Burrito Rico In Shorewood Going Away, New Restaurant Announced

SHOREWOOD, IL —After serving several thousand customers with its drive-thru window and its indoor dine-in restaurant over the past several years, Shorewood's El Burrito Rico is down to its last two weeks of being open at 580 Brook Forest Ave. — better known across the region as Route 59.

But don't fret. The Burrito Rico is not going to sit empty. Not at all. There are already signs on the building letting everyone know that El Molcajete will be opening its third restaurant in the Joliet area. El Molcajete already has long-time locations in Plainfield and Joliet.

The one in Joliet is near Joliet Junior College at 1116 Houbolt Road and its Plainfield restaurant is at 15932 South Lincoln Highway.

"Best Authentic Mexican Food in town," reads the El Molcajete restaurant menu. "Managed and operated by family owned."

The new El Molcajete Shorewood will be opening on March 1. If you were unfamiliar with the Burrito Rico, it's right adjacent from Holy Family Catholic Church and it's at the opposite end of the business strip plaza that houses the very popular Crispy Waffle breakfast and lunch restaurant.

As of late, Burrito Rico was getting mixed reviews, with 699 total Google Reviews over the years, averaging 3.9 stars out of 5.

A person named Mike posted a 1-star review about a week ago, indicating, "They advertise $10.99 for a flautas dinner on their menu and charged me $16.83. On the receipt it says chicken Fajita dinner .. . I asked for a refund, and they didn't even refund me all my money. I called the place up and when I mentioned they only refunded me $14.99 the woman starts speaking in Spanish ... I'm honestly tired of these rude people. I was nothing but nice and the lack of respect is ridiculous."

Alicia gave them a 2-star review about a month ago, writing, "Used to be my favorite, for years. Now the food quality is pretty bad. Giant raw onion chunks multiple times, no effort to chop a basic ingredient is just lazy. Rubbery meat. And my order has been wrong in some way almost every time. I tried them for one last chance tonight. Simple request for no lettuce. Filled with lettuce. I'm sadly done."

Then, five months ago, Spencer gave them a 5-star review, announcing, "Friendly atmosphere and great food. Got the big burrito with 2 tacos (lengua). Tacos were amazing, and the burrito was huge. Definitely worth the money."

In 2019 — five years ago — Joliet Patch reported the news that El Molcajete had just opened its second location across from the entrance into the Joliet Junior College main campus. The commercial strip mall on Joliet's west side also includes Jimmy John's and The Gaming Goat.

For El Molcajete, their original restaurant is in Plainfield near the Speedway gas station at Route 30 and Renwick Road.

Related Joliet Patch story:

New Mexican Restaurant Opens Near Joliet Junior College