The place is small, the menu simple. (You’ve got your burritos, nachos, soup,
and salad). But that’s OK, because at El Presidente Burritos, it’s all good.
The downtown corner eatery, which has been open since January, brings a bit
of California cuisine to its brand of burrito. Co-owner/cook Tim Von De Bur
has created six varieties of burritos patterned after West Coast versions of
the Mexican staple. Fresh ingredients such as broccoli and avocado are mixed
with chiles, spices, and salsa to yield interesting, refreshing fare.
As the name implies, burritos are the mainstay here. They can be ordered with
steak, chicken, pork, eggs, bean and avocado, and sautéed vegetables and chorizo
(spicy Mexican sausage). Your choice of main ingredient is topped with black
or refried beans, queso blanco, pico de gallo, lettuce, and the
house red sauce, and the whole thing is rolled and folded into a tortilla. Burritos
come in three sizes: regular, large, and super.
Several homemade salsas — fire-roasted jalapeño, corn and black bean, habanero,
and smoky chipotle — are available. Be sure to add one or two to your meal,
because all are delicious. Von De Bur should bottle and sell this stuff.
Although the most popular burrito is beef (with chicken a close second, says
Von De Bur), my favorite is the black bean and avocado. The large chunks of
smooth avocado provide a good contrast to the rich, smoky flavor of the beans
and the crisp lettuce. Fish burritos were available during Lent, and I’m sorry
I missed out on them. But Von De Bur says he may bring them back during the
summer. I’ll be waiting.
You can also choose nachos, a soup of the day, or taco salad. The supreme
nachos come with a choice of chicken, beef, or pork and black or refried beans
served over tortilla chips, topped with guacamole, sour cream, homemade nacho
cheese, pico de gallo, lettuce, black olives, and red sauce. A regular
version comprising chips, nacho cheese, and red sauce, with or without meat,
is also available. Soup du jour options include beef and barley, chorizo-and-corn
chowder, and blue-cheese potato. A chilled soup may be added to the mix this
summer. All menu items cost $6 or less.
El Presidente is open until 2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, making it the perfect
place to stop for a late-night snack. The restaurant is owned by Von De Bur,
Pat Gleason, and Brandon Blough. In addition to creating the recipes and doing
the cooking, Von De Bur designed the kitchen area. He originally pursued a career
in landscape design but worked in the restaurant business during the winter
months to pay his way through school. “One spring,” he says, “I just stayed
in the restaurant business” and never looked back. Von De Bur, who formerly
managed Café Brio, returned to his native Springfield after a three-year stint
in California and decided to open his own business. When Jimmy’s Sub Shop closed,
leaving a vacancy in the small corner space at 235 S. Sixth St., he took advantage
of the situation.
The first-floor space is only 650 square feet but packs a lot of punch and
personality for its size. The soaring ceilings are covered in the original tin
tiles, painted white. One wall still sports the oak shelving from the space’s
former life as a cigar store, as well as woodwork salvaged from the Old State
Capitol.
El Presidente offers eight outdoor tables for al fresco dining and
four tables inside, in addition to a lunch counter with stools. But the size
adds to the charm of the place, and it’s nice to watch your food being cooked
to order in the open kitchen area behind the counter. I’ll be back now that
warm weather is approaching — and I’ll be waiting for that fish burrito.
El Presidente Burritos is located at the corner of Sixth and
Monroe streets in Springfield. Phone: 217-544-9535. Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Sat.,
10 p.m.-2 a.m. Thu.-Sat.
Sweet stop
From now until late summer, maple syrup is available at Funks Grove Sirup
Camp.
“Sirup” with an “i” is the preferred spelling at Funks Grove, a tiny spot
tucked amid a grove of timber about 15 miles south of Bloomington. Funks Grove
is a favorite stop for tourists traveling the Mother Road.
The Funk family has been making the sweet, sticky liquid since the early 1920s.
Mike and Debby Funk now operate the business, which is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Monday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday through August or until the syrup runs out.
The following recipe comes courtesy of Funks Grove:
Maple-Syrup Smoothie
1 glass ice
1 glass milk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Blend all ingredients in a blender.
For more information, call 309-874-3360 or visit route66.com/FunksGrove/
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2004.
