UYE: VIP Open House @ California Tortilla

I enjoyed the event more than the venue. I’m still unclear about whether they thought the information from the trivia was being adequately communicated to everyone, or if we were supposed to be such huge fans of their product already that we knew where they sourced their meat. Also, for all the video footage they took, no amount of Google-​stalking during the following week produced any clips from the event.
Grilling meat outside and eating it straight up was much preferable to the meals I sampled. I’m a coupon fiend, but I have to tell you, the freebies we got for later use went in the trash. I did use the insulated tote for months until the handles ripped off, and I’m almost done with the hot sauce. So fab event (bummed I didn’t make it to the more recent one at IH), meh grub. Yes, I know it’s sad it took me a year to clear out this bit of backlog.

I just found one of the coupons I scored at this event for free chips and queso and was reminded that for once, I can review this event!
First of all, a big thank you to California Tortilla for opening their doors and inviting us to chow down like the little gluttons that we all are!
I can count on one hand the number of times I had eaten California Tortilla before this event. My old company used to always cater in food for us from different places, but very often there would be huge bins of old, cold, random burritos. So, I guess that’s really not a good gauge of the freshness.
I did not expect for the event coordinators here to be so engaging, knowledgeable and charismatic. It really speaks volumes of the brand. I also did not expect to eat so much. Not only were they grilling tons of steak and chicken to sample, but the fresh guac, chips and free meal of your choice was awesome!
Plus, now I can eat more Cal Tort because of all of the coupons thrown into my schwag bag.
As always, it was great to see everyone. Kim N — thanks for setting up this event listing. That set a great example to remind people (including me) that UYEs (Unofficial Unilocal Events) should be reviewed as separate listings.

Ok, I liked CalTort before I came… and now I really really like CalTort!
What a great event! A coupon for anything on the menu with chips, salsa, and a drink? Really?
I know — this isn’t a Michelin multiple star joint, but it’s great fresh food for the people, and before I went to this event, I would have told you that I could not finish one of their huge burritos. I thought I’d have half of it at least to take home. Alas, the company was good, and I lingered and chewed my way through, and everything was right with the world.
The freebies were great… they gave us hot sauce, many more coupons for free stuff, and an insulated bag. I needed ALL of those! How did they know?

you just can’t go wrong with free food, a free bottle of hot sauce, free insulated bag, coupons for more free food, an abe lincoln and guacamole and salsa making demos.
my daughter was all excited to be my +1 for her very first Unilocal event, and she just LOVED the guacamole making and eating. following this event, i was making guac at home when she told me i was doing it all wrong, intervened and took over. she’s an expert now.
it was great fun eating and chatting with kim & steve and seeing donald’s baby for the first time! awww…
i also just used the coupon for free nachos yesterday at the caltort in silver sprang! i do love me some coupons.

Ah, bookmarked this and forgot to review it.
I had never been to a California Tortilla before (despite literally living across the street from one). I’m glad I made it out to this event. The food was delicious, and the demonstrations and free food was awesome.
Upon arrival, we were checked in and got the bag, coupons, free admission (for two) for the wax museum, and hot sauce. Hot sauuceeeeee :]! While we were watching demonstrations, they handed out chips and salsa. Great start. Gradually moved over to order food: got a free burrito, and free chips and queso. Got the honey lime burrito, and it was super tasty. And I love cheese, so the chips and queso hit the spot. Had tons of food, and took half the burrito and remainder of the chips home.
It was a little dreary outside, but c’est la vie. Got more coupons for trivia questions, and the lady was super friendly and enthusiastic.
The bottom line: Yummy food and lots of coupons. I’ll be back again.
Thanks, Tara!

Food was delicious… as for an event… well it was alright. Nothing to go crazy over. It was a good chance to bring our permanent +1 to the outting though =D
I’m seriously craving a burrito from here now. Need to use this coupon!

