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Chula Fused Foods... Indian Burrito!

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:41:24 +0100

If you're a Londoner, do you know what you've been waiting your whole life for? Let me tell you... an Indian burrito!

This fusion seems like the most obvious thing in the world in London right? Indian food with the eat anywhere convenience of a burrito. Curry. Beans. Rice. Wrap. To me Indian Burrito and London should go together like cheese and Marmite!

But there's not many of these in town. In fact, to my knowledge, there's only one. And I'm not talking about Mooli's either. After all, they'll be the first to tell you that a mooli is not a f*cking burrito. No, I'm talking about Chula Fused Foods.

Chula is a small-time street food cart with a big idea. It is run by Vinod Patel who currently trades at Covent Garden, Waterloo and Victoria, depending on the day of the week. Vinod has spent time in San Francisco, worked at Chipotle and traveled to both India and America to find inspiration. His venture is the culmination of this research and he aims to bring the highest possible standards in food preparation and hygiene to London street food.

The idea of an Indian burrito is not new. Well it's sort of new but it's been around on the streets of San Francisco for a while. CurryUpNow have been fusing all kinds of stuff over there (tikka masala burrito for example) to considerable success. They have recently expanded beyond food trucks and have opened up a restaurant in San Mateo. It is new to London though and this (and Mooli's) is something that really should take off here.

I've tried Chula twice now, both times at Tachbrook Street Market which is about a 5 minute walk from Victoria station. So far I've sampled the chicken keema (awesome) and the paneer (good). I've yet to try the lamb. With your main filling you get rice and kidney beans, a choice of chutneys (go for hot obviously!) and salad. The chicken with hot chutney and all extras I went for was truly exceptional. The vegetarian option I had on the second visit (I went late and Vinod had run out of meat) was nice but lacked texture somewhat. Regular veggie burritos tend to have peppers or mushrooms. Maybe that would work here too?

All in all this is something to really get excited about. An awesome idea with a great result. There should be more places doing what Vinod is doing at Chula, whether they be on the streets or in fixed locations. There is surely a gap in the market for hot Indian food in the UK that is easy to eat on the go.

Go to Chula. You won't regret it!

No News

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 23:53:56 +0100

It's been quiet on the blog front. I've been running around like a crazy person the last few months. Normal service will be resumed shortly...

Burrito Café

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:48:36 +0100

A new burrito place has opened up in King's Cross. Burrito Café is now open at 10 Caledonian Road, just a few minutes walk from both King's Cross and St Pancras stations.

I popped by on the second day of trading to check it out but alas it was not a good start. The burrito was badly constructed, the chicken was poor and it tasted quite bland. Not a good start.

No photo of the food. It was dark and I had the burrito to go. The menu is mostly a "me too" except for the chili beef, which is unusual in London.

Will give this place another try after some time has passed to see if it's improved. No website yet. The flyers being handed out all referenced burritocafe.co.uk but that just leads to a 123-reg landing page right now. No sign of them using social media either...

All in all not the greatest of starts for a new business.

Buen Provecho

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:18:23 +0100

I've stumbled across another gem.

A street food trader from the Eat Street collective, Buen Provecho is a taco stand located on Lower Marsh, right by Waterloo station. Yes, that's in SOUTH London! Which makes it even better!

Buen Provecho sell super tasty tacos with a choice of meats and the option to self serve yourself a choice of salsa extras (e.g. guacamole) at the end. I'm not sure if the menu is the same every day however when I was there the choice included pork, chicken mole, chicken tinga and picadillo. They also sell an assortment of other items including salsas.

I went for a combination of three tacos for a fiver. Great value and well worth it if you want to try a combination of fillings. Each one tasted different but went well together so I will probably try the same combo again. It was a messy eating experience but a fab one!

This is seriously good stuff. I have no idea why they are not better known.

The only problem really is finding somewhere to eat. There isn't really anywhere around the stall itself however I would recommend crossing Bayliss Road and finding a perch in the little park on the corner.

Buen Provecho are at Lower Marsh Market most Tuesdays through Fridays. Go there!

Poncho No.3

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:59:16 +0100

A third Poncho No.8 has opened. The new restaurant is located on Old Compton Street in Soho and is the first Poncho branch to serve alcohol. It's west end location also means that it is open on weekends.

Tortilla Hammersmith

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:51:26 +0100

The sixth restaurant of the Tortilla chain has opened on King St in Hammersmith, W6. Open 7 days a week this is a welcome addition a part of West London that has until now been burrito free.

Toma Mexicano

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:48:26 +0100

I have made an awesome discovery: it's called Toma Mexicano.

Part of the Eat Street collective of London street food vendors, Toma Mexicano serve up Texan style tacos and flautas on the streets of E8. The food theme here is "Mexican by a Mexican" and the owner is originally from Texas.

I happened across their Twitter feed one day through a post about the recent #16days food event, so I took a drive up to Peckham (they're usually in London Fields) just to check them out.

A simple stall is what you see when you arrive at Toma Mexicano. A simple stall with a simple menu and staffed by the two ladies who run it. As always it was great to meet the folk making the effort to bring great food to the streets. I opted for the tacos and the strong wind blowing the smoke towards me as the food was cooking made for a big appetite!

The tacos tasted great despite the fact that I ended up eating them in my car! To be honest they would maybe been a little nicer had I not asked for the meat to be cooked well done instead of medium rare. My fault that - absolutely no idea why I ordered them that way - wasn't thinking! But they were great anyway. A decent amount of meat and bold flavours made for an all-round satisfying experience.

Toma Mexicano's usual pitch is in the Broadway Market Schoolyard in London Fields. Go! It's worth the trip.

Cinco de Chilango

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:59:26 +0100

Chilango number 5 opens on May 5 - Cinco de Mayo. Based on past performance -- these guys really know how to open a store in style -- the opening of the third Chilango in London will be a big celebration. The newest restaurant is located at the north end of Chancery Lane, just off High Holborn.

Building a new Chilango!

Free burritos will be on offer all day long (12pm to 8pm) on opening day however the lines are sure to be epic. If you can put up with queuing for ages, a free burrito will be your reward!

A Benito's Hat Trick

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:02:05 +0100

The third Benito's Hat is now open on Great Castle Street close to Oxford Circus. They have a launch offer of a "happy fortnight" running through April.

Benito's Hat are also jumping on the royal wedding bandwagon with a with a "burritos and bridezillas" chicken mole special over the royal wedding period. Hopefully it'll be as good as their recent lamb barbacoa special.

More Burritos

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:02:26 +0100

Mas Burritos is now three strong with a new opening on Byward Street in Tower Hill. As with the Chancery Lane store, this place is also open for Breakfast.