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• Have you had a little donkey today? Aside from the certainty of its literal translation, the origins of the burrito are highly disputed (although we can be sure they never contained actual donkey meat … but after that, anything goes). Peter Fox of the Washington Post notes, in his quest to find the true origins of the burrito, “As we followed the historical trail, and got closer and closer to the source, the burritos became smaller and smaller, and our favorite ingredients disappeared one by one. When we finally found what we thought was the original burrito, it was very different from the burritos we knew and loved. The burrito’s evolution seemed like a cross-generational version of the children’s game of telephone, in which a message is passed through so many people that the message at the end is completely different from the original.”
• In Mexico, burritos typically consist of refried beans, Spanish rice, or meat in a small tortilla, whereas in the United States fillings might include a combination of ingredients such as Spanish rice, beans, lettuce, salsa, meat, guacamole, cheese, and sour cream, and, like many things in American … is considerably large.
• What exactly IS a burrito? Well, at least we know it’s not a sandwich, or so it was ruled by a judge when Panera attempted to thwart a Qdoba Mexican Grill from moving into its shopping center by invoking a clause that prevented other sandwich shops from moving in.
• So what were original burritos like? Fox found, “this humble burrito was very small—maybe 6 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter, a far cry from the hefty burritos we were used to. The meat, while smoky and flavorful, was a little bit dry and chewy, as you might expect dried beef to be [...] I was disappointed, but only for a moment: I realized that all was as it should be [...] but for me, I’ll stick with the California style any day.” Listen to a clip from Peter’s journey to find the original burrito here.
• If your dedication to burrito consumption is paramount, consider this deal by Casa Sanchez in San Francisco. In 1999, they offered a lifetime of free burritos if you got their logo tattooed on your arm.
• Burritos can be healthy, nutritious meals. Consider the Burrito Project—Feeding the homeless with burritos, an idea that got rolling thanks to MySpace.
• I’m noticing a trend in these Dietribes … no matter the food, there always seems to be a related eating competition. So, for those of you with stronger stomachs than mine, information on Competitive Burrito eating.
• Is that a burrito in your pocket, or are you just angry to see me? The story of a New Mexico high school that went into lockdown when a giant burrito was mistaken for a weapon. I like two things about this story: One, that the perp’s name is Morrissey (because it would be), and that he’s now referred to as “Burrito Boy.”
• According to Burrito Brothers founder Peter Fox (the same one mentioned earlier), the classic assemblage of a burrito is as such:
Steam or grill a 12-inch flour tortilla for 30 seconds to soften it up. Then spoon about 1/4 cup salsa, 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup beans and 1/2 cup meat down the center of the burrito. Fold 2 to 3 inches of the right and left sides in. Flip the bottom up over the filling, tuck it in and roll up the burrito. Cheese, guacamole, hot sauce or sour cream may be added to the filling as desired.
• Bonus link: Speaking of Little Donkey, for Ricky Gervais podcast fans, here’s Karl Pilkington talking about “going down a storm” drumming to Little Donkey.
• OK fellow Flossers, where’s your favorite place to pick up a burrito? Here in Atlanta, we often stop by Moe’s, especially in the late morning after long nights out. Or, if making your own burrito, what are your favorite ingredients?
Hungry for more? Venture into the Dietribes archive.
‘Dietribes’ appears every other Wednesday. Food photos taken by Johanna Beyenbach. You might remember that name from our post about her colorful diet.
Comments (42)
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best burrito place in Rochester is Sol Burrito – or Salena’s for a nice sit-down meal
posted by Clotho on 6-11-2008 at 4:01 pm
Living in Texas, I think the best burrito joint is Freebird’s. Hands down. I’m a firm believer of artillery shell size burritos.
Chipotle chains on the other hand… I find disgusting.
posted by Christopher on 6-11-2008 at 4:11 pm
A local family’s four shops – Rosa Maria’s. A dang good garbage burrito – although I prefer BRC. My brother has my mom bring him 12-15 burritos every time she visits him.
posted by Kate on 6-11-2008 at 4:37 pm
Muchas Gracias…not only for the tasty post, but that’s where we get the best burritos.
posted by Johnny Cat on 6-11-2008 at 4:49 pm
San Diego has more good burritos that we know what to do with, the best places to get them are anything -berto’s (Albertos, Robertos, etc.)
carne asada, salsa, guac, nom nom nom!
posted by Cheri on 6-11-2008 at 4:53 pm
Gotta love Taco Del Mar… they have the best burritos
posted by Krissie on 6-11-2008 at 5:04 pm
I second that San Diego has the best burritos around!! (Except I’ll have to disagree with the Bertos claim, sorry)
The hardest thing about leaving SD wasn’t the beaches or the weather, it was the Mexican food for sure.
