The Fighting Burrito puts up its dukes in a new ring.

The Fighting Burrito, long a popular burrito shop in Ames' Campustown, recently opened a new location in Des Moines' Western Gateway. Excited for a burrito shop in my neck of the woods I paid a couple of visits. (No offense to Pablo's California Taqueria on the Skywalk. I rarely take a lunch break, and Pablo's like many other Skywalk eateries closes down by 2 p.m.)

For my burrito I went with a custom build made with soyrizo, wild rice, black beans, grilled veggies (peppers and onions), and spicy corn salsa wrapped in a tomato tortilla. The soyrizo boasts some crispness from its stay in the cast iron skillet; the flavor though is a tad salty. The spicy corn salsa lives up to its name, sometimes exhibiting an overabundance of spice, but offers no serious heat.

Sampling a side of the house hot sauce I am first taken aback by the sweet fruitiness, much like a candied apricot, but the source is in fact from peaches. The heat comes quickly soon after, a balanced steady burn.

Still peckish I ordered up some nachos with white beans, queso sauce, lettuce, black olives, and Fighting Burrito's Classic salsa. The queso is quite mild and smooth; white beans with their creaminess are surprisingly complimentary.

On my next visit I ordered a quesadilla. With choice of tortilla, the meat and salsa on the side, I passed on meat and in its place ordered grilled veggies tucked into a wheat tortilla with melted cheese. With earthy, nutty flavors the wheat tortilla is the way to go! The veggies were a little oily, I would have enjoyed the quesadilla more without them.

On sampling a variety of dips I found the cilantro lime sour cream to be exceptionally smooth, but heavy-handed on salt. Guacamole is far more approachable, and simply flavored. Mostly creamy with small chunks strewn about. It's pleasant, but best suited less on a chip and more so inside a burrito. The chunky chipotle tomato salsa is zesty and flavorsome. Not too hot, but it doesn't need to be. An optimal chip dipper.

The Fighting Burrito, though convenient, won't slake my appetite for Bandit Burrito's more appealing soyrizo [see blog post]. But for a quality nacho fix, The Fighting Burrito suits my need well.