Unofficial Mini Review: Tijuana Flats Burrito Co., Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Yes, there is shade in Florida

Where: Eglin Boulevard, Ft. Walton Beach, FL

What Was Ordered:  The "Banging Chicken Tostadas" (I am not making that up) and a Coke.

What is Cost:  With the lunch special and a drink, about $10 (lost the receipt)

While marooned here near Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, and desperately missing Tucson, I decided to try the Northwestern Florida version of Mexican food. I was feeling a little homesick, so why not try something Tucson is known for?

I just picked some random restaurant. I drove down the street until I saw a Mexican place, and went there. It could have been any restaurant, but Tijuana Flats Burrito Co. looked clean and inviting. When you enter, you can grab a menu at the door before going to the counter to order. I looked over the menu quickly, but didn't see any Sonoran Dogs. It was a sad moment and a little piece of my soul blackened and turned to ash. At that moment, I thanked the Gods of Residences for blessing me with a home in Tucson. Disgusted, I returned the menu to its little cube-shaped holder and decided to go with the special written on the dry-erase board:  Banging Chicken Tostadas. Seriously, that is what is what was named. I didn't add the "banging" in there to be funny.

Anyway, after laughing inside when the waitress couldn't say "tostadas" anywhere near correctly -- TOAST-adas, I sat down and waited for the food. It came very quickly, and I was all ready to dig in, when I noticed something amazing about this place -- it has a salsa bar! There was a long counter set up with dozens of salsas, which I assumed were local brands, not just what the restaurant used in their food. I got some random samples and sat down to eat this:

Is this considered Flo-Mex? Also, 

¿Dónde está la tostada

As you can see, by tostada they meant tortilla chip. I am no expert, but I am pretty sure tostadas are usually bigger and rounder. This lunch was more like an order of nachos. 

The tostada or tortilla chip was topped with refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and chives. And there was a generous amount of chicken on there. The salsa provided was very good, but the salsa verde I got from the salsa bar was even better. The chunks of chicken were awesome. 

Overall, it was a cheap lunch, the employees were friendly, it had a salsa bar, and had unlimited drink refills. I am disappointed that the tostadas were just tortilla chips, but it is Florida, so I will cut them a break. If you ever find yourself in Ft. Walton Beach, and want to grab a quick, cheap lunch, you could do a lot worse than Tijuana Flats Burrito Co. It was decent Florida Mexican food, not as good as more authentic Tucson Mexican, but it won't give you the stomach problems like Taco Bell. 

Plus, there are a bunch of sweet airplanes on display down the road (but no Sonoran Dogs):

I think Wolverine is in here