Is This The Best Breakfast Burrito In Lubbock: Burrito Towers I and II

You don’t need to read a blog to know that the Twin ‘Burrito’ Towers are serving up some of the best breakfast burritos in Lubbock. Of course you already know they’re good. But are they the best? I’ve been eating Burrito Tower (1 and 2) burritos solely for the past couple of months in order to answer that question. When I started this breakfast burrito series, I knew I had to order the same kind of burrito any place reviewed in order to create the truest test. I’ve stuck to that same model here. I order a bacon, egg, cheese, and potato burrito. Basic, accessible, and the old stalwart of any office-wide order I’ve ever taken at any office I’ve ever worked. It’s the grande caramel macchiato of the breakfast burrito world. It’s not my favorite… but that’s for another blog.

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This blog is of course to answer the question: does Burrito Tower have the best breakfast burritos in Lubbock? I’ve heard this claim before and as a service to all my fellow Flatlanders I set out to answer that question. Since April, I’ve eaten at least 3 breakfast burritos a month from Burrito Towers I and II. As you can imagine, I have some thoughts.

That Good, Good

Now, I lean heavily toward buying burritos from reputable burrito establishments. This might go without saying but reputable for burritos isn’t the same as reputable for dental work, signing dotted lines, or even a first date. A reputable burrito joint needs to have wobbly tables, sticky, or at least salted and crumb-laden concrete flooring, those stackable metal chairs with vinyl poofy padding on the seat and back… and by God you better get that Cholula outta here. It better have Tapatio or Valentina hot sauce and color-blocked walls in a fiery Baja sunset color palette. Burrito Tower is that reputable burrito place.

Not only do the buildings look like the kinda place where you should always ask, “How hot is your green sauce?” But the burritos have plenty of flavor, i.e., they don’t need extra salt. This alone is something of a feat worth noting considering the staggering amount of bland food out there these days. Another nice contribution to the flavor equation of Burrito Tower burritos is their griddle-warmed tortillas. They have those crusty, caramelized blisters that add a little something to the profile. Sometimes they wrap this on the inside, sometimes on the outside. Sometimes both sides get griddled enhancing the structural integrity by keeping the tortilla from steaming into a gummy flour wad.

The Así así

Now speaking of gummy flour wads, I personally think the Towers’ tortillas are little too thick and doughy. I like a thinner tortilla for a burrito this size. Now speaking of this size… these burritos are kinda small. A bacon, egg, cheese, and potato will run you $4.75. I’ve had one of these little guys from Burrito Tower 1 that was literally four bites big.

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I have a problem with this on principle alone maybe. Let’s not forget that a burrito is a blue collar meal. It’s handheld so you can grab it and get to the job site, no fancy utensils needed. You can drive a tractor, big rig, review your next job ticket, and even unload most of your tools all while consuming a burrito. However, you can’t login to your company desktop, consult your 8am client, or examine your first patient with one in hand. That’s because this is a no forks allowed, fill your belly before you spill your sweat and blood kind of fare, or at least it should be. And a drive to Burrito Tower 2 is all the reminder you need of this fact. The industrial outpost located along I-27 and 50th is a drive right into the belly of Lubbock’s blue collar beast. Surrounded by pump and bearing houses, parts counters, rail road tracks, and a Tractor Supply store, the steering wheels passing under the Burrito Tower 2 drive-through are helmed by the busted knuckle and calloused palm clan that make our world work. Several dining inside are probably grabbing a bite after their all-night shift, not before, like most of us. Look for the dirty uniforms and those digging into enchiladas with chips and salsa at 7am to know the difference. Driving up on Burrito Tower 2, past the endearing and nostalgic texture of cinder block, peeling paint, and rusted metal guard rails; past the used car lots and industrial supply stores, you get hyped for a great meal where nothing gets skimped. Unfortunately, and as much as I’d love it to be otherwise, that’s not quite the case. The bacon as never been more than a few bits, equal in size to the amount you might steal off the pieces you cook for your family on a Sunday morning. You know those pieces: the ones you eat before you say, “Breakfast is ready!” I’ve never eaten a burrito from there and then thought… I could frame a house well into the afternoon on that meal alone. It just misses mark. But, if I were to choose between Tower 1 or 2. It would easily be Tower 2.

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I’ve always gotten more bacon, more expedient service, less pretentious fellow diners, and an overall more comfortable experience from Burrito Tower 2. Unlike the OG Tower, at the I-27 spot they usually have time to take your call-in order, you can hear the person clearly on the phone, and you don’t have to stand in line behind a girl wearing thrifted mom jeans and Crocs telling her friend how pissed she is that her parents are taking her to Paris instead of Barcelona this summer. Being nestled next to left-field retail shops slinging vape juice, saltwater fish supplies, and espresso to men who’s pants are on the 2010 side of tight, draws in a certain crowd. Meanwhile, at Burrito Tower 2, the men wearing FR clothes who drive pickups with utility beds are speaking in hushed tones wondering if they’ll get home before sundown tonight. That makes for a more genuine experience. No one is putting on airs at Burrito Tower 2.

The Verdict: I don’t think this is the best burrito in Lubbock, but it may be very close.

One thing for sure, the hot sauce is on point. And I’m something of an enthusiast. The green is a medium-hot with tons of garlic flavor and bright pepper heat. The red is mild and flavorful with spicy tomato and garlic – both are blended to a thinner consistency which is exactly what you want because when you pour it into the burrito, you want it to travel down and marinate the next bite, too.

Again these burritos have great flavor and are usually cooked perfectly. If you like your eggs a bit on the custardy side, these are right up your alley. For a burrito, I like my eggs to have several of those almost scorched curds that are on the brown caramelly side of done, almost overdone even. I think that makes for a nice texture variation on the inside. The Twin Towers’ eggs are very consistently cooked in the ‘barely set’, more proper way.

What about the service?

The service at both spots is good. But you don’t go to a place with fiery Baja sunset color palette painted walls for service.