COS Breakfast Burritos and Hot Takes With The One and Only, Meagan Thomas!
Meagan Thomas is back for her third appearance on Springs and Things, and this time she is settling the most important debates in Colorado Springs food culture: beans or no beans, french fries or seasoned potatoes, handheld or smothered, and whether a breakfast burrito without eggs is even a breakfast burrito at all. Sitting around Lauren's kitchen table with cappuccinos and actual breakfast burritos in hand, Meagan walks Carly and Lauren through her wildly popular ongoing breakfast burrito review series on social media, explains why she is as passionate about getting locals off the North Side as she is about the food itself, and shares what it is really like to go viral and deal with spicy TikTok comment sections. This one is warm, funny, and genuinely useful if you want to know where to eat in Colorado Springs.
What You'll Learn in This Episode:
Meagan breaks down exactly how her breakfast burrito series works: she orders a chorizo, egg, and potato burrito as her consistent control order at each spot, reviews it on its own terms rather than ranking it against others, and drops a five-place carousel roundup every five videos so followers can actually save and use the information. She explains why she is deliberately seeking out restaurants on the Southeast Side of Colorado Springs, an area she grew up in and says is criminally underrepresented in local food conversations, especially for authentic Mexican food. She also gets into the potato debate (it is not about whether potatoes belong, it is about what kind), why TikTok commenters are meaner than Instagram ones, and why her guiding philosophy for food and life is never yuck someone's yum. Plus: the Breakfast Burrito Awards, with category winners for best overall, cheapest in town, best salsa, best tortilla, and best all-around crowd pleaser.
Timestamps:
00:00 Cappuccinos, Kirkland milk, and the great Costco divide
05:00 How the breakfast burrito series was born and how it works
09:00 Why Meagan is intentionally spotlighting the Southeast Side of Colorado Springs
12:00 The standout surprise: Azada's avocado salsa and house-made tortillas
15:00 Luna Market: the Mexican grocery store with a butcher, a food truck, and an incredible breakfast burrito counter
18:00 Roll Up in Fountain: worth the 25-minute drive
21:00 The great potato debate: french fries vs. seasoned potatoes vs. tater tots
25:00 Handheld vs. smothered and why the distinction matters for this series
28:00 Garden of the Gods Market, King Chef's Diner, and where they fit
31:00 Going viral and dealing with mean TikTok comments
36:00 Never yuck someone's yum: Meagan's food philosophy
39:00 The Breakfast Burrito Awards: category winners across Colorado Springs
45:00 How long the series will run and how to suggest a spot
48:00 Picks of the Week: Mary Poppins at the Fine Arts Center and the Holiday Roll and Stroll at Buffalo Lodge
The Breakfast Burrito Awards: Meagan's Category Winners
These are not rankings. They are categories, because as Meagan says, breakfast burritos are subjective and the goal is to help you find the right one for what you are craving.
Best Overall (crowd pleaser for everyone): Roll Up in Fountain. Large, dense, flavorful, works smothered or handheld, multiple meat options, excellent green salsa and green chili. Price is slightly higher but the size justifies it.
Cheapest in Town: Tacos del Amigo. Under $6 for a solid, delicious breakfast burrito. Unbeatable value.
Best Salsa: Azada. Their avocado salsa is exceptional and the house-made tortillas put them in a category of their own. Meagan does not even like beans in her breakfast burrito, and the beans at Azada converted her.
Best Tortilla: La Casita. Their house-made tortillas are Meagan's favorite in the entire city, full stop, even though their breakfast burritos themselves are not her personal favorite overall.
Best All-Around People Pleaser: Tacos del Gordo. Good salsa, solid tortilla, a burrito that the broadest range of people would enjoy.
Hidden Gem Worth the Drive: Luna Market on the Southeast Side. A Mexican grocery store and butcher with a food counter inside and a whole grilled chicken food truck out front. The chorizo is exceptional and the tortilla is cooked beautifully. Most Colorado Springs locals have never been.
Still on the List: Zapata, Monica's Taco Shop, and several more Southeast Side spots Meagan has not revisited yet.
About Meagan Thomas and the Breakfast Burrito Series:
Meagan Thomas, formerly known online as Springs Native, recently rebranded to Actually It's Meagan across all her social media platforms. Find her on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube under that handle. Her breakfast burrito series is ongoing with no set end date, dropping individual video reviews and five-place carousel roundups on a rolling basis. She covers Colorado Springs restaurants broadly, not just breakfast burritos, and is one of the best local follows for new openings, hidden gems, and honest food opinions across the state and beyond.
Want to suggest a spot for the series? Check her page first to make sure she has not already been, then send her a DM.
Picks of the Week:
Mary Poppins at the Fine Arts Center (Carly's pick) Running now through December 28. Lauren saw it and loved it, and the early word of mouth has been nothing but strong. Tickets are available on the Fine Arts Center website, linked in the show notes. Mary Poppins at the holidays is exactly what it sounds like.
Holiday Roll and Stroll at Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort (Carly's pick) Starting November 29, Buffalo Lodge is hosting a nightly holiday light display that you can walk, bike, or drive through every evening from sunset to 9pm. Stop inside the lodge for a warm drink and enjoy the lights and atmosphere throughout the property. Find details and plan your visit at Buffalo Lodge's website, linked in the show notes.
Sponsors:
Modern Interior Company is a full service interior design firm in Colorado Springs specializing in elevated, stress-free home design from concept to completion for busy professionals and high-end homeowners. Learn more at moderninterior.co.
Core Collective is Downtown Colorado Springs' reformer Pilates studio with welcoming instructors and a community that makes showing up the best part of the week. Use promo code SPRINGSANDTHINGS at checkout for three classes at $30. Visit corecollectivecos.com.
Key Quotes:
"Never yuck someone's yum." -- Meagan Thomas
"If you really want great authentic Mexican food, go to the Southeast Side of town." -- Meagan Thomas
"You might see a breakfast burrito and have no idea how different the potato inside is going to make it." -- Meagan Thomas (paraphrased)
"I could eat breakfast burritos for breakfast, lunch, dinner, second dinner, you name it." -- Carly
About Springs and Things:
Springs and Things is Colorado Springs' go-to local podcast for dining, arts, events, and community stories. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a five star review, and share this episode with a friend who loves The Springs as much as we do.