I’ll tell the truth: I would have never, EVER gone to California Tortilla if it weren’t for this event. And here I am, going three times in one week.
The free food and drink was awesome, and the insulated bag, sauce, and coupons were great. (I’ve had some consistency issues w/​redeeming the coupons. Once I was allowed any type of nachos, once I was told it was only for «plain nachos)
The people working the show were super nice, and I even somehow negotiated some extra free queso and a free brownie. The place was a tad crowded, not only Unilocalers (that’s alright!), but there were some creepers floating around.
All in all, this was a great event! I was able to make a believer out of my skeptic non-​Yelper +1, and I (& others) will continue to benefit from the loot for weeks to come.
p. s. chicken cooking demos and guac/​salsa making shows were nice albeit slightly crowded

Everything was so delicious. Thanks for the swag! The welcome taste of pollo a la parilla, the handmade pico and guac, the lime salted chips were a tasting delight. The free dinner with a choice of anything on the menu was quite a bonus! I got the grilled chicken burrito, chips & queso, and a sprite/​lemonade mix.
Why am I docking 1 star? [1] the lack of alcohol at a Unilocal elite event. But I can’t really fault Unilocal Elite because California Tortilla does not serve alcohol. But I really needed a margarita to go with all of that delicious tex-​mex. [2] It was so cold and dreary outside; they had us seated outside; [3] I’d hurt myself in the gym earlier that day and was trying to make it thru and some really mean, ignorant, ugly guys stole my chair when I went inside to get some hotsauce.
Other than that, it was a really really great event. Thanks Tara L!

Hey Burrito!
Oh yeah burrito yeah
Hey Burrito!
Oh yeah burrito yeah
Cal Tortilla, Cal Tortilla!
Rice and Beans, Rice and Beans
Chicken and Cheese, Chicken and Cheese
Guacamole, Cheezy Queso. Guacamole, Cheezy Queso!
This was my favorite song to sing as a camp counselor. It may have been originally about Taco Bell. I loved my free hot sauce, coupons, and swaggy swag bag. Thanks Tara!

Admittedly, I’ve only eaten at California Tortilla once – it was at this same location about 5 years ago – and I had no intention of going back before last night. (I’m a very loyal Chipotle girl and there’s not much of a comparison beyond the fact that it’s fast food Mexican.) But I’m glad that the promise of free food and swag at the Unilocal Elite event lured me back, because it was really quite good!
With the voucher we were given at the door for a free meal, I ordered the Honey Lime burrito bowl at the recommendation of my coworker. If you get the combo they’ll add either chips & queso or chips & salsa and a drink, so I did the chips & queso. The burrito bowl was big and very good – it had almost too much delicious, moist chicken. My boyfriend remarked that he thought maybe they were added extra meat knowing that the crowd was Elite Unilocalers, but I doubt it. I also enjoyed the chips and queso although the queso at Qdoba is still my número uno. (Or, quite frankly, the Rotel + Velveeta that I make in my own microwave.)
But truly, «Caltort» (which I cannot say with a straight face – doesn’t it sound like slang for the way people sue each other on the West Coast?) is a chain after my own heart with its vast array of hot sauces to choose from that you can eat with your meal, most of which are not their own brand. We were given a complimentary bottle of the «California Screaming» hot sauce that I actually really enjoyed and will definitely use.
A very big thanks to Unilocal for the invite! We enjoyed ourselves a lot and the marketing objectives for California Tortilla were definitely met – this former hater will probably go back on her own!

The event tonight — the first dry elite event I’ve attended — was much better than expected! I hadn’t been to California Tortilla before, and so expectations were low. I loved the swag bags we received which doubles as a warm/​cool bag for foods, etc. Also got some chipotle sauce and coupons for more CalTort, as well as admission for two to Madame Tussaud’s. In addition to the fun bags, we also got dinner on the house, which included an entrée and combo.
There were cooking demos. Outside was the chicken and steak; inside was the salsa and guacamole. Bf and I opted to first get our meals, grab a table before watching the demos inside. I opted for the enchilada burrito bowl with chicken; he got the steak quesadillas. The tortilla strips in the bowl made for a nice crunch!
The salsa was delicious and I loved that it was so fresh. The guac was yummy as well and I also loved how it was so readily available!
It got pretty crowded so I didn’t see much of the demos. Not a big deal since I already know how to make salsa and guac from scratch.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and bf loved his free dinner.
+1 to Olivia D.‘s daughter who helped us snag the guac!
Also, the Abe Lincoln roaming around was quite hilarious. Added some good humor to the night. CalTort exceeded my expectations. The food was fresh and while not quite healthy, it didn’t leave me with the gross feeling that fast foods tend to give me!
Thanks again Tara for another great event — I actually left full on food and not liquid!