Critic's Review
I'm not doing sit down restaurants until we hit phase 2; I hadn't been to this location since 2013.
The wait here was always too long for a walk-in order, so I ordered online for no extra charge. Just a Chimichanga. I haven't had one in 20 years, probably, maybe more. Basically a deep fried Burrito; or at least usually that's what it is.
The experience is fantastic. You have to wear a mask to pick up take-out in a completely empty restaurant; and they have an area on the left side of the room where they put down your food. You're not getting within 15 feel of a person, yet everyone has to wear masks. Completely ridiculous.
Not noticing the pick up area, I approached the counter; a girl pointed over to the table, as if I should have known that nobody would be handing me a bag. In and out in less than a minute.
A chain that still used unbranded white bags like some start-up Mom and Pop.
Inside was a flimsy styrofoam container with the stuff.
Looked like a small burrito to me. When they say lightly fried they really mean it. The white frosting isn't really sour cream. Salsa right in the box; no container. The chips were stale anyway, so I wouldn't be eating the salsa. I asked for the Jalapenos on the side; and it's a good thing I did.
I didn't have much confidence in this. Hopefully it was loaded with cheese.
I made a cut so I could see a cross-section. To my dismay, there was a tiny pocket of "blackened' chicken and a smear of refried beans and no detectable cheese. This thing was a disaster.
Adding insult to injury, there was lettuce underneath the Chimichanga that was completely waterlogged. Such a nice garnish.
I wasn't going to be able to eat this. A chimichanga is fried, and I wanted cheese. The cheese is supposed to be inside, but that wasn't really an option. I did the best I could.
I could have gotten one of these frozen burritos in the supermarket for $1.25 and fried it and it would have been better than this.
Conclusion
It appears that Tijuana Flats has devolved into a fast food restaurant on the order of Taco Bell; at least the chips are edible at Taco Bell. What I got today was a sad excuse for a Chimichanga. You can tell by the ingredients that they're bean counting at the expense of the product; there was just nothing about this food that would cause me to ever come back.
Review 9/12/13
The first time I went into Tijuana Flats, the only 3 other "Fresh" Mexican places were La Salsa Fresh Mexican (now Hot Tomatos), Zona Fresca and Baja Fresh (now closed). I'm not a fan of any of those places, so I was pretty impressed with Tijuana Flats. Since then, many more have opened, included 3 Chipotles; so my perspective has changed quite a bit.
Upon entering, the place has a musty smell to it, but I wasn't dining in. I've become a fan of the Burrito bowl, as the tortilla doesn't do anything for me. It's one of the things that has lauched Chipotle into being one of the fastest growing chains in the country. Tijuana Flats has their answer to the bowl called a Norito ("No Burrito"). I ordered that with blackened chicken fully loaded.
TF is known for their hand painted interiors; they're pretty interesting.
They have the ubiquitous salsa bar in the back, but I don't like it. You can't see the salsas; they have them in closed dispensers, and they don't have any regular salsas. I don't want salsas with molasses. And I want to see it.
They play good music; I went to the bathroom and it's well, not so nice. My order was ready when I was finished.
It's nice that they give you Guacamole; if you figure that it's slightly cheaper than Chipotle. But it's a sad-looking bowl; not enough good stuff. I assumed that "everything" meant with sour creme and cheese. I decided it was necessary.
Now that's better. I expected to only eat half of this, but there wasn't really much there. It's a shallow "bowl", mostly rice. They have "salsa rice". Nothing really pops about the bowl. It's just a bowl of stuff.
As far as bowls goes, this place doesn't measure up to Chipotle, where you can get exactly what you want and see exactly what they're putting in the bowl. This is a nicer restaurant if you're eating in and they have more variety. But for a bowl, I'm going to Chipotle.
Review 3/1/2011
Tijuana Flats, officially the Tijana Flats Burrito Company, is a fun little place with good Mexican food located in a strip mall near Publix on Sunrise. The decor is colorful and fun; it reminds me of some of the places in Cancun of days gone by. The smallish chairs and lighting that resembles big Christmas lights wired throughout the place give it a unique ambiance. They have good music playing and a hot sauce buffet in the back where you can sample some very unique sauces.
The menu is a bit complicated but you get a lot of food for a low price. 2 Tacos with the meat of your choice, loaded with chips is $5. To me, this is Mexican food. I'm not a fan of so-called "Fresh Mexican", not because I don't want fresh food, but because leaving out the cheese and refried beans and sour cream is leaving out the best elements of the food. Here I got a chicken and black bean soft taco, loaded. The tacos are stuffed with chicken, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, black olives and jalepenos, topped with cheese and sour cream. Absolutely delicious. They use fresh jalapenos so if that's not your thing leave them out. The corresponding beef version has shredded beef that blends right in. This is like Taco Bell with fresh ingredients, only bigger, for about the same money.
On another visit I got the "Tijuana" size burrito with chicken and black beans, loaded with jalapenos on the side with chipotle sauce.
This size is perfect for 2 lunches. It's really big; too big for a lunch I think. And they do a nice job of making this boy.
Now maybe I'm wrong, but usually when someone asks for something on the side that means don't put it on the food; here they did both.
I like this place. They're opening another location on E 17th next to Vito's Pizza.