Boloco

[bostonartist.livejournal.com]

OK.. I know Boloco had a line out the door for the "free burrito" afternoon but has anyone been there since? With all the other food options right in the square and their very limited offerings I can't understand what they where thinking with that huge location? I have eaten there twice, I wanted to like it...... but the food / place is bland. Any Thoughts?

Comments

[aquastar.livejournal.com]

I eat at Boloco because its the easiest thing to get near me at work (Longwood Medical Area) ... but I agree. There are much better burrito places, though I do enjoy their smoothies.

[aki.livejournal.com]

Dude, Pat's Place, all the way. =)

[matthew miller (from livejournal.com)]

They're really amenable to feedback (although whether they *act* on it is a different story -- the menu has been pretty much the same for years).

They seem to be pretty popular at mealtimes, and pretty empty otherwise, which is a good deal what with the free wireless and comfy chairs.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Ooh, free wireless, really? Hmmm. Boloco just went from "eh" to "not so bad." Thanks!

[matthew miller (from livejournal.com)]

Yeah, but don't take my spot. :)

[greenbeats.livejournal.com]

I haven't been back since the free burrito day.

Of course, I'd eaten at the Newbury Street location a few times before the one in Davis opened and already knew I wasn't that excited about it. But hey, free lunch!

You're right though, they're very, very bland.

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

I came back for the dollar burritos I got with my coupons from the free burrito day. But at full price, they're not up to the Anna's standard.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I quite like them, actually. The place is definitely not well decorated and feels kind of bland, but the food is not and I've been surprised by the variety of flavors. For a real burrito, I'd still go to Anna's, but for a non-burrito-wrap, Boloco kicks Blue Shirt's butt.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

I went to the Harvard Square one the other day and although they aren't "really" burritos in my opinion, it was decent. (my friends and I called them "yuppie burritos" aka...wraps!) I mean, the food's not amazingly fantastic or anything, but for $5 you get a decent wrap. I'm planning to go back and try the breakfast burritos sometime too.

[dani-namaste.livejournal.com]

I quite like the breakfast wraps, actually - it's a cheap breakfast, not too huge, and much better than your typical egg and cheese from Dunkin Donuts.

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of addicted to the Bangkok wrap with tofu and brown rice, I gotta say. And they make my food fast and it's cheaper than some of my other lunch options.

[dani-namaste.livejournal.com]

I agree. I also love the free WiFi, and the service is incredibly helpful from what I've seen.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

I haven't been to this location, but in other parts of the city, they're cheap, convenient, fast, relatively healthy (brown rice on request, really good tofu, etc), and do a couple pretty tasty things (the aforementioned Bangkok! and the teriyaki whatever. but not the burritos proper - I'll go to Anna's for those). And the free wi-fi steps it up a notch. I always found the Carberry's location sterile no matter what was there, though, so can't say I'll hang out there.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

If nothing else, they are very big on the freebies. Get one of their frequent guest cards and register it online -- they'll give you $5 to spend. When they opened the new locations (Tufts and Davis), they put another free burrito on the card (and emailed to let me know). They have free burritos on Weds. at the Tufts locations for next 2 weeks.

And I think I saw they will give you a free burrito if you bring in an O'Naturals card.

You also get a birthday burrito (and you don't have to come in on your birthday for it).

They had a decent St. Patrick's day promo (but not as good as Chipotle in Medford).

We are now entering the burrito wars.

Burrito Wars

[aquastar.livejournal.com]

SERIOUSLY!!

[jwinter.livejournal.com]

I recognize that this is heresy, but their food is much better than Anna's. Anna's Taqueria kind of sucks. I'll take Boca Grande in Brookline over all of them any day of the week.

Also, after 7pm, Bolocos's got 2 burritos for $7. It's hard to beat that price for dinner.

[dani-namaste.livejournal.com]

I actually agree on not liking Ana's at all. If I want a "real burrito," I go to one of the smaller, independent family-run places in Union Square. The food is fresher, and more authentic - not to mention I never have the problems with finding a seat or feeling like I'm being pushed through an assembly line that I do at Ana's.

I like Boloco better, too

[shana-lyons.livejournal.com]

I'm crazy about the Teryaki Burrito. It's delicious and totally different than Anna's. As much as I like Anna's, I tend to feel a little queasy sometimes after over indulging in a Carnitas Burrito. Boloco, not so much.

[joyfulkel.livejournal.com]

i go to the one on newbury sometimes (although i have a really hard time resisting gourmet india in the prudential center). sometimes i will go to the one in harvard sq.

i'd rather go to the blueshirt cafe in davis. its all part of my higherarchy of supporting local businesses. I will drink at dunkies before starbucks. but diesel or the coffee shop on broadway at the end of victoria before dunkies because its good and i feel like they need the support more.

[dani-namaste.livejournal.com]

Boloco is actually a local business - the original one and their headquarters is right on Mass Ave near Berklee.

I do appreciate Blue Shirt at times too, although I've found a couple of their waitstaff to be a bit surlier than I like. I prefer their sandwiches to their wraps.

[ariwriter.livejournal.com]

I ate at the Mass Ave one you mention last week. My first time there; nothing spectacular. Perhaps I should try the smoothies.

[joyfulkel.livejournal.com]

i know its local, but since it's a chain i feel like they need my business a little less than blueshirt does.

[dani-namaste.livejournal.com]

I guess I can see that perspective, but I don't necessarily agree with it. For me, I do actually like the food, and after a few conversations with the founder, I can see that they're doing some pretty great things in terms of treating their employees and their customers well, as well as doing their best to be environmentally conscious (for example, they're trying to phase out plastic plates in favor of recycled paper ones).

When it comes down to it, I tend to like both for their unique offerings, but I don't view them as the same thing at all. Which one I go to depends more on what I'm in the mood for, and what I like about each.

LJ Davis is cool, but in-person might be better...

[bolopep.livejournal.com]

Couldn’t help but notice the Boloco chatter… after all, I do spend most waking (and sleeping) moments thinking about the kinds of things you guys are debating.

Rather than go into lots of details on this post, I just wanted to make sure you all knew that we are listening, we do take your feedback really seriously and to heart, and we’ll continue doing our best to make Boloco something that really clicks for the Davis community. No one told us it would be easy, and we’ve always believed in earning loyalty… this will be no different.

I’ll be at the Davis Square Boloco next Monday (apr 9) from 4:30-6:30pm, and would love to meet with any of you who want to dig further into some of the comments/concerns/kudos/issues/comparisons to Anna's/Chipotle/Qdoba/bland food/spicy food/the weather/whatever it is. We are a very local company… nobody is telling us what to do except for you guys and, well, a handful or two (or more) of other customers as well :)

If any of you show up, I’d be happy to treat you to a burrito (yes, another free burrito!). I’ll be sitting over in the kids area with a book (in case no one shows up I'll want to look busy!) and open ears.

John

---------------------------------
John Pepper (co-founder and CEO)
pepper@boloco.com