Midway through the fall, something new came into the Waco restaurant scene that became a delicious facet of my morning routine.
Taqueria El Crucero and Common Grounds linked up to provide breakfast burritos at the Baylor bubble's most beloved coffee shop. For me, and others I witnessed, this became an instant hit. Coffee plus tasty breakfast sustenance plus the ability to sit in a comfortable chair and read and listen to music. That's the way to start the day.
Unfortunately, because of bureaucratic hurdles, which I understand to be necessary but still roll my eyes toward, have at least temporarily halted the partnership between Crucero and Common Grounds. I have no doubt some Baylor folks arrived back in town only to learn this fact earlier this week.
I spoke with Crucero proprietor Jesus Betancourt today and he said he's taking steps to jump through the hoops necessary to get his burritos back on the menu at Common Grounds. He said he will need to provide labels for the burritos he sends over and possibly make adjustments for other regulations.
Although Betancourt wasn't sure how soon he would again be able to sell his burritos out of the coffee shop, he said he didn't believe it would be too difficult to get in code.
And he hopes that will happen sooner than later as the partnership benefited him in two ways 1) he moved a good number of breakfast burritos on a daily basis and 2) having his food and signage available in a venue populated by Baylor students and professors brought more customers in his doors.
It's important to note that Betancourt and the Common Grounds folks are still great fans of one another. As stated, the hold-up is purely bureaucratic.
As for those of us who became accustomed to eating breakfast burritos at Common Grounds while sipping on the morning coffee, let me point out that it's still possible to drive through Crucero and take a breakfast burrito to the coffee shop.
It's a little more work, but worth it.
One more bite: Note that the photo included with this blog portrays huevos rancheros. Consider that another reason to make dining at Taqueria El Crucero part of your morning routine.
