Nouveau burrito

I don’t make it over to the west side of Reno very often, but after eating at Buenos Grill, that’s going to have to change.

My never-ending quest to find a great burrito took me there recently. The draw: a spiced tofu burrito. Now I realize for many, spicy tofu doesn’t sound thrilling. But for those meat-eaters out there, I urge you to give it a try.

What I really like about this burrito is its simplicity. The food is good enough to let the flavors stand on their own. There isn’t any limp iceberg lettuce taking up space or half-ripe tomatoes bringing the flavor down.

If you really can’t fathom eating tofu, especially in a burrito or taco, Buenos has plenty of fish, shrimp, chicken and beef items to accommodate you. All of their burritos come with beans (either pinto or black, both vegetarian) and rice. What comes next is a Cal-Mex mixture that isn’t to be missed.

Each burrito has a specialty item in it, like the spiced tofu with red pepper in a citrus honey butter, or in the Buenos burrito, charbroiled fish with a mango salsa and the citrus honey butter.

My fiancee, Adrienne, went with an old standby: the chicken burrito. The chicken was spiced and charbroiled with a pico de gallo salsa. She said it was good, but since fish is Buenos’ specialty, she said she would be more daring next time and try a fish burrito.

Guacamole, sour cream and cheese are also available for those who want something more than rice, beans and meat or tofu. I added the fresh guacamole to my burrito with good results.

What I really liked is that the food isn’t too spicy when it arrives. Generally I like a good amount of heat in my burritos. I have no problem piling on jalapenos or chipotle sauce. But when I’m not in the mood for a two-hour slow burn in my mouth, I like the option of cooling things down a bit.

That’s what Buenos’ salsa bar is for. The food comes with enough spice to be flavorful, but if you want to perk it up a bit, throw on one of their five fresh salsas (this isn’t Pace picante sauce) poured out into a nice-looking bowl. All the subtle flavors lost in so many other restaurant salsas come alive here.

Like any good Mexican restaurant, Buenos offers a variety of beers, margaritas, wines and sangria. But since it was the middle of the day and I had work to do, I ordered horchata, a traditional cinnamon-flavored rice drink.

If you really like your food glowing hot, Buenos Grill may not come through. But if you are looking for plenty of flavor, this is the place.