After I left the place I go everyday, I can't call it work for a couple of reasons, but that's a column for another day, I had to stop by the bank. As I got closer to the bank I realized what was going to be directly across the street. LaBamba's! Burritos As Big As Your Head! Open until after the bars close. The greatest late night burrito place ever.
This was THE place to go at Purdue after Harry's closed. The line was always out the door, it was always a party. Much better than Garcia's pizza, and a thousand times better than Taco Bell. It's the place where I saw Brad Brown eat 3 super steaks. Yes, 3 Super Steaks! The painting on the wall of the basketball game that was 6 Boilermakers versus 4 Hoosiers.
And once we ventured out of the greater West Lafayette area we found out that there was a LaBamba's at just about every other Big Ten School. Bloomington? LaBamba's. High Street? LaBamba's. U of I? Bamba's. Broad Ripple? Bamba's. And after I moved to Chicago 6 years ago, I had the joy of finding a Bamba's just blocks from my house for every late-night craving.
I've seen guys dive over couches and fight for the Bamba's leftovers. I've had a bag of Bamba's ripped out of my hands only to be mistakenly dropped in the middle of a street. Both of these happened after the guilty party decided, "...I don't want a burrito, they're not good for you..." But both were unable to fight the craving for the sweet nectar that is a LaBamba's burrito. I once had a cab wait for me while I got a Bamba's on my way home one late night. Probably not one of my better decisions, to pay for a cab to wait for me while I got a 2am burrito, but if I remember correctly, he was gone when I went back out.
So, after I moved from Lincoln Park to Lakeview, it wasn't as convienent to stop at LaBamba's after a night of drinking, especially with the Tony's Burrito-Mex just up the street. A pretty good substitute, not great, especially the night I found a twist-tie in my burrito and the night I lost my wallet in a cab when I was getting out. But other than that, it's very convienent and generally pretty good.
Anyhow, back to yesterday. As I walked into Bamba's I thought to myself, "...where's the menu? I don't know what I want??? What do I get here????" Seconds after that thought went through my head, the guy behind the counter asks what I would like and I follow, without the least bit of hesitation, "...regular, steak, everything, extra sour cream, for here..." It just fell right into place. I didn't miss a step. It was like getting hot hitting 3's at the co-rec to win 15-13 after being down 13-7. It was like standing at the end of the craps table and perfectly throwing your C and E chips to the stickman and all 3 chips come to rest perfectly in his hand. It was amazing. No need to look at the menu, nothing.
Funny how things seem to work out when you least expect them to. I guess I should follow my own advice?? The burrito was excellent. I went for the regular because it has been a while and I've not put back a Super. As I sat at the booth I was wishing I had got the Super. It was very good. Just as I always remembered. Oh the memories!
Check out their website. Awesome!!!
This was THE place to go at Purdue after Harry's closed. The line was always out the door, it was always a party. Much better than Garcia's pizza, and a thousand times better than Taco Bell. It's the place where I saw Brad Brown eat 3 super steaks. Yes, 3 Super Steaks! The painting on the wall of the basketball game that was 6 Boilermakers versus 4 Hoosiers.
And once we ventured out of the greater West Lafayette area we found out that there was a LaBamba's at just about every other Big Ten School. Bloomington? LaBamba's. High Street? LaBamba's. U of I? Bamba's. Broad Ripple? Bamba's. And after I moved to Chicago 6 years ago, I had the joy of finding a Bamba's just blocks from my house for every late-night craving.
I've seen guys dive over couches and fight for the Bamba's leftovers. I've had a bag of Bamba's ripped out of my hands only to be mistakenly dropped in the middle of a street. Both of these happened after the guilty party decided, "...I don't want a burrito, they're not good for you..." But both were unable to fight the craving for the sweet nectar that is a LaBamba's burrito. I once had a cab wait for me while I got a Bamba's on my way home one late night. Probably not one of my better decisions, to pay for a cab to wait for me while I got a 2am burrito, but if I remember correctly, he was gone when I went back out.
So, after I moved from Lincoln Park to Lakeview, it wasn't as convienent to stop at LaBamba's after a night of drinking, especially with the Tony's Burrito-Mex just up the street. A pretty good substitute, not great, especially the night I found a twist-tie in my burrito and the night I lost my wallet in a cab when I was getting out. But other than that, it's very convienent and generally pretty good.
Anyhow, back to yesterday. As I walked into Bamba's I thought to myself, "...where's the menu? I don't know what I want??? What do I get here????" Seconds after that thought went through my head, the guy behind the counter asks what I would like and I follow, without the least bit of hesitation, "...regular, steak, everything, extra sour cream, for here..." It just fell right into place. I didn't miss a step. It was like getting hot hitting 3's at the co-rec to win 15-13 after being down 13-7. It was like standing at the end of the craps table and perfectly throwing your C and E chips to the stickman and all 3 chips come to rest perfectly in his hand. It was amazing. No need to look at the menu, nothing.
Funny how things seem to work out when you least expect them to. I guess I should follow my own advice?? The burrito was excellent. I went for the regular because it has been a while and I've not put back a Super. As I sat at the booth I was wishing I had got the Super. It was very good. Just as I always remembered. Oh the memories!
Check out their website. Awesome!!!
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