Big Burrito is the restaurant you get when Mexicans copy Americans copying Mexicans.

he spacious, generally satisfying, order-at-the-counter restaurant near the corner of Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard offers a number of authentic Mexican dishes like cheek-meat tacos, menudo and tortas de adobada, but its focus is dishing out eponymous big burritos stuffed with things like beans, rice, carne asada and salsa.

It’s a Mexican take on the American gargantuan burrito that started in California in the 1970s and went mainstream with the help of chains such as Chipotle and Qdoba. While the inspiration may have originally come from Mexican cuisine, Mexicans don’t eat many burritos.

Seriously. I’ve snacked my way across a number of Mexican states, tasting tacos, tortas, tlayudas, memelas, sopas, even pancakes. And in that time, I’ve never seen a burrito.

But who cares? Clearly not the diners who frequent this spot for cheap, filling food.

Big Burrito is the sole Colorado location of a small Arizona-based chain owned by Phoenix resident Miguel Quintero. Like similar small local chains Taco Star and Taco Express, it has an American fast-food-style drive-through and walk-up counter with photos of the main menu items. It is also open late, and on weekends it doesn’t close at all. Like a typical taqueria, a spacious but bland dining area is packed with comfy booths under a flat-screen TV tuned to Spanish-language soap operas.

Big Burrito does best when it sticks to authentic Mexican dishes, and it has less success with American Tex-Mex favorites. The torta adobada — a marinated pork sandwich ($4.30) — is a case in point. The soft, crusty bolillo roll that is the foundation of this typical Mexican lunch snack arrives blackened slightly on the grill and stuffed with lettuce, fresh pico de gallo, a thin, saucy version of guacamole and lots of chopped, marinated pork. Though the pork is bracingly salty, it works with the fresh salsa and lettuce on a nice roll.

A plate of carnitas — pork braised with seasonings, then shredded ($7.20) — was juicy and had hints of oregano and bay leaf from its long cooking process. With tortillas on the side, it made phenomenal tacos.

On the other hand, a simple Tex-Mex cheese enchilada ($3.60) arrived with the inner cheese completely unmelted. It was also so buried in shredded lettuce that only red blots of enchilada sauce around the edges belied the existence of anything below.

Nachos suffered from the same lack of execution. A huge — and I mean budget-shortfall huge — plate of chips covered with carne asada, beans, sour cream, cheese  and more of that saucy guacamole, arrived cold — the cheese still a confetti of shreds instead of a molten nacho mantle.

Better to stick to Mexican standbys like the good tacos ($1.70-$2.20), which, in classic taqueria style, are served on a grilled corn tortilla, filled with small amounts of chopped meat, ranging from American-friendly chicken and carne asada (chopped steak) to Mexican favorites like buche (beef cheek) and cabeza (beef head).

Each table includes freshly made red and green salsas. Both are fairly mild and not that interesting. The chopped onions, cilantro and tomato of the pico de gallo also suffer a lack of flavor, largely because of the seriously unripe tomatoes. As in many American fast-food joints, the main seasoning here is salt.

Even so, Big Burrito has its place. Guys in their 20s seem to frequent the place for big burritos stuffed with everything from chicken to chiles rellenos (I recommend the carnitas.), all for less than $5. Big Burrito also does breakfast burritos all day.

If you are looking for fast food and want something more authentic than Taco Bell or Chipotle, put this place on your list.

BIG BURRITO2 STARS out of 5(Filling but not fabulous)Address: 3659 Austin Bluffs ParkwayPhone: 598-0843Hours: 5 a.m.-2 a.m., Mondays through Fridays; 24 hours, Saturdays and SundaysEntrees: $3.30-$7.20Vegetarian: PlentyAlcohol: NoCredit cards: Yes

You’ll fill up fast for a modest amount of money at Big Burrito, the only Colorado storefront for a small, Arizona chain. Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE