I have traveled this country far and wide, and some of the best food on the road comes from truck stops and gas stations. Fueling up is not just about your car.
Much has been written about Habanero’s, the new Mexican joint connected to the Shell Station on the corner of Orange and Ninth. If you live in town and own a car, you are most certainly familiar with the Bahri family that owns and runs everything on that corner. I wanted to give you the readers a review of the actual food. The good news is that Habanero’s offerings did not disappoint.
My first experience at Habanero’s was early one morning before work. I love that they open early at 8 am. I purchased a breakfast burrito to go and grabbed about three of their salsas from the salsa bar. I sat in my girlfriend’s front yard before work and tucked into what was a very enjoyable burrito. I am a tortilla snob, and this flour tortilla was perfect, not too thick with just the right amount of chew. The burrito was generously stuffed with potatoes, eggs, and cheese. I chose bacon as my protein, but they have a whole host of other offerings, eleven choices for the breakfast burritos alone. Once I got in a couple of bites, there was a well for the salsas. I started rotating salsas after each bite. I loved the smoky spice of the bright orange Habanero, a good thing as it is their namesake. The Lemon Cilantro salsa was bright and cooling, a good counterbalance to the Habanero and the Spicy Red. I made quick work of my burrito, but one breakfast doesn’t make for a good review. I knew another trip was needed, and I couldn’t wait to fill’er up once again. For my next breakfast, I will turn the volume up to #11: The Hash Brown Breakfast Burrito, eggs, chorizo, bacon, sour cream, and hash browns. Just reading the ingredients takes me back to Waffle House and the hash browns served “All The Way”, scattered, smothered, covered, chunked, topped, diced. If you know, you know.
My next visit came while my son Charlie was in town. We walked up to Habanero’s on a Wednesday night about 6 pm, and the place was bustling. We ordered three different burritos, Carne Asada tacos, chips, and salsa. Before I get into the burritos, I loved the chips and salsa.
The house salsa is mild and chunky, but not like pico de gallo. There was plenty of sauce with the chunks. The chips were one of my favorite styles, but truth be told, I love most chips. These were very thin and perfectly salted. The chips were great on their own, but I wished I hadn’t eaten as many as I did on their own, because when they ran out, every drop of salsa that didn’t hit my burrito I drank right out of the container. I am not proud. I will order extra chips next time, as the amount of salsa provided was generous.
Let’s talk tacos. My daughter Sasha is a carne asada taco fan, and she loved these tacos. The corn tortillas were packed with carne, and there were plenty of little crispy bits that come from being finished on the flat top. The crispy bits are my daughters favorite part of a well-executed carne asada taco. She wouldn’t share, but I could see Habanero’s was generous with the onions and cilantro, which is my favorite part of a carne asada taco.
Moving on to burritos. My son Charlie was in town, and he is a big boy. At mealtime, we refer to him as the garbage disposal because of how much he can put down, so it stands to reason he would order the biggest, baddest burrito he could find. Charlie chose the Jalapeño Popper: al pastor, fries, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and jalapeños. This burrito was topped with jalapeño slices, kept in place by melted cheese; it was a sight to behold. Charlie curled up that night with a fist full of Rolaids and no regrets. My daughter-in-law Josie got the Al Pastor burrito: guacamole, onion, and cilantro, and I got the Carnitas burrito with guacamole and pico. Both were burritos we would order again. We brought home the whole lineup of salsas that night. I couldn’t pass up the ones I had already tried, so I went all in and got them all. The Mild Red, Salsa Verde, and Chunky Salsa were all excellent; none went to waste as we drenched every bite with these flavor bombs.
I can’t wait to go back and experience the $1 tacos; there are two choices: Fish Street or Al Pastor Street. My good friend Charlie Ware grabbed a grip of both on his way back from Village Theatre recently and reported back that they were not only a deal but excellent. One of the owners I spoke with told me the high school kids are crushing these for lunch. Dollar tacos make me feel like I’m getting a great deal and add to the restaurant’s appeal.
The Shell Station may be the only gas station in town, but it is not the only Mexican restaurant. For those of us who live on the island, we are lucky to have a nice selection. You can never have enough tacos. I hope you all get out there and fuel up at Habanero’s.
