An offshoot of a popular Fayetteville burrito bar, The Flying Burrito Co. has recently opened in Little Rock's River Market District.
   It's not a new concept even to the Little Rock area; Blue Coast and Moe's have already blazed the burrito-to-order trail. This place at least has the advantage of being in the popular downtown party strip, and it stays open late -- until midnight, with a walk-up window that's supposed to stay open until the wee hours.
   The burritos, which you can have stuffed with at least a dozen different ingredients, are large and filling and reasonably tasty, but you may want to avoid the place at peak lunchtime if you don't have spare time.
   On our first visit, which began when we walked through the door at 12:10, it took 25 minutes for our place in line to reach the counter and 10 minutes between the time we ordered our burrito until we paid for it and got it to a table. That's for a burrito that only took us about five minutes to eat.
   A second visit, in the early evening, proceeded more smoothly, and on our third visit, just shy of 1 p.m., there was no line at all.
   The line to the counter stacks up along a fairly steep ramp; once you get your food, you can either buck the traffic on the ramp or descend down a small staircase alongside the bar to the smallish L-shaped dining area, where seating in one side of the L is at scruffy second-hand tables in pewlike benches or odd-matched black-painted chairs (captain's chairs dominate, but we noticed other styles as well), or near the roll-up garage-style windows, in old-style woodback booths or small blackplastic covered tables.
   For burritos and quesadillas, you have an initial choice of 12-inch tortillas -- wheat, flour, tomato-basil, spinach or jalapeno cheddar; you can subsequently choose veggie ($5.29), chicken, beef or carnitas ($5.59) or steak or fish ($6.29). Also on that tortilla you can add rice, beans (refried or black), cheese, sour cream, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, corn, jalapenos, black olives, salsa and/or potatoes (surely we missed a few here or there).
   Your burrito maker rolls it all up into a big, fat wad and wraps it in foil, which you peel back bit by bit to keep the whole thing together and not dump it into your lap. The quesadilla goes into a press for heating, crisping and flattening. Mild or slightly spicy queso, grilled peppers and onions, extra meat and extra cheese are pay-extra options.
   Our carnitas (shredded pork) burrito, with black beans, rice, lettuce, mild salsa and shredded cheddar-Monterey jack blend on flour tortilla, was good, though perhaps not worth a 35-minute wait. Our less-than-five-minute quesadilla, with steak, cheese and potatoes on jalapeno cheddar tortilla, was very good.
   We can't, however, recommend the hard-shell tacos, fillable with any or all of the ingredients you can put into a burrito, at least not at Flying Burrito Co. prices -- three for $4.99 veggie, $5.29 chicken, beef or carnitas, $5.69 steak or fish. Not that they weren't good, but $1.75 or more per taco is pretty steep.
   The one thing that absolutely makes a trip to Flying Burrito Co. worthwhile is the wonderful guacamole -- 79 cents for a tiny side cup, or $4.49 for a decent-size foam cup. The guac is chunky, with enough garlic, citrus and spices to tingle the tongue but not disguise the taste or texture of avocados.
   All orders come with thin, crisp, salt-free chips that are sturdy enough to stand up to the queso (79 cents side, $4.49 cup) -- the spicy version has a slight chipotle kick -- but frequently snapped while trying to scoop guac.
   Staff members are friendly and helpful and seem eager to please. Management says the walk-up window should help reduce the lunch-rush crowd at the counter.
   

THE FLYING BURRITO CO. Address:
300D President Clinton Ave., Little Rock

Hours:
11 a.m.-midnight (walk-up window stays open until 3 a.m.) Monday-Saturday ; Sunday hours pending

Cuisine: Made-to-order
burritos, tacos, quesadillas, nachos

Credit cards:
V, MC, AE, D

Alcoholic beverages:
Full bar

Reservations:
No

Nonsmoking section:
Smoking permitted at the bar

Wheelchair accessible:
Yes, with limitations

Carryout:
Yes

(501) 372-7272 www.flyingburritoco.com

This story was published Friday, June 16, 2006