I've been going to La Bamba for burritos since my freshman year at University of Illinois in 1989, where the now-chain began. La Bamba has spread to college towns all over the Midwest and is widely known in this region.
We just lunched at the one in Chicago's Loop and I had a chance to speak with the owner, who is a sister of the guy who started it all back in Champaign, IL. I wish I could reverse engineer this stuff but I've never come close. The hot sauce is like spicy liquid gold!!
