‘Badass broads’ bring burritos to Best Friend Bar

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Sarah Wood and Beth Walker opened Girlsgirlsgirls Burritos four months ago inside of Best Friend Bar. 

By Marjorie Kirk

Whether it arrives on bike or on a mini baking sheet at Best Friend Bar, locally sourced burritos have become the passion of two best friends and life partners, Beth Walker and Sarah “Swood” Wood, who opened up Girlsgirlsgirls Burritos four months ago. 

The local secret is easy to miss, tucked in at the end of the bar inside Best Friend Bar, but the smells of their fresh bites wafting out into the bar are unmistakable. 

The women are redefining bar eats and take out service by striving to locally source as much of their product as they can seasonally, boosting each meal’s nutritional value, setting a higher wage for their cooks and supporting the local cycling community in Lexington with their bike delivery system. 

Walker’s talent for serving up delicious comfort food came from feeding her band, Blind Corn Liquor Pickers, when they would travel on the road or she would host them at her house. 

“If we crave this, other people are going to crave this,” Walker said. “We’re not Mexican cuisine. We don’t fit in—we have burritos, but that’s just the style that we’re doing.” 

One of Walker’s dreams is to have a mobile unit at festivals with the band, and maybe even own a farm where they can grow produce for their shop. 

The local producers they source from include the popular local food truck and restaurant Bradford BBQ, which provides them with all of their meat, and Barren County cow farmers Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese.

Walker and Wood have been growing or cooking food for years, and even met most of their coworkers while working in Lexington restaurants like Stella’s Kentucky Deli and Al’s Bar.

While it is a challenge, they think it is crucial that they pay their cooks adequately, compared to what their friends in the industry have been shortchanged in the past.

“We feel grateful for getting to work in the food system,” Wood said. “From everyone that grows the food to the person washing the dishes, every one of them is so different and we just feel so lucky that we get to come do that for our job.” 

Burritos are cooked “dorado” style, meaning the tortilla is cooked to golden perfection on a stove after the burrito has been assembled. 

In addition to build your own options, the duo prepare specials such as this past weekend’s “Fried green tomato Gringo burrito,” which featured smoked chicken, bacon, chipotle ranch, fried green tomatoes, cotija cheese and spinach. 

Sauces, guacamole, the perfect pink slaw and pickled red onions are made fresh and in house. 

Fresh red and green salsa, lime crema, girls XXX chipotle sauce and queso can be added on.

The couple also tries to accommodate for the different diets their customers have, so they have vegan and vegetarian options. 

Anything they can fit into a burrito, they are more than happy to put on three corn tortillas for their gluten-free diners. 

One of the most popular burritos is their homage to the bar that took them in: the BFF.

This burrito was designed to please what they see as the “frat boy’s” diet of chicken and queso. They throw in their tangy pickled red onions, some lime crema, light spinach, red salsa and quacamole to pack it with the parts of the food pyramid the women fear they neglect. 

Cracking into the golden shell releases the smoky and salty chicken with the sweet salsa and hearty spinach. The finish of tangy onions pairs perfectly with the savory queso and crema. 

Open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. these “badass broads,” as they’ve dubbed themselves, are serving up something new. 

“At the end of the day it’s something you do to nourish your body and nourish your soul and we love doing those things,” Walker said. “It’s about love of food.”