In the Spring of 2003, Atlanta's original burrito joint, Tortillas, closed after 19 years. This is another one of those establishments that I greatly miss. In a way, Tortillas was a victim of its own success, having kicked off the city's burrito boom, spawned countless imitators and initiated the influx of national burrito chains. Still, the place to go for the most authentic and elemental burrito experience was always Tortillas on Ponce de Leon. Tortillas was especially known for its red and green sauces in clear plastic squeeze bottles, many speculating that they were infused with crack because of how addictive they were.
Tortillas' burritos were inspired by co-owner Charlie Kerns and his wife who, after moving from San Francisco in 1983, missed the thick bean-filled burritos popular on the West Coast, so they opened Tortillas the next year in a small Ponce de Leon storefront.
Inspired by Tortillas' success, a long list of other local burrito shops opened in Atlanta, including Raging Burrito, Burrito Art, Great Western Burrito and El Myr. El Myr btw is still a legitimate burrito shop. Real damage came when regional chains Willy's Mexicana Grill and Moe's Cantina, which already had about 50 franchise locations in seven Southern states, opened. The final nail in the coffin was when Moe's opened up a couple blocks east of Tortillas. Tortillas simply couldn't compete with the advertising and draw of a big regional chain so nearby.
Before closing, Tortillas offered its loyal customers a list of its most treasured recipes. Luckily, my girl Lindsay Belton kept this document under lock and key for the last 9 years, and we pulled it out this past weekend. I have transcribed the recipes below for you to enjoy at home.
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Remember: "Friends don't let friends eat at Moe's"
Guacamole
"Breaking" avocados are the ideal for chunky Tortilla style guac. Breaking is a condition where you can squeeze the avocado in your palm with your whole fingers and feel the avocado break loose from the pit. Don't squeeze with your fingertips but your open fingers. Not soft and mushy...that's somebody else's guac. Use Haas (California) avocados. Florida (Fuerte) avocados won't do.
We combine:
Avocados
To the avocados we add a spice mixture that has a ratio of:
6 light red chile powder
5 ground cumin
2 garlic powder
2 black pepper
3 salt
Add vinegar to sit your taste (aprox. 1 tbl/avocado)
Mash em up!
Green Sauce - I make this one often
Canned tomatillos
canned jalapeno slices
fresh cilantro
fresh onion
Drain but don't crush the tomatillos. Combine with the sliced jalapenos and the liquid the jalapenos are in. For a can of tomatillos use the same size can of jalapenos. Add onion and cilantro and process in a a food processor till desired texture is achieved. Use lots of cilantro until the color is what you like.
Red Sauce
4 parts canned tomatoes
1 part canned jalapnos and their juice
To this we add a spice mixture with a ratio of:
5 chili powder
4 cumin
3 salt
Combine ingredients and process to texture
Pinto beans or Black beans
Spice ratio:
7 salt
5 chili powder
3 cumin
2 garlic powder
2 black pepper
Vegetable oil (approx. 2 tbl/lb. of beans)
Do not pre-soak the beans. Beans that are pre soaked bulk up on water when they should be absorbing al the spices, oil and water that they will when cooked from dry. Sort your dry beans removing stones etc. Combine dry ingredients, beans, and vegetable oil in a pot. Cover the beans with water and bring to a simmering boil. Keep beans just covered with water and cook for 3 to 4 hours until done. Black beans take significantly less time.
Enjoy!
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