The Opera House Ball

You can find details on the Opera House Ball, mentioned in the previous post, here.

No more burritos

Is it possible to make a long story short? I will try.

The very short version is quite simple: Electric Burrito will serve up its last burrito on Friday, October 16, 2009. If you don’t have a calendar handy, that’s less than two weeks away.

The Explanation

It’s important to point out that this is a decision that has been considered for many months and from many angles. What we’ve decided, as has been the case any time I’ve ever switched career paths, is that our family is more important than anything else. While continuing is possible, it just doesn’t seem sensible.

Having had nearly a year and a half to size up the local climate, I simply don’t see a day in the future where I’m not working 13 hour days in an effort to break even. Becoming rich was never our agenda, but coming out ahead over the course of many hours and many years ain’t bad. That being the case, I’m not willing to trade the hours for the result. I love my family too much. On top of that, my back is a mess and I don’t have time to take advantage of my brother-in-law’s new pool table. So we shift…

To some, this will be extremely disappointing. All we can say is that we have enjoyed getting to know you, appreciate your support and are a little disappointed ourselves.

What next?

Lots, actually! I’ve accepted the editor position at The Free Press. I’ll be replacing Ken, who has done a great job (but I’d wager he is making his own family-related job shift). Good luck to him.

As for the Burrito building, we’ll keep it in action in a number of ways. One, this shift frees up Michelle to add classes, workshops and retreats to Prairieland Yoga’s schedule. Keep an eye out for that at her site.

Two, the dining space will now be available for rental for your private parties. This will be particularly good during the holidays. If you want us to cater that (in-house) event, we can certainly make arrangements to do so. We’ll drop the tequila, but keep our beer/wine license, so this space has an advantage over the community center in that regard.

Three, we still like to cook. While we’re really not interested or equipped to do outside catering, we’ll be happy to help you get to your party or event. Need us to do your dessert or appetizer? Let us know. We’ve got a pretty wide range, so you’re not confined to Mexican chocolate cake or key lime pie (or chips and salsa).

Four, from my perspective we shift from Electric Burrito Mexican Eatery to Electric Burrito Recreation Station. To that end, we’ll be putting together a number of events, starting with the aforementioned yoga workshops. Many of you know we’ve been working on the Rural Iowa Film Festival, and that will still happen in May of 2010. And we’ll continue with our monthly Beer Education Project tastings.

Our first post-burrito event will be The Opera House Ball, which will take place on Saturday, November 21. A nutty route to historic preservation, this Rocky Mountain oyster fry will be both delicious and fun (and for a good cause). We invite you to show up in creative black tie. Or not. Details will show up on this blog and on our Facebook page in the next couple of weeks.

It’s been a lot of fun serving up burritos and beer, but it’s time for a shift. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us. I’d screw up if I tried to mention names, because there really are a ton of people that have helped in a number of ways, to include eating here on a regular basis. However, forgive me if I mention one: Martin Olive. That knucklehead has done so much in so many ways. Among other values, he drops everything to cook for free when my lunch server is sick–again and again and again. He’s been completely priceless, and for this effort and friendship we are very grateful. I owe him so many beers.

Peace, Love and Salsa,

J., Michelle, Jake and Tom

Oktober-Fiesta 2009

The plan

We’ll be tapping a keg of Schell’s Octoberfest for your pleasure on Friday, October 2.

On Saturday, October 3, at 8pm, we’ll do our Oktober-Fiesta beer tasting–working our way through 6 different versions of the Oktoberfest style of beer (or bier, if you wish). We’ll learn about the bier, as well as the famous German festival, and you won’t want to miss this one.

Bring a friend.

Be sweet and RSVP in person, via phone (641.322.3990) or email (jwilson AT electricburrito DOT net), as we’ll need your help in planning and limit the tasting to 20 participants. If I have enough advance sign-ups, I may be able to open up a few more slots, but that all depends on notice.

Cost: $10

September 19 Tasting

Wow! I thought I’d posted this weeks ago.

Our next Beer Education Project Tasting is this Saturday, the 19th, at 8pm. If you’ve seen the flyers at the Burrito, it’s worth pointing out that we’re going to reschedule the planned Temperature Study and instead focus on the Iowa beers that we offer every day. If you haven’t worked your way through our lineup, this will be a great way to try some of the many tasty beers brewed in Iowa.

For the record, I’m doing a much better job of keeping all the newsy stuff on Facebook, so fan us and keep up with what’s going on. Any of the tasting writeups have appeared more so on brewvana. Sorry; I’ll try to do a better job of getting at least the links here. Somehow I always feel like I have to post a deep essay here, which is bollocks, but it’s how things haven’t been updated here.

So: next tasting: Saturday, September 19 @ 8pm

Oktober-Fiesta coming down the pipe on Oktober 3, details soon

Cheers, all!

August 09 Beer Tasting Info

Our next Beer Education Project tasting will take a walk through the English countryside. Put it on your calendar and come share a few English beers with us.

