Burritos La Chiquita: Big burrito selection on Minnesota Avenue

Once I began poking around downtown Kansas City, Kansas, for places to eat lunch, I realized that the possibilities were so bountiful, my personal project could take weeks. Yesterday I finally stopped in to eat at a venue that I’ve passed a dozen or more times: the six-year-old Burritos La Chiquita, a bright-orange building at 1328 Minnesota Avenue.

There are a few other things to order at the counter here, but why? The selection of burritos is excellent, and the prices are so seductively inexpensive that you may be tempted (as I was) to order three or four of the signature stuffed tortillas to taste.

Ordering is done, Chipotle-style, in a cafeteria-style process in which the employees suggest adding things — fresh lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado — to the basic burritos, which range from a very nice picadillo number (with ground beef) to puerco en salsa verde, a basic bean-and-cheese burrito or a superb barbacoa.

The dining room is massive — was this place a factory before it became a restaurant? — with a number of shiny metal tables and chairs. Decor is minimal, unless you count the mural, positioned next to the vintage gumball machines, of Juan Diego experiencing his vision of the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in 1531.

This painting certainly inspired me to offer a few humble prayers before eating lunch. And before I left, I bought some gum as a goodwill offering.