172975 Thu Jan 13 16:54:02 -0800 2005 15 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 929641 Has anyone ever been to this Rockville based restaurant? One just opened in Frederick, and for the grand opening today they gave away free burritos. Man, that was a long line! According to their website, they have many varieties of sauces. I am interested to know if anyone has tried their turkey chili as well. Link: http://www.californiatortilla.com/about_us.htm Thu Jan 13 16:54:02 -0800 2005 0 Liz 1 929646 I have been to the one in Fair Lakes/Fair Oaks and have not been impressed at all. Have not had the turkey chili. Thu Jan 13 17:27:11 -0800 2005 929641 0 Lowbar 1 929662 I would love to support a locally owned 'mini-franchise', but really think their burritos are pretty mediocre. Have never tried the turkey chili. Thu Jan 13 20:03:55 -0800 2005 929641 0 Smokey 1 929677 This is a shame - I lived in Bethesda in 1999, pretty much in the early days of Cali-T and it was always supurb. Pam (the owner) was in the place most days and ran a VERY well organized place. Food was fresh and tasty. Maybe has they've expanded, quality control has been lacking? Seeking a bit of nostalgia, I went back last year and was really underwhelmed. Fri Jan 14 07:59:15 -0800 2005 929641 0 Marty W. 2 929693 And it seems that the guys are heading in that general direction. Seems that most of the new ones are missing the mark on either the burger and/or the fries. Fri Jan 14 09:51:49 -0800 2005 929677 0 Dennis S 2 929705 I still stop by CT on occasion since you get freebies almost every month from the email list, but I don't order their burritos anymore. 85% of them are chicken ones and they stuff them with too much rice & not enough of the other stuff (meat, salsa, cheese, tomato, lettuce - iceburg anyway). Their tortilla soup is quite good (for once, it's NOT a chicken veggie soup with tortilla strips in it) and I prefer their steak soft tacos (skip the blackened chicken ones - nice sauce but the chicken chunks are too dried out). But I prefer Baja Fresh taco choices (steak, fish) over CT's, and I patronize BF over Chipotle anyway... Fri Jan 14 10:36:44 -0800 2005 929677 0 Looloo 1 929686 I seem to be in the minority -- and I've only been to their Rockville location -- but I think California Tortilla is excellent. The staff is very friendly and helpful, too. They put rice in their burritos, so I usually get one of the quesadillas to keep the carbs down a little. I like to try a different hot sauce each time from their "Wall of Flame," which is kinda fun. In all, I give C-T a big, sauce-laden thumbs up. Leo Fri Jan 14 08:56:44 -0800 2005 929641 0 Leo Scanlon 1 929687 I've been to the new location in Arlington (Courthouse) a number of times and find it good but not sure if I would say it's better than Baja Fresh or Chipotle. I love the wall of flame though because I'm a bit of a chili head. Also I like how they play 80's music all the time. Fri Jan 14 09:26:56 -0800 2005 929641 0 OceanPt 1 929707 Simply awful in my opinion. I have been to the Fair Oaks one (twice) and the one in Bethesda (a few years ago). The meat is overcooked and poorly seasoned. The beans are gummy and flavorless and the rice is no better than Rice-a-Roni. The burrtios are layered in strata so that you begin by eating through the rice epoch, then move into the sour cream epoch, etc... I really want to like this place but it just is not happening. Baja Fresh, even with all of its flaws, is better. If you closed your eyes while eating a CA Tortilla burrito you could swear you were eating one of those lame Burrito Brothers burritos. Fri Jan 14 10:43:07 -0800 2005 929641 0 Jeff C 1 929730 I love it. Local with a fresh outlook. If you crave over salted meats from a big chain, try Chipotle. Fri Jan 14 13:17:21 -0800 2005 929641 0 Tugboat 2 929732 Tugboat, have you ever tried their turkey chili? Or the black bean soup? Fri Jan 14 13:47:43 -0800 2005 929730 0 Liz 1 929738 Ick. Gloopy and bland. And significantly worse than the obvious alternatives (Chipotle, Baja Fresh, Burrito Brothers). We tried a couple of different kinds of burritos and soup at the Cleveland Park location, but not the turkey chili. Fri Jan 14 14:14:17 -0800 2005 929641 0 Sue 1 929822 I think CT is pretty good. I've tried 4-5 different types of burritos and 2-3 tacos in the past few months at the Cleveland Park location and only have a few complaints. The chicken burritos and tacos are good, but the beef taco was not. Maybe the steak is better, haven't tried it yet. The only other complaint is I second the way they make the burrito the sauce and salad/salsa is sometimes in layers and not evenly distributed. The Wall of Flame is just fun and so are the freebies and nice attitudes of the staff. Haven't had the Turkey Chili yet, but there is a free give away of it on Jan 19th at all locations. So check it out then. Sun Jan 16 11:08:43 -0800 2005 929641 0 KeithA 1 929833 "Gloopy and bland" (below) is exactly right. The tortillas, even for the store-bought type, taste artificial and feel pasty. The beans are surprisingly flavorless. The rice has a tomato background that reminds me of 'Mexican rice' at a school cafeteria -- tastes like an off-the-shelf mix or something. They also have a problem with spooning too much water with the salsa into the burrito so the tortilla gets soggy. This is pretty basic stuff, folks. Chipotle is much better. It's unfortunate because Cleveland Park has such a huge potential market for these kinds of "cheap eats" among the students and yuppies. Sun Jan 16 14:05:45 -0800 2005 929641 0 Reece 1 929982 In Rockville, Ah Caramba has a MUCH better burrito. Steve R Wed Jan 19 00:35:54 -0800 2005 929641 0 Steve R 1 933330 I once was at the College Park resturant, and placed a carry out order for the turkey chili, BUT, was given the chicken tortilla soup instead. All in all- so-so tasting. It'll be awhile before I go there again...btw- they should leave the tortilla strips to the side of carryout orders for this soup- by the time we got to our destination- the chips were soggy and tasteless. So I tried the newest store in Bowie, and they have some *old* hootchie momma working the register. As a mom to pre-teen boys- I was VERY offended when she turned around -and then bent over, and gave everyone in clear view a shot of her BUTT Floss underware! She wasn't in the 16-24 age bracket- more like 40+. Maybe I should have taken the boys to Victoria's Secret for lunch instead. rrgh!!! Wed Mar 09 06:40:02 -0800 2005 929641 0 abby