Theme: English Beers

Date: August 22, 2009

Time: 8pm

RSVP: appreciated, but not mandatory

Cost: $10

Here’s the event page on Facebook, if you want to check it out. Become a fan and spread the word.

Rural Iowa Film Festival Call For Entries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: J. Wilson

Phone: (641) 322-3990

Email: jwilson [AT] electricburrito . net

Rural Iowa Film Festival Call for Entries

CORNING, IOWA–July 13, 2009—Electric Burrito and Prairieland Yoga announce the Call for Entries for Rural Iowa Film Festival.

A cultural outreach project of Electric Burrito and Prairieland Yoga, Rural Iowa Film Festival (RIFF) is a three-day festival which will include five screening sessions and an awards ceremony, as well as beer and wine tastings, yoga workshops and a showcasing of the many sites, shops and art that Corning and The AC have to offer.

Launched to celebrate the second anniversary of Electric Burrito, RIFF is a celebration of film, food, family and friends. “We’re excited to bring a new layer of recreation to the community, and look forward to the response to our weekend of food-and-film shenanigans,” said J. Wilson, Electric Burrito owner and festival director.

Located in Corning, Iowa, Electric Burrito offers tasty Mexican-inspired food in a pleasant and unpretentious atmosphere. Electric Burrito proudly serves rotating specialty salsas, homemade desserts, as well as beer, wine and cider crafted in Iowa. Not only does Electric Burrito serve locally-crafted drinks, the restaurant also boasts Iowa’s own Maytag Blue Cheese; organic, fair-trade coffee roasted in Des Moines; as well as meat processed a block and a half from the restaurant’s front door.

Prairieland Yoga, owned by Certified Yoga Instructor Michelle Wilson, was also established in 2008, and brings another nuance to Corning’s Main Street District, as well as to the dynamics of the festival. Practicing yoga since 2000, and teaching since 2007, Michelle offers eclectic yoga to students of all shapes, sizes and fitness levels in a safe, supportive atmosphere.

To enter, visit www.electricburrito.net/rural_iowa_film_festival.

For further information, contact Festival Director J. Wilson at jwilson [AT] electricburrito . net

Dates: Deadline-February 15, 2010; Festival-May 14-16, 2010

Location: Corning, Iowa; Screening Location TBA

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July 09 Tasting…

The quick info on our July beer tasting is that it will take place on Saturday, July 25, from 3-6pm. It will be a free and informal opportunity to check out a few nice beers.

We’re still working out the details as to which beers will be involved (it could be focused on one Iowa brewery–it could be a smattering of Iowa beers). Regardless, it will be an Iowa-centric tasting in conjunction with Main Street’s Arts and Cars Festival that day.

In fact, it will be one of two beer tastings that day. Again this year there will be local homebrews on offer at Corning Center for the Fine Arts (Electric Burrito’s J. will surely have a couple of his there, as well). That one will run from 1-3pm. Make sure you check it out, as well!

Summer beer tasting approaches

A quick reminder: our next tasting is this Saturday, June 20, at 8pm.

The theme this month is summer beers, and I’m really excited to tuck into the brews I’ve selected. I think you’ll like them, too. And I also think you’ll find that there’s an amazing diversity in flavor profile among these “light” beers.

Not all things light are created equally. And light does not equal lame. These are lovely. See you there!

Electric Burrito

626 Davis Avenue

8pm on June 20

Be a fan and a follower

So we’ve been scrolling our Twitterized salsa updates in the sidebar of this dandy Burritoblog for many months now, and many of you are checking it out, or have taken the step to sign on to Twitter yourself, and follow us there. If you haven’t, it’s a good way to update folks with short bursts of info.

For us, it’s a quicker way than a blog entry to say, “Hell-apeno today!”

If you want to give it a go, click here:

Taking the networking thing a step further, I’ve set up a Facebook page, also for the purposes of info distribution, though with the capability for more interaction with you. I’ll set up events info regarding our tastings, etc., and you can even be so sweet as to RSVP there!

To become a fan of Electric Burrito on Facebook, click here:

June Tasting Announced

With May’s German Beer Tasting now a part of history, it’s time to talk about June. On June 20, we’ll feature a selection of beers perfect for the summer heat. Light, refreshing and flavorful.

I know you’re asking yourself, “Do I need to sign up in advance?” Folks have gotten out of the habit of signing up, but having a ballpark figure helps me gauge my beer buying. You see, I need less beer for eight people than I do for twenty. So if you could give me a pretty reliable heads-up, I’d appreciate it. I’m worried that I purchase beer for a safe number like 12-15 people, and accidentally have 25 people show up. Which could happen.

When: Saturday, June 20

What Time: 8pm

Cost: $10

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Sorry no real follow-up post on the German beers, but I’ve been uber-busy these days. And I forgot  my camera that night. Suffice it to say that the beers were much enjoyed. It would be a surprise to some of my readers, the attended tasters, those thinking of stopping by and/or those opposed to beer for whatever possibly wrong reasons that some of the lighter beers have been the least enjoyed and the darker beers the most eye-openingly glorious. That’s not a surprise to me, and I challenge you to come out for our next tasting.