Over the past year I’ve had a boojum awakening. I tried it for the first time several years ago and wasn’t impressed. I accidentally got the hot salsa and it was just a bit too spicy. Coupled with an equally poor decision to drink a coke alongside it, I endured a rather miserable experience of tongue burning and indigestion. Needless to say I had no intention of returning. Two years later however fate decided that I should try it again. This time I made no mistakes. Instead of having salsa I thought ‘To heck with society!’ and ordered my burrito without it. I know what you’re thinking, ‘Whoa! What a maniac!’ But that’s what I did. Just a simple burrito with pulled pork, orange beans, Mexican rice, sour cream and cheese. And you know what? It was delicious. That was it you know? I got a taste for it. Barely a day goes by when my mouth doesn’t water thinking about having that Mexican rice roll over my tongue, lighting my taste buds like fireworks. I drool daydreaming about those soft flour tortilla wraps, so doughy and delicious and the meat inside! I’ve tried pork, pulled beef and chicken, each is as good as the other! I have yet to try the chorizo but maybe some day. I regularly enjoyed my boojums because they were perfect every time. The makers so skilled at keeping it all in the wrap. I was truly impressed. It was never messy, you can forget your knife and fork! Time after time it hit the spot.
You can imagine my surprise then when I eagerly opened the foil wrapping to find this inside:
Admittedly this isn’t the actual picture of my burrito but it gives a good impression of the horror I opened up to find. Now I’ll admit it was a whole grain wrap and they are little more crumbly than the white wraps but I’ve had them before and this has never happened.
To set the scene. Its Friday afternoon and I’m looking in the fridge for something to eat but rations are pretty scarce. What shall I do? I know! I haven’t had a boojum yet this week. So I walk up to boojum. Its a beautiful sunny afternoon and the birds in the park are singing almost as if they know where I’m going. I’m going to boojum. My step quickens as I grow nearer my destination. A short stop at an ATM to get out a tenner and before you know it I’m in line for my boojum. Yay!
“Today I’m going to go for a whole grain burrito.”
“What rice do you want?”
“Mexican please, with the orange beans and chicken.”
“What salsa would you like?”
“None Thanks.”
“What?! You’re crazy!”
“I know I am but just sour cream and cheese please. ”
And so I pass on to the counter and pay for my boojum. I notice the price has gone up 70p but I don’t care. All I want is my burrito, no mess no fuss. It takes an abnormal amount of time.
“I’m sorry for the wait.”
“That’s no problem”
I take my boojum and almost run out the shop in excitement. I walk back to my house in record time. T.V on. Clean plate, just in case though I fully expect I’ll not need it. Knife and fork? Nope! A nice glass of water to wash it down. So I sit down and open up the tin foil wrap to this:
Are you joking me? I’m devastated. Its finally happened. I’ve had my first badly wrapped boojum. Rice and sour cream oozed on to my hands as I struggled to fit the flapping parts of wrap into my mouth. Make no mistake it tasted delicious but eating it was a handling. Maybe it was the girls first day on the job, or maybe she hated me enough to do this deliberately, I don’t know. All I know is it was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I went to the kitchen to get a knife and fork to clean up to overspill. This will take some getting over. I’ve been depressed all day since. Maybe next week I’ll revert to plain white and it will look like this once more:
Yum! I can’t wait to go back!
Have you ever had a bad boojum experience? Or jsut good ones? Feel free to share them in the comments.
I’ve never heard of boojum before but from your description it sounds delicious. Your picture reminds me of the time I tried to make enchiladas at home. What a disaster, the tortilla never “glued” with the cheese and I ended up with something similar to your picture 🙂
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Hey Joanna, yeah they are delicious its a small chain local to northern Ireland. Haha Enchiladas can be a nightmare sometimes.
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I know what your saying I have been eating and making burritos since I was a child…we have all had the badly wrapped so I am usually prepared with a tortilla since I eat tortilla like bread when I order out just in case
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Seems like a good technique!
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Ooh shame you had a bad experience. Perhaps she was just having a bad day – we’ve all been there. I’ve never heard of this place before, but will keep my eyes peeled.
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its good its a northern Irish chain.
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Haha, never heard of a boojum before, but sounds like you had quite an experience!
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A Boojum is a new thing for me! I have never even tasted burritos. Maybe I should go ahead and find some!
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I had never heard of this but it looks scrumptious!
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I have never had a boojum experience but I sure wish I did, reading this post made me hungry haha. The nicely wrapped ones are so mouth-watering.
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I have to say I have never had a Boojum before, do they have vegetarian options as I am a vegetarian, I would love to try it. Why don’t you try making your own and its true when you get your first disappointing meal from a place you really love it really does make you feel sad!
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hey yeah i think they have vegetarian options too! maybe I could get all my pals round and have a big burrito night!
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I’ve never experienced the boojum before, I’ve never actually heard of it until now! thanks for sharing your story, it was a fun read!
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I enjoy read this post, like I read a short story. I like your reaction on the last part of your post when you found the buritto you ordered was badly wrapped , and thinking that ” Maybe it was the girls first day on the job, or maybe she hated me enough to do this deliberately” …lol.
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haha thanks glad you enjoyed it
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I had to google ‘Boojum’ as I’ve never heard of them before! I love fajitas and enchiladas, I’ll have to try and make my own burritos some time .. although they’ll probably end up a lot messier than this 😛
Jamie-Lee x
bibbity-boppity-boo.blogspot.com
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You got to break in her boojum making skills. One day she’ll be a master, and she’ll owe it all to you… or maybe not.
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The food looks good. I enjoyed reading your story! 🙂
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I’ve never tried boojum before but burito yes. It’s a shame to hear that you’ve had an unpleasant experience. IMO, presentation is everything. I’d take back the boojum and show it to the manager.
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i never tried boojum but with this post it does sounds good, im a fan of burritos though ❤
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Sometimes the bad boojums taste the best…the messiness is just the extra love that went into the preparation! 🙂
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This is the first time I heard of a boojum, but it seems really tasty. I enjoyed reading your story.
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I have never heard of a Boojum before but I’m guessing it’s a burrito? Your account did make me giggle though. Oh, the horror, the sheer unadulterated misery that is the baby wrapped Boojum. Thanks for making me laugh.
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No problem glad we could brighten your day
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Never heard of a boojum before, but sounds like a burrito!! I am not very fond of them mostly because its too messy to eat, I can never figure out how to eat them right, without squishing some of the stuffing out. My husband loves it though!
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I tend to think of myself as a food lover and I travel around the world ( http://www.iamvagabond.com )
but I’ve never tried boojum before 😦 and now I am going to find one and eat it all .. 🙂
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Hahaha ,never heard of boojum before but sounds like an ‘entertainig meal’ , my neighbour lady is from Ireland . Will ask her abou this , you made me curious now 🙂
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She might know! Its pretty popular over here!
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Great blog post, it has given me a lot to think about and look forward to reading more of your posts in the future.
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I’ve never personally experienced this but you just made me extremely hungry. lol
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I’ve never heard of Boojum before, but it sure does sound and look delicious
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Being a Texas, Mexican food has been a staple in my diet for all of my life. Yet, I don’t like hot and spicy foods – they don’t agree with my stomach! lol
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Thats unfortunate!
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Haha it’s a shame it was badly wrapped, but think about those ones that were not and they were yummy! hahah 🙂
adventurousmiles.com
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