This photo of a Los Jalapeños gordo burrito in the process of being consumed reveals a tempting array of ingredients, including marinated pork, rice and more. A bowl of guacamole can be seen at bottom right.

Los Jalapeños Mexican Restaurant

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Food: The food at this Midtown institution (since 1994) is delicious, affordable and sourced locally with ingredients from the likes of Painted Hills Natural Beef. With the menu’s daunting array of burritos, tacos, tostadas, salad bowls and more to choose among, I went for the fajita burrito with chicken (steak being the other protein option), which comes with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, beans, cheese, rice, guacamole and sour cream. My dining companion opted for the gordo burrito, stuffed with marinated pork, jalapeños, lettuce, avocado, sour cream, cheese, rice and beans (both burritos are $9.95). There are a lot of options for Mexican food in Bend, my admittedly flimsy excuse for this trip to Los Jalapeños marking just my third time here, a mistake that will shortly be remedied. There’s also a breakfast menu, as well as vegetarian and vegan options.

Service: Friendly and efficient despite our arrival during a busy weekday lunch hour. The cashier didn’t blink when I requested rice be left off my burrito, and remained patient as I, a grown man, waffled on what size drink I wanted. The wait time was surprisingly reasonable given the crowd.

Atmosphere: The management makes good use of a small building, but it was still tight quarters during the lunch rush, with customers dining in and those awaiting to-go orders doing a Tetris-like dance around one another. Nevertheless, a table emptied just as we finished ordering, and the restaurant almost entirely cleared out before we finished eating.

MORE INFO

Location: 601 NE Greenwood Ave., Bend; 541-383-1402

losjalapenosbend.com

Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday (Closed Sunday)

Cuisine: Authentic Mexican

Price range: $5-$16

— David Jasper