).
I'd would say
both of these bottled sauces were tasty; I lean heavily toward the
green---I found it delish!
Pancheros Bowl
The bowl itself: we were disappointed that the temp of the meat, rice,
and beans was, at best, lukewarm. Having run a food biz for awhile,
I'm pretty aware of safe food temps and am always suspicious of
lukewarm (our county food inspector had a name for
lukewarm which, luckily escapes me right now....it was not
'complimentary'). So I hope they work on their temps.
The veggies
looked a bit limp, but were really quite good--and we're glad we asked
for extra---they were a tasty addition to the bowl. John
really enjoyed the roasted corn salsa. I absolutely loved the salsa
verde...very flavorful. My only regret: I should have asked for
more...it made the bowl better.
Pancheros: Much Better Than Chipotle
So, our initial reaction is that we like Pancheros. We don't eat at
Shoreview Chipotle...it's rated among the worst Chipotle's in the Twin
Cities and we've never had good experiences there.
We're hoping that
Pancheros can fill the gap for burritos and bowls
that are tasty, fresh, and served attentively (read: attractive, not
'slopped' [John: "I find the Chipotle big spoon heap/slop approach distatesful."]).
The tortillas looked good...we almost ordered one just to
give 'em a try. But we'll do that next time....as a burrito and as a
tortilla 'side'. The sign says they're handmade,
so each one, like a snowflake, is different. We'll check that out
and let you know.
Pancheros in Arden Hills --give 'em a try.
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