Freebirds World Burrito ~ Texas chain : Lewisville

Latest visit: Jan 2018 (Lewisville)

First visit: Oct 2004 (Dallas - Greenville Ave)

BIG is a good word to describe Freebirds' burritos. From our experience, Freebirds was the first burrito chain to offer up more than just a flour tortilla. You can choose between spinach, cayenne, flour, or whole wheat.  And they offer a tremendous amount of toppings to get stuffed in those massive tortillas. It's basically Chipotle x10 - which can be a good thing if you want more than just a few items. The rice and beans are delicious (again, they offer more than cilantro lime rice and pinto/black beans), and the chicken & steak have an excellent charbroiled flavor. I also like that they have ground beef, something I always appreciated from Qdoba, since the meat allows for the salsas to penetrate. I love that their signature habanero sauce is on every table. And dousing some of that habanero all over those massive burritos, will result in a truly sublime experience. They sometimes feature different salsas, for example they have a mango chili as I write this. Mrs. RJG speaks favorably of their version of the Burrito Bowl (sans tortilla that is).

Freebirds actually has its roots in California, but relocated to College Station when a store manager from Texas A&M bought out the rights.Things have come full circle now, as the chain has gone corporate and is now located in the East Bay region of California. As such, they are rapidly growing. Texas and California remain their base customer areas, but they've expanded to Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Utah since - and no doubt will eventually cover the map.

Other locations visited: Freebird's growth strategy has been interesting to watch. They continue to circle around the RJG pasture like vultures awaiting a cow tipping. Our first visit goes back to when the (at the time) College Station based chain first broke into the DFW market with the Greenville Ave. location all the way over in that other galaxy known as Dallas (2003). Then they opened up a store in Addison, just as the RJG was packing up his satellite office in Far North Dallas and heading to Las Colinas (late 2004). Years later, while patiently waiting for them to go through our rusty gates in Northeast Tarrant, they finally made an appearance, but at the far end of the ranch in Alliance. Dutifully I went again. Each location received precisely one visit. And then they opened in Grapevine, then Hurst, and now finally in Ft. Worth just west of US 377. Each location almost precisely 6 feet closer to us than the last. And they're still not close. Close - as in 5 to 10 minute drive and take it back home close. It's just funny. C'mon guys - get it over with and come to Southlake/NRH/Keller would ya? There's not even any competition beyond Chipotle (maybe Costa Vida), and even they aren't less than 10 minutes away.

10/29/04; 9/29/13 (new entry); 1/6/18