Boloco Bethesda
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

On a recent trip to Boston, an old high school friend and I were walking through town when we came across the burrito joint. “It’s Boloco! You’ve never heard of Boloco? They’re all over Boston!” he said. I felt like I was missing out on something with our burrito chains in DC. So the only reply I could muster was, “Dude, I don’t live in Boston.” A few months later the name (which stands for BOston LOcal COmpany) rang a bell when I saw they were opening in Bethesda, and I remembered the fervor with which my Bostonian friend talked about their burritos.

Before you read any further, here’s your free food alert: Boloco in Bethesda is giving out free burritos today from 11 AM to 8 PM. The small, mini burritos and bowls are free, and the original-sized burritos are just $1. Boloco is located at 4930 Elm Street, Bethesda, DC.


Buffalo chicken burritos at Boloco
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

Nutella Shake at Boloco
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

You’ll find more than just the traditional burrito at Boloco–there’s a teriyaki version with brown rice, broccoli, carrots and caramelized onions, or the buffalo burrito with spicy buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing, rice and celery. Or you can choose to “goloco” and create your own burrito or burrito bowl. While milkshakes probably aren’t the first beverage choice that would come to mind to slurp down with a burrito, Boloco has a smootie menu as well. Calories be damned, go for the cookie monster smoothie made with Boloco’s chocolate chip cookie, skim milk and non-fat frozen yogurt, or the nutella milkshake.

For now, Boloco is open in their Bethesda location, with another location set to open on 19th and L streets NW in approximately a month. Their CEO, John Pepper, said the group is also looking to open a Georgetown location in the near future. The Bethesda location is the first one outside of the New England region.

Boloco Bethesda
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

Marissa Bialecki

Marissa was born and bred in New Jersey, but moved to DC for undergrad at GWU (Go Colonials, go!), fell in love with the District and learned that there was life and civilization beyond New York City. She loves eating at white-tablecloth-three-forks-at-your-place-setting restaurants, but she’ll also be the first to suggest we scarf down some chili dogs at 2 am. Simply put, she loves all things food. You can also read about why she loves DC. Follow her on Twitter and email her at mbialecki (at) welovedc.com.