Super fry burrito - The common person’s comfort food

First Words-ADM Staff

When pondering over the opening of the Food and Dining Desk at Ain’t Dead Monthly, we toiled very little over which plate of food at which restaurant deserved the opening words. To us, the answer was obvious. What plate of food most delicately and honestly represents the spirit of Grand Junction than the Super Fries at Los Jilbertos?

You can find Los Jilbertos at 2812 North Ave, Grand Junction, but we find it at night behind the Wells Fargo building with the glowing yellow sign. 

Nighttime. The only time we go for Los Js are the nights work or play goes long enough where all other options are exhausted. The 24-hour establishment offers itself at any point in the day or night, making it the most consistent and willing restaurant in Grand Junction. No other restaurant is as committed to serving you food as Los J’s.

When we’ve been bested by the day and our circumstances are dog poor. When we just need something. Je ne sais quoi. Los J’s and the super fries are there, thus making it the best comfort food in Grand Junction. 

This dish represents Grand Junction, a city so dead set on growing out of its old boots and into a new era of identity. So desperately does the city urge to run away from its past, but those that have seen the city before the outdoor recreation boom know where the fun used to be had. 

All are welcome at Los J’s. And this is a quality much of Grand Junction lacks.

Like a friend that has come into town after a few years away, the city has changed. The passage of time has changed Grand Junction’s core identity. But underneath all the new coats of paint, we remember the late and sloppy nights out, eating Los J’s Super Fries because that was all that was open. 

And hopefully, it remembers too. 

It doesn’t get our first words because of the heights it’ll take you, but for the depths it follows. 

The Review

While there is a wide variety of fast-food restaurants that serve Grand Junction, Colorado, none represent or care for its community more than Los J’s. Offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner at any time of the day means that many walks of life find themselves at Los J’s. Every morning, a line forms at Los J’s as the early bird construction workers pick up a breakfast burrito before a long day of work. Throughout the day, a steady crowd pours through the drive through and into the restaurant. Then, hours after most restaurants have closed, a spike in sales. A gathering of the out-all-nighters swarm to the drive through by the dozens.  

Even with how busy Los J’s can be, the wait is never long. A seasoned staff cranks out countless orders every hour. You. In line. Waiting to speak your order to the cashier. What could you possibly order? The large menu painted onto the wall leaves one with a lot of options. To truly experience Los J’s you must get the Super Fry Burrito, pound-for-pound the best burrito they offer. It’s definitely a hot take to say this burrito is the best burrito in Grand Junction. But on this menu, it rains supreme as the number one option. Now the real OG's might consider it disrespectful to not order the old go-to meal of Los J’s “half order of super fries,” but I come to inform those not yet eating this burrito that you are simply wasting your time ordering the super fries any other way. I mean that literally, too. Los J's never holds back in serving sizes, ensuring that each order of Super Fries is filled to the brim of the container. 

Unless you are a true barbarian, you mix your super fries to make sure you get a little of everything in each bite. But it not only takes a lot of time to mix an absurd amount of fries, guac, sour cream, and cheese. It also requires a lot of labor. I ‌have broken not only a sweat, but plenty of forks and spoons trying to reach that perfect mixture of food. In the time it takes to mix your super fries, you would have finished your Super fry burrito. 

Time is money and money is time, so I offer a simpler solution: the same meal you just ordered, but wrapped in a tortilla.

For proper consumption, you will need a minimum of three green salsas from the salsa bar. I would avoid the red salsa for this burrito and stick strictly to the green salsa. They do offer other options at the salsa bar, but comparatively they simply don't measure up. After years of testing, you can ensure this to be true. To ensure you don’t end up with a mouth full of sour cream or cheese, it's best to unravel the burrito and apply one container of green salsa throughout its contents. This requires the dexterity to re-wrap the burrito, however. If you struggle with that, I recommend watching a YouTube video beforehand. The other salsa? Save it for later consumption. You’re welcome for the pro-tip.

This burrito is thiccck. Editor’s note: Ain’t Dead Monthly recognizes this misspelling, but considers it appropriate for the truly robust nature of the burrito. A burrito of this size deserves a drink to go with it.

With the sheer girth this burrito boasts, it needs a drink to help it travel down the gullet. That drink, of course, is the large horchata. Every burger has its beer, and every burrito deserves an horchata. Don’t think of this drink as adding a unique flavor to your burrito. Use this drink much like you would a beer for a burger. Let the drink rinse your pallet in between bites. As the food Is rinsed away, take a moment to appreciate how smooth the drink is. Notice the cinnamon and sugar aren’t really competing for your attention. More so intertwined together to bring a perfectly balanced drink. The burrito has a lot going on between all of its different ingredients. Horchata, on the other hand, is so simple it's beautiful. The contrast is beautiful.

Let’s talk about actually eating this behemoth. Right before a big Thanksgiving dinner, my dad always said to me, “before every bite, your eyes roll back like a shark before it attacks its prey.” There’s something about the moment right before I take a bite of this burrito. This animalistic nature takes over and if my jaw could unhinge for this first bite It would. Don't worry about savoring this bite, either. Scarf it down and prepare because. All this buildup is merely a setup for the actual best bite of this burrito, bite number two. That aforementioned sauce comes in clutch for this very moment. It's proper that you pour sauce gently over the first bite mark of the burrito. Give it just a moment, allowing the sauce to properly settle within the meat. The second bite is not only better because of the sauce you just poured over it. But with that first bite you break that elbow of the burrito where all the tortilla is bunched up. You want sauce for each bite of the burrito. It’s a must. If you manage your sauce correctly, you should have enough sauce for every bite of the burrito. 

If you finish the burrito, it’s best to let the food settle. Sit down and enjoy the last of that horchata, while experiencing the unique people watching experience that Los J’s offers. 

I’m not here to tell you that this is the best restaurant in Grand Junction. But for the price-to-yum-ratio, and the amount of food you get, there's no better deal in the city.

Purely based on the quality of food and how the food tastes, I give Los J’s a three. But let’s consider that Los J’s isn’t trying to make the best burrito ever, but to make food that welcomes all walks of life through its doors. No matter the hour of the day. Not a soul turned away. For being such a pillar of the community, for showing us that old Grand Junction Ain’t Dead, Los J’s deserves that extra point five.  

3.5/5

Triston Elizardo is a newly married man living in Grand Junction, CO. Member of your local GJ Recycling Club trivia team. Avid gamer and aspiring streamer. Don’t yuck his yums.