The Burrito That Tastes Like Residence, Even After I’m 3,000 Miles Away

I used to be born and raised in San Francisco, however moved to the East Coast in 2017. I solely go to my hometown a number of occasions a yr, however the second my aircraft touches down, I head straight to La Taqueria within the Mission District for a burrito. Anybody who has kindly volunteered to choose me up from the airport instantly regrets it: For 20 minutes, they should endure my hunger-fueled ramblings as I rave about how a lot I’ve missed the comically giant Mission-style burrito on the best way to the restaurant.

In northern Mexico, burritos take the type of small flour tortillas crammed with beans, cheese, and beef or pork, and make for a easy, moveable meal. However Mission-style burritos belong in their very own class. With hearty, gooey fillings, corresponding to pull-apart carnitas and Monterey Jack cheese, bursting from a heat tortilla, the rightfully well-known Mission-style burrito is, with out query, my hometown pleasure. They set the precedent for the overstuffed, foil-wrapped variations of burritos in America right now, influencing chains corresponding to Chipotle and Qdoba.

Of all of the burritos within the Mission District, a neighborhood famend for its Mexican and Latin retailers, colourful murals, and historic buildings, my favourite comes from La Taqueria, an old-school institution tucked beneath a Spanish-style arched doorway with white stucco partitions and San Francisco memorabilia. The restaurant has been round since 1973, and has garnered a faithful following: There are at all times regulars quietly digging into their orders served on pink plastic baskets, and there’s nearly at all times a line of hungry diners snaking out from the restaurant.

La Taqueria’s burrito may be my quintessential Mission burrito, however even their traditional model diverges from the remainder. Most Mission-style burritos embrace rice for heft and carbs, however I desire theirs, which skips the rice completely. The result’s a juicy, wealthy, and barely messy burrito that lets the meat, beans, and toppings shine. I at all times order it “El Dorado-style,” which suggests the rolled burrito is crisped on a ripping scorching griddle till its exterior is golden and calmly crunchy. (That is technically an off-menu order, however one thing most regulars find out about.) Immediately, this burrito from La Taqueria is so legendary that San Francisco locals, vacationers, and meals writers converse of it in near-reverential tones. 

“Like many Mission Avenue burritos, it is ready meeting line-style; the bitter cream is added liberally from a squirt bottle, guacamole comes by the spoonful from an unlimited metallic bowl, pico de gallo and all its juices are added on the finish,” the reporter Anna Maria Barry-Jester wrote of La Taqueria in a narrative about America’s greatest burritos for FiveThirtyEight. “However not like at different taquerias, every ingredient retains its juices, making this burrito saucy in kind and persona.”

Over time, I’ve spent numerous hours lounging in Mission Dolores Park with buddies, members of the family, and coworkers with a foil-wrapped burrito in hand. This burrito has been a continuing by the ups and downs of my life. One summer season in school, I briefly grew to become a vegetarian to impress a man, and swapped my standard order of lard-simmered pork for entire beans and chunky salsa. The connection did not final, and I used to be glad after I might lastly return to my common order.

Throughout the pandemic, burritos grew to become a solution to keep linked with buddies throughout city. I might choose up an assortment of orders—carne asada (marinated and grilled beef), lengua (beef tongue), cabeza (roasted beef head), chorizo (pork sausage), and pollo (rooster)—and we might collect, every spaced six toes aside, to check the fillings. All proteins had one thing to supply: The lengua struck an excellent steadiness between bouncy and chewy, the chorizo was completely spiced, and the carne asada—an general fan favourite—had my buddies wishing they’d ordered extra.

Since then, I’ve tried nearly each filling and mixture. Nowadays, nonetheless, my order is ready in stone. I ask for tender carnitas, black beans, pico de gallo, and tangy bitter cream. As for guacamole, I am particularly keen on La Taqueria’s one-ingredient model, which is so terