Evansville’s Hot Head Burrito Impresses on Second Trip – Ryan’s Review

Everybody should get a second chance to make a first impression.

About a month and a half ago, I wrote a review about my first trip to Hot Head Burrito on Pearl Drive in Evansville in which I expressed some disappointment in our city's newest burrito joint. The burrito I built, while loaded with the ingredients I chose and more than filling, just didn't reach the taste expectations I believed a restaurant with the word "Hot" in its name, and utilizes a flaming-head scale to showcase the amount of heat each ingredient possesses should have.

I also admitted in that review it was completely possible I had set my expectations for Hot Head so high they had absolutely no chance of reaching them, essentially setting myself up for disappointment before I ever walked through the door. Oh irony, thy name is imagination.

Knowing that I could go to Hot Head 100 times and get something different each time thanks to their wide variety of options, I decided to give them another shot. Thankfully I did because unlike U2, I found was I was looking for (I know, it's an obscure music reference, just go with it).

On this second trip, I was bound and determined to find the heat I wanted so badly the first time around, even if it was unbearable. I figured if I went too hot, then I had tasted both ends of the spectrum which would give me a base for finding a happy medium somewhere down the line.

Just like my first visit, I went with a burrito. I had it stuffed with brown rice, black beans, and spicy steak. According to the menu, the spicy steak is a three on the flaming head heat scale. It's seasoned with some dry spices then topped with a thick sauce which brought the some heat along with an unexpected, yet pleasant smoky flavor.

I opted to bypass the salsa and peppers (steps 4 and 5 in the ordering process) knowing ahead of time that I was going step it up on my choice of sauce in step 6. In my first go-round, I went with their Cholula Hot Sauce, the third hottest sauce they offer and a four-flamer on the heat scale. This time, my colon be damned, I went with Extreme Habanero. The second hottest sauce choice and a six on the heat scale. Sour cream and monterey jack topped off my masterpiece.

With my first bite, I knew I had found the flavor I was looking for. The mix of habanero spice and smoky steak sauce gave off the heat I wanted. Not so much where it was inedible, but enough where it generated those little beads of sweat under my eyes. It even went the extra mile and got the top of my head a little sweaty. Bonus!

At the end of the day, I'm glad I gave Hot Head Burrito a second chance. Truth be told, writing this review worked up my appetite to the point where I'll more than likely give them a third chance for lunch today.