Grub Scout: Market Square's Blue Coast Burrito builds on fresh flavors

This new Market Square eatery has the distinction of being the 400th restaurant I’ve had the privilege of reviewing over the course of eight years. That’s a lot of toothpicks and breath mints. Unfortunately, The Grub Spouse was not able to accompany, but I coerced The Grub Sprout into tagging along to mark the milestone.

I have to admit that the Blue Coast Burrito concept didn’t initially compel me to visit, seeing as how, on the surface, it seems (and is) similar to other familiar brands already established in the Knoxville market (Moe’s, Salsarita’s, Z-Mex, Chipotle Grill, the former Tijuana Taco, etc.). But The Sprout and I both had a hankerin’ for some Mexican food, and since Blue Coast is new to Knoxville, I figured I could justify a look-see.

The restaurant, which sits on the northwest corner of Market Square, is festively colored in a vibrant palette in an effort to capture the essence of the Blue Coast Beach area near Cabo San Lucas. The long, narrow space benefits from lots of natural light, thanks to the long bank of windows that makes up the north-facing wall. On entering, customers are directed toward either (or both) of two queues that run alongside the food-assembly stations. Most of the seating is under the north windows or in the rear section of the restaurant.

The cuisine’s emphasis is build-your-own burritos, salads, tacos, quesadillas and more. Once you decide which suits your fancy, you pick a main ingredient — grilled chicken, LaTinga chicken, steak, Baja fish or carnitas (pork) — and then any of a dozen fresh toppings like lettuce, pico de gallo, onions, sour cream, guacamole and jalapenos, to name several.

Burritos are available on 10- or 12-inch tortillas, the latter of which come in flour, wheat, spinach and chipotle varieties. The 10-inchers are flour only. Since I almost always get burritos at these kinds of places, I decided to be a rebel and try a Cabo Bowl, which features your choice of ingredients served sans tortilla.

I stuck with the default pork topping, and had that put on a foundation of rice and black beans (pinto beans are also an option). I chose the redundant-sounding queso cheese as well as onions, sour cream and guacamole as my toppings. The Sprout, meanwhile, got an order of two Baja-style fish tacos from the Specialties section, which also features a fish burrito, quesadillas and nachos.

My bowl was assembled as I went along the line, but we had to sit and wait several more minutes for the fish tacos to be prepared and delivered to our table. We were also asked if we wanted to add an order of chips, which we agreed to, but then I was a little perturbed to learn that chips also come with The Sprout’s fish tacos. At any rate, I was more than willing to nosh on the extra chips while we waited for the tacos. In the back, there’s a salsa bar featuring four varieties, most of which we sampled and enjoyed.

I was very pleased with the Cabo Bowl, finding it a nice alternative to tortilla-wrapped products. The pork was definitive in its flavor, and the other ingredients made for a nice mix of textures, flavors and even temperatures. The tacos likewise represented an enjoyable dovetailing of flavors and textures.

For the record, there’s a margarita loft upstairs, which currently serves wine and beer, with a full liquor license pending. So if you’re looking for spirits with your spices — arriba, arriba!

© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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