My favorite place is El Por Venir on National Ave. in Barrio Logan. It’s a tiny little shop with a husband and wife team, and one big pot of carnitas simmering over the stove all.day.long. Their burritos are amazing.
By far the best burrito is the California burrito – carne asada, french fries, guacamole and salsa.
posted by Lauren on 6-11-2008 at 5:14 pm
In Atlanta/Kennesaw area… Buckhead Burrito! Great fish burrito!
posted by Jan on 6-11-2008 at 5:29 pm
here in utah, i’ve gotta go for the “artillery shell” burrito – beto’s (or ranchito’s as some of them are called) – cheap and massive! i’m a big guy, and one of these can be 2 meals! for one that’s a little fancier, costa vida has one that’s way tasty too. sweet pork is gooood!
posted by shaunfather on 6-11-2008 at 5:41 pm
I am amazed that a Texan would consider a chain restaurant the best burritos in the state. I prefer Tex-Mex or Mexican-style burritos rather than the Americanized version. Any local place will do–the more hole in the wall, the better. ;-) I do like Freebirds (though not artillery-sized!).
I had never heard of burrito chain restaurants until I spent a semester in Honolulu back in 2004, and one of my friends who was there from Dayton obsessed over the Chipotle burritos on the U of Dayton campus location. He even had a friend who visited from UD bring him a burrito–something about a contest on the funnest place you’ve ever eaten a Chipotle burrito.
posted by nutmeag on 6-11-2008 at 5:52 pm
Ranchito’s (formerly Beto’s) in Salt Lake City. You may need to start small with a bean burrito and build up an immunity before trying the carne asada or mixed breakfast burritos.
posted by Teus on 6-11-2008 at 5:59 pm
Rancherito’s (formerly Beto’s) in Salt Lake City. You may need to start small with a bean burrito and build up an immunity before trying the carne asada or mixed breakfast burritos.
posted by Teus on 6-11-2008 at 6:00 pm
As soon as I saw the title of this post my mouth started watering for a Chipotle burrito. I used to eat them all the time when I lived in Tucson. I make my own now with classic ingredients: meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, olives, avocado, and sour cream. Not the healthiest thing in the world but darn tasty.
posted by Tricia on 6-11-2008 at 6:04 pm
Freebirds Burritos in Isla Vista, CA and Jesse’s El Taco de Mexico in Oxnard, CA are my favorites!
posted by JP on 6-11-2008 at 6:48 pm
San Diego has some great Mexican food – but here in San Francisco we like to think we invented the modern day or California style burrito. I challenge any California city or any City in general to compete with the Mission District or International Blvd. in Oakland.
posted by FRO DIGGS on 6-11-2008 at 6:58 pm
I second Freebirds. It is a chain, but the burritos are SO good.
posted by Mary on 6-11-2008 at 7:23 pm
If you are in Atlanta then you need to dump Moe’s for Chipotle. That is the one thing missing from South Georgia.
posted by Leslie on 6-11-2008 at 7:29 pm
Here in Seattle there is a pretty good chain called Taco del Mar that makes huge burritos packed with everything (beans, rice, choice of meat, guacamole, sour cream, kitchen sink). I can not even eat all of a “mini” one. However for an authentic and delicious beyond belief burrito one must find a taco truck, usually parked in a gas station lot. I had to overcome my Midwestern sensibilities and eat food off a truck after my roommate brought home the best smelling burrito on the planet. Now I insist on at least one taco truck visit a week.
posted by Cynthia on 6-11-2008 at 7:29 pm
Hands down, my favorite burrito place is Burritos Noches on the North side of The Ohio State University Columbus campus. Huge burritos on the meal plan. Doesn’t get any better than that.
P.S. my recaptcha is Guatemalan Dunne. huh.
posted by Amy on 6-11-2008 at 8:18 pm
If you’re ever in Albany, NY, you’ve GOT to stop by Bombers Burrito Bar. The best burritos and disco fries anywhere!
posted by Meghan on 6-11-2008 at 9:36 pm
If you’re ever on Long Island, Green Cactus is a must! Soooo… good…
They don’t use frozen or canned food, lard, or microwaves. Everything is very fresh and made each morning. They have the nutritional information on their website.
I pretty much live on their fish tacos. Big thumbs up!
ps: recaptcha is Daily barnyard
posted by Jess on 6-11-2008 at 9:57 pm
El Burrito Jr. in California.
I didn’t understand why they always had a line coming out to the street from the stand until I tried one. The best bean burrito in the world, hands down.
posted by Tyler on 6-11-2008 at 10:15 pm
Freebirds is okay but if you are in Austin, eat local! Go to Juan in a Million off Ceasar Chavez. Of course, they only serve breakfast and lunch so you have to go early. If you miss lunch at Juan’s go to Polvo’s on South First. Yum, Yum!
posted by lightlylilly on 6-11-2008 at 10:51 pm
If you’re ever in Seoul, South Korea, check out Choi’s Tacos in Shinchon. The guy (Thomas) lived in Mexico for a while. Fantastic!
posted by Steve on 6-11-2008 at 11:10 pm
FREEBIRD! sorry, couldn’t resist.
posted by johnny cat on 6-11-2008 at 11:59 pm
If ever in NM, Albuquerque to be sure you’ve got to have Carne Adovada, Oddly enough the 24-hour Frontier restaraunt near the UNM campus does a decent Carne Adovada burrito with just meat (very thin, order a few). There are better places around, but I will refrain from naming them so that tables may continue to be had.
posted by brick_city_man on 6-12-2008 at 12:00 am
the best burritos you’ll ever have come from roadside food trucks (my dad calls them ‘roach coaches’) and are made entirely by hand. They consist of ground meat (your choice: beef, chicken, pork, or even beef tongue for you adventurous types) on a small corn tortilla, topped with onion, green pepper, sour cream and fresh cilantro.
These overinflated fast-food monstrosities, pah! Not even close.
posted by heather on 6-12-2008 at 1:22 am
im very obviously an american teen because i love chipotle. i live in the midwest, so not a lot in the way of authentic hispanic food. i think chipotle is amazing, but ive never gotten a real burrito, the portion size frightens me a little. Burrito bowls all the way!
posted by maxiebob on 6-12-2008 at 7:07 am
La Bamba’s in Bloomington/Normal, IL (Illinois State University) has the best burritos. Their slogan is “Burritos as big as your head”. Plus they are open until after the bars close so it was great drunk food. They also have a few locations in Chicago, but they are not as good
I prefer a steak and chicken burrito with cheese, rice, beans, and hot sauce.
Damn…i’m getting hungry
And I hate to admit it, but I do enjoy myself some Chipotle. There is something about the rice there that is awesome
posted by Andy on 6-12-2008 at 8:46 am
We’ve got a chain here in Central Illinois called “La Bamba” that has the best slogan: “Burritos as big as your head.”
I haven’t had one in years…for me, they have a strong association with college hangovers.
posted by bre on 6-12-2008 at 9:01 am
Tuscaloosa- Taco Gean hands down!
posted by LR on 6-12-2008 at 9:24 am
Even though it’s a chain I love Freebird’s. To be fair I had my first burrito from them when there was only 1 of them, not a chain.
posted by Neal on 6-12-2008 at 10:37 am
Taco Bell
haha just kidding.
But I am not pretending to be above chain restaurants either.
I love Chipotle and our local knockoff Burrachos.
Thanks to that picture, I foresee a trip there.
posted by mrs.djs on 6-12-2008 at 11:16 am
I know I should be all cool and name some dumpy little “authentic” place, but the truth is, I like Chipotle a lot. The Mexican restaurant business seems to be booming wherever you go, so I don’t feel terrible about not buying local in this particular case.
Call me a terrible person, but I just might have it for lunch. I’ve been good for lunch every other day this week. Mmmm…
posted by kate on 6-12-2008 at 11:19 am
In Toronto, Canada the line ups at Burrito Boyz spills out the door!
posted by Angeline on 6-12-2008 at 11:41 am
SO HUNGRY! You can´t really get burritos here in Peru but now I know what I am making for dinner at home…
posted by GTT on 6-12-2008 at 11:54 am
I don’t really consider Freebird’s a chain as compared to others like Chipotle and Taco Del Mar… but they have diversified throughout Texas a couple years from the first time I ate a burrito there in Austin. So good though!
But it all depends on what kind of burrito you talk about — traditional vs. artillery shell classifications.
posted by Christopher on 6-12-2008 at 12:53 pm
The Comet in Cincinnati has amazing burritos with monthly special salsas and a really good bluegrass band on Sunday nights.
posted by Ira on 6-12-2008 at 1:46 pm
I’ve found that the best burritos, (or the best “ethnic” foods, for that matter) are from places where nobody that works there knows English, and that’s a fact! But if you MUST have a conversation with your burrito dealer in English, rather than just pointing at the picture on the menu, then I recommend La Salsa. They have a burrito so big that it would choke a donkey. And may have.
posted by Ivan on 6-12-2008 at 1:57 pm
I’m not a fan of Mexican food, which is probably why I love the 7-layer burrito at Taco Hell! I’ve also been known to eat a few plain bean burritos from Taco Bell….
posted by Dawn on 6-12-2008 at 10:37 pm
Favorite burrito place: MOE’S
posted by Eli on 6-13-2008 at 10:25 am
Ah La Bamba’s! There’s one (I believe) in every college town in Indiana. You gotta love the “burritos as big as your head” slogan.
There’s a place around here called Si Senor…terrible name, but great food.
posted by Fruppi on 6-13-2008 at 10:34 am