Doggone it, Lyndon Larson is serving burritos on the Mall, people, not frankfurters! Look closely and you’ll see your choice of beef, chicken, pork, or vegetarian burritos or tacos. |
Don’t confuse him with a hot dog guy. Lyndon Larson sells made-to-order burritos and tacos at his two-week-old cart on the Downtown Mall in front of Snooky’s Pawn Shop. The cart reads “L’s Burrito & Juice Company,” but apparently a few people have been blinded by the shininess of the stainless steel thing on wheels and immediately assumed wieners, says Larson, who’s had to explain to the uninitiated that what he does is very different: your choice of beef, chicken, pork, or vegetarian burritos or tacos, the innards all braised or marinated in authentically “Upper Rio Grande” spices and marinades, with beans, rice, cheese and sides of hand-made guacamole, pico de gallo or cilantro-lime sour cream. For drinks there’s “fresh squished” limeade or bottled water. Larson, who hails most recently from Taos, New Mexico, says he plans to stay open on the Mall year-round and add one or two more carts around town in the future.
If hot dogs really are your thing, there are two new carts for frankfurter-types: What Up Dog, sells Boar’s Head meat dogs at the intersection of E. Main and Fifth streets and a new late-night snack truck called Last Call Dogs takes up residence at the Pavilion during concerts and at various places around town 10pm-2am, Thursday-Saturday. For up-to-date locations, click here.
Corner comings and goings
As per usual, summer is the season of renewal for the Corner restaurant scene. Here’s where things stand: On Elliewood Avenue, Martha’s Café closed earlier this month and is set to become a Tex-Mex type operation called Cantina, which may be open by the time you read this. Zydeco, which never re-opened after winter break, is also set to transform into a new concept (we hear it’s sushi), and Sublime, which closed in February, is becoming an outpost of Downtown dumpling and noodle favorite, Marco & Luca.
On 14th Street, the old Just Curry flagship store, which closed this past winter so Alex George could concentrate on his Downtown Transit Center location and a new restaurant project at the Fry’s Spring Service Station, has become Ni Hao Café, serving Chinese and “Asian Style” cuisine.
On University Avenue: Rita’s Ice is dead and gone. Recall that when Rita’s opened last summer, its owners told Restaurantarama that they planned to stay open year-round in contrast to most other seasonal Rita’s franchises, but the frozen treat shop never reopened after a seasonal close in early spring. Next door to that sadly empty space, however, the long-closed O’Neil’s is taking shape as something called Trinity courtesy of Chicago-native Ryan Rooney. And on W. Main Street, Pacino’s Deli has closed, and the space has been taken over by Basil owner Raif Antar, who is turning it into Semolina Gourmet Pizza Bakers “in about seven weeks,” he says. The new pizza parlor is giving Antar a chance to focus on a dish he used to serve at Basil, but had to stop because he says “it was interrupting the flow of things” in that kitchen. At Semolina, Antar says he’ll serve the same “gourmet-style” pizza he offered at Basil. Up to 30 different topping combinations will be listed on the menu, and customers may also choose their own. He’ll offer delivery and take-out, 140-plus beers and wine, a small selection of appetizers, salads and panini, but no pizza by the slice. And no paper plates or paper napkins for that matter, he says.
