SS Eats: California Tortilla

I've been all about eating clean as of late because I'm determined to get super fit before the summer. It's been rough though.  What can I say? I love splurging on unhealthy foods.  Don't judge me, it's a weakness of mine, ha.  I literally spend a half-hour every night browsing yelp, studying menus and looking at pictures of food to stifle my cravings. I know that sounds sad, but it is what it is.  Lucky for me, I have California Tortilla now.  I can satisfy my tummy while maintaining my figure! I came here for lunch the other day with a friend and had a fantastic meal - I'm talkin' serious flavor explosion in my mouth. 

Before I tell you guys about my delish meal, I want to talk a bit about the restaurant itself.  Firstly, it's super clean, and trust me when I say that that means a lot coming from me because I'm kind of a germaphobe - and by "kind of," I mean totally.  The restaurant is fast casual so ordering is quick and easy, and its comfortable and welcoming dining area is a great place to sit and catch up.  Sidebar: props to Jim, who took my order, for being super friendly and helpful with food recommendations! I went during lunchtime to the Bowie location in Maryland, so Cal Tort was bustling.

After I placed my order, I turned my head and saw *drum roll, please* hot sauce heaven.  They call it the Wall of Flame (!!!!) How awesome is that?  I have never in my life seen so many incredible sauces in one place - there are 75+.  I grabbed, like, ten different bottles and took 'em all to my table like a hoarder - whatever, I have no shame!  I absolutely love spicy anything so this was a huge, huge plus for me.  If you're a fan of picante - see what I did there? - foods, you'll especially love Cal Tort.

We ended up getting the Superfood Burrito, a unique and filling healthy burrito/bowl option, & the California Sunset Bowl.   

Nom, nom, nom.  Just look at this magical goodness.  As you can see, they do NOT skimp on toppings. This burrito is made with Mesquite chicken breast (or farm-fresh veggies if you prefer), Mexican quinoa (with black beans, corn, jalapenos, and salsa), feta cheese, roma tomatoes and fresh Hass avocados.  It's then drizzled with their own Avocado-honey lime vinaigrette - that they make in-house daily - and topped with homemade kale slaw.  The entire burrito has 874 calories in total, but I only ate about half because it was really filling!  Next time, I'm definitely getting the Superfood bowl instead because it's 600 calories (much less if you swap the chicken for veggies and go cheeseless)! You can customize your meal to your liking because they're super flexible.  FYI, this dish (bowl + burrito) is wrapping up in late March so make sure you get it while you can!  It's such a wonderful lunch option and/or post-workout meal.

Now, let's take a peek at their California Sunset Bowl.  Doesn't it look super yum? It has grilled mesquite chicken and fresh veggies on a bed of spinach, rice and black beans with low-fat Spicy Sunset sauce, salsa, cilantro and sliced avocado.  Can you believe that this giant dish only has 480 calories?  Anywho, both dishes were really good - so much so that it's hard for me to choose a favorite.  I'm not surprised that their grub is yummy though - they use delivered-daily produce and homemade sauces so I don't see how they could go wrong.  They don't do large batch-cooking so food's not sitting around!  Everything's fresh to ensure max tastiness.

...I took a pic of their chips just because, ha.  I'm going to come back on splurge day to get a bag of these babies with salsa and guac.

California Tortilla has locations ALL over DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.   If you're a fan of nomtastic Mexican food, you'll absolutely love this restaurant, and if you aren't, you'll still love this place because they offer dishes like the Bacon Chicken Club Burrito, the Blackened Chicken Caesar Burrito, and the Crunchy BBQ Ranch Burrito!  There's something for everyone so make sure you find one that's close and go immediately - your taste buds will seriously thank you!  

Also, make sure you take advantage of their Burrito Elito program.  It's totally free, and you get one point for every pre-tax dollar you spend at Cal Tort.  It's a great deal because they give you $5 in Burrito Bucks when you reach 75! 

PS.  Before I leave you, I'd like to add that Cal Tort is super green.  Their napkins are made from 100% sugarcane fibers, and their products are 100% compostable.  If you're interested, you can read more about their ecological efforts here.  Make sure you guys hit them up STAT!  You can keep up with them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Sponsored by California Tortilla, but all opinions are my own.