Woohoo, free Birthday Burrito (with a purchase of a large drink that comes in a reusable cup)! Even more fabulous, I was able to have my Birthday Burrito for lunch the next day, especially, since my birthday also happens to be during the same week as DineLA (more dinner birthdays), yasss!!!
During my last shopping trip to Ralphs, I remembered that there was a Baja Fresh location there, and so I decided to go there instead of my usual location in Monrovia. Also, since it was heavily raining and coming home from work in DTLA, I didn't want to drive too far either.
Parking: They share the huge, free parking lot with Ralphs and other surrounding stores.
Once I got inside, I scanned their wall menu for which type of burrito style I wanted while another customer was ordering her food. For my Birthday Burrito, I went with Pork Carnitas - Baja style ($7.99 Value). Originally, I picked steak for my protein, but sadly, steak is not included in the birthday deal, bummer! Nonetheless, my Birthday Burrito was still pretty good, especially, the next day when I ate it for lunch at work. Along with the free Birthday Burrito, I also had to purchase a ($3.16 grand total) large drink, which comes in a reusable cup, noice! (My Mom reminded me not to toss the cup away since she wanted it afterwards, hehe!).
The pork carnitas itself was tender, savory and a generous portion inside too! Every bite of my burrito was dripping with the pork carnitas' au juices and so I ended up eating the burrito with a fork and knife. I would have considered toasting the burrito instead of microwaving it, however, one of my coworkers burnt their food (causing a smoky, fire hazard sensation within our floor) and so our oven toaster privileges got taken away, lol! As for the Baja style, it consisted of melted Jack cheese with fresh guacamole and mild pico de gallo wrapped in a grilled flour tortilla, which tasted fresh, healthy and delicious! My Birthday Burrito also came with a small bag of chips that I ate last night. The chips were fresh and crispy.
Service: Santiago was the cashier, who handled my order and transaction. He was nice in the beginning but got a little annoyed when I made the mistake picking steak. I didn't notice that tiny arse, little print about steak not being included, sheesh! However, he did lighten up after my burrito was ready for pickup, thanked me for coming and said to me nicely "Have a nice day."
Ambience and Décor: The restaurant is pretty large and spacious. You can either sit in the front or in the back. The soda fountain and salsa stations were clean and well-maintained. They did have some roofing leaks around the restaurant but made sure to put up yellow signs around the areas to prevent customers from getting hurt.
Overall, my quick trip here was pretty decent and I wouldn't mind coming back again. I got to enjoy my Birthday Burrito, plus a large drink and chips, yum! read more