Qdoba-style Food from a Different Vendor

On the afternoon of our fourth day in Dublin my wife left me to my own devices while she went off horseback riding. This was by design; I’d had the option to go along with for the trip out to Bray, but the area didn’t really have a lot for me to do while she went riding (something I do not do), so I took the opportunity to hang back, let her have fun doing her own thing, while I bummed around the town for a bit. It was relaxing and a nice quiet afternoon, so I had no complaints.

The hardest part of the day, actually, was finding something I wanted for food. I wasn’t in the mood to go to a fast food restaurant that I already knew (so the McDonald’s and Burger King nearby were right out… although we will get back to them later), but I also wasn’t looking to grab a meal at a sit down place, especially since I figured my wife would want to sample whatever fancy place I found for food. I was looking for a very specific type of meal stop, and I spent about forty minutes walking up and down streets in the downtown area trying to find something that properly suited my needs.

What I ended up stumbling upon was Pablo Picante’s, a burrito place that could most easily be likened to a Qdoba or Chipotle. You can pick from a selection of burrito, quesadilla, and paleo box options, with a variety of flavors for each (with different stores featuring different specific specialties). The location I went to (of the three in existence) was the Dawson St. restaurant, a little hole-in-the-wall establishment with no more than two stools at a bar, and a tiny kitchen, to serve the steady walk-in clientele that constantly packed the place.

For my lunch I chose the San Francisco Chicken Burrito, which came loaded with a mix of shredded chicken, beans, and cheese. I also chose their hotter salsa for the burrito, assuming they would spice it “Irish hot” and not actually hot, and then took my foil wrapped burrito with me back to the hotel room so I could eat in peace (since there was no room to eat at the restaurant) and relax.

The burrito was decent, but not exceptional. The various ingredients inside were good enough, with the beans and cheese being about what you expect in a burrito. The chicken was fine, well seasoned but a little dry, and it all combined decently well in the burrito. That is, when I got all the ingredients together. I ate from one end to the other and it’s pretty clear that the burrito was unevenly filled as one end had a lot of beans, cheese, and chicken, while the other end was mostly just the dry chicken. I ate a little over half the burrito before I got full, and that was the half that had all the good stuff. I think if I’d actually had to eat the rest of the burrito, the dry, less well-mixed side would have left me a little sad.

Honestly, what the burrito needed was some veggies. There wasn’t really a selection of toppings to choose from at the restaurant; if there had been I would have asked for some lettuce, tomato, and sour cream to pick it up. That would have added some much needed moisture to the mix, and the tomato would have given it all a nice, acidic pop. As it was, the salsa had to do much heavier lifting than it had to just to make the burrito more palatable.

The salsa, Pablo’s Super Picante, was nice and spicy. It’s their picante, tomato pico-de-gallo and habaneros, but kicked up with even more spice. The exact “super” isn’t listed, so I have to assume more habaneros. It was pretty good, and very spicy. Much spicier than I was expecting for a shop in Dublin. It was all around a decently flavorful salsa that helped to make the burrito much tastier… it just could only do so much when the burrito itself was so basic.

I think if I were to try one of Pablo Picante’s locations again I’d likely order differently. I’d go for a bunch of add-ons (which cost more, but include guacamole and sour cream), and I’d probably pick a different burrito now that I know their chicken can be pretty dry. Their El Classico, with sirloin steak, or the Beefy Barbacoa, with shredded beef, might have been better options (especially since Ireland is very proud of its home-grown beef). All of that, plus a slightly milder salsa (seriously, the standard picante was probably spicy enough for a well seasoned meal) could have made for a better, more rounded burrito experience.

As it stands, this was not the best burrito I’ve had, not even close. That’s strange because Pablo Picante’s is listed as “the best burrito in Dublin”. They have awards for it. I didn’t try other Mexican places in the city so I don’t know how it compares to those other locations, but I have to think I got a bad burrito from Pablo Picante’s. The alternative is that all Mexican food in Dublin is bad, and I would really hope that’s not the case.

There was just enough here to make me curious about a future visit to Pablo Picante’s (if I were ever in Dublin again, or if they somehow expanded outside the Emerald Isle). It wasn’t so bad that I’d never go back, it just wasn’t good enough that I can’t see getting this specific San Francisco Chicken Burrito again.