Double Crispy

I ordered BB2's favorite lunch standby today (Baja Burrito/Chicken/Crispy) en route to the Newbury Park location. A phone conversation delayed my arrival by about 30 minutes but Blanca was more than happy to send it back to the grill for a "re-crisping." The result was a darker skin and even crispier texture than usual, with a surprisingly more flavorful finish having all those ingredients marinating together for awhile. The Baja Salsa was spot on and I was remined that not all of the stores have the

same chip recipe.

Ever wonder why the Newbury Park location doesn't have one of its signature Baja Fresh store number seals displayed inside, despite it being where the franchise started? It's because the original store #1 seal now hangs in the company's corporate office in Thousand Oaks. Apparently, when the store moved from its original location on Kimber to the current one on Broadbeck (off Wendy Dr. near Home Depot) decorating corporate HQ was more important than carrying the seal to the new location. That's why today I am calling for Baja Fresh to create a new "Store #1" sign to replace the makeshift one that now hangs where the original one should. Think of the pride employees will feel the day a new sign is hung, not to mention increased sales from all of the Baja Buzz readers who will undoubtedly want to stop by to check it out. C'mon Baja corporate, DO IT!!!

BB1

How Much Is Too Much?

Knowing full well I’ll be reunited with BB1 tomorrow for lunch at – you guessed it – Baja Fresh, I still couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a Baja dinner tonight. This obviously isn’t the first time I go for back to back Baja meals (only separated by a little bit of rest and a light breakfast) and people keep asking me how I can handle all that Baja.

My friends, as a certain old man would say, The Baja Boyz have been doing this for years, and we’re not gonna stop. Now, Baja for lunch and dinner on the same day, I’ll admit, might be a bit heavy. I do that too sometimes, but the DBD (Double Baja Day) is pretty ambitious. What I’m really interested in though is the Baja threshold; specifically, what’s the least amount of time one can have between Baja visits without compromising or, even worse, fully jeopardizing the Baja buzz. I could eat at Baja Fresh all the time, but of course it doesn’t have the same effect if I go twice a day, every day.

With dinner at 7:30 pm and lunch the following day at 12:30 pm, 17 hours go by and that almost feels too long. But only 7 hours (going for lunch and dinner on the same day) might not give enough time to maximize the buzz. I’m pretty sure the answer to the question at the very top of this post is “it can never be too much when you're talking about Baja,” but I really need to get to the bottom of the buzz maximization question…

BB2

Baja Sunday

While most people might prefer a heavy Sunday brunch, a real Baja boy will have to pass on that and instead go for something light for breakfast on that last day before the new week starts. The reason for that is simply that a bowl of cereal is the perfect foundation for what will later be a perfect lunch.

That’s how I warmed up today. So when the need for the buzz started creeping up on me around 2 pm, you know I had to head down to the closest Baja Fresh restaurant to solidify the highlight of the day. It was one of those visits that just called for something classic – a Baja Burrito with steak. But I always go crispy on those. How else are you gonna get the outside crunch AND make sure the pico and guac don’t freeze everything up in there? Anyway, it couldn’t have been better – the most classic Baja Fresh burrito and a Coke in the California sunshine…

As we all know, one thing that can potentially make a fantastic Baja run like the one today slightly less fantastic is when the Baja salsa (the brown one – but you already knew that) isn’t thick enough. But today was a good Baja salsa day! Oh yeah, thick, but not too chunky, and with the extra kick. Ah! You gotta love it!

BB2

Welcome

Few dining establishments deserve a blog filled with as much love and appreciation as we have for Baja Fresh. The Baja Buzz was affectionately named not just for the “buzz” we hope to create among Baja Fresh fans, but for that easy feeling that sets in moments after you’ve consumed a flavorful Baja Fresh burrito. Mmmmm!!

We created The Baja Buzz to share our love of the food, our passion for the brand and our opinions about the Baja Fresh menu and dining experience. From the quirky and bizarre to the practical and informative; from product feedback and recommendations to our personal dining experiences, what we order and literally how we eat it, The Baja Buzz is a forum for EVERYTHING Baja Fresh.

We are the Baja Boyz. We live in the Conejo Valley in Southern California, where we visit some of the original Baja Fresh store locations several times each week. We have been eating at Baja Fresh since it was founded in 1990 and we are die hard Baja Fresh aficionados. While we don’t take ourselves too seriously, we’re serious about our dedication to the Baja Fresh brand.

We look forward to sharing our opinions (and yours) as this unlikely journey of two guys who love Baja Fresh unfolds. Our aim is nothing short of creating a new Baja Fresh lexicon and giving its customers a voice in how the Baja Fresh experience evolves in the years to come. We hope you will join us.

Welcome to The Baja Buzz!