I do have to standby my last follow-up comment, and also to the end of this post for the thoughts of a local friend on the newish spot in Palermo, at Godoy Cruz 1781. I found myself over there a week or so ago, hungry, and with time to kill before an appointment, so stopped in.

I ordered up the “surfer combo” – a “large” burrito with a side of nachos and a drink – coming in these days in the mid-40 pesos range, I think it was $47, which is about double what they were when they opened – for a five year difference, that’s not bad, if their size and quality had remained as good as when they opened, but it hasn’t. The burrito suffered from the same thing I found in my previous notes – anemic in size, it’s certainly not “large” by any stretch of the imagination (take a look at CBC’s photo of the combo from their site, below), and the tortilla is wet, falling apart, stuck to the aluminum foil so that it tears apart on the underside when you try to pick it up, and as you can see, absolutely no browning from griddling it – it’s just steamed. The fillings were good, though not plentiful – they’ve gotten a bit stingy with quantity, which I mentioned as well in the last update – and they were cold – in fact, the counterman made up the burrito, wrapped it in the foil, and then set the packet on a little countertop griddle where he left it for about 2 minutes to “heat it up”, unsuccessfully. The chips were fine, the guacamole could have been fresher and better seasoned – and really, for that price, why not a cup of both the guacamole and the pico de gallo? And maybe some plastic wrap over the guacamole to prevent it from oxidizing to that lovely army green color? The soda was the soda. At that price, it rivals what a similar combo would cost in NYC. It’s really gone downhill under the new ownership, and with there now being some new spots open that offer up burritos and tacos that are pretty decent, it’s not worth setting foot in one of these places.

I’ve received a few e-mails over the last couple of months asserting a sudden and unexpected downturn in quality at CBC so I wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, at least based on today’s experience, I’d have to agree to a certain extent – though in only two specific areas. The tortillas were a soggy, doughy mess – not cooked all the way through on the griddle before being popped in the steamer, and they were falling apart as the young ladies behind the counter handled them; and, they’ve cut back on how much filling goes into them – though, I’d say the quality of the filling is as good as ever was – a half dozen little cublets of meat were dropped atop a pile of rice, and when I commented to the server, her return was “no nos permiten a poner mas que eso nada mas” – or, roughly “they won’t let us put more than that anymore”. The menu prices haven’t really gone up, I guess they’ve simply chosen to cut costs by cutting back on the more expensive ingredients. The fuego sauce has improved and is at least mildly spicy, though I still think if you’re going to call it a “fire” sauce, it ought to at least make you sweat a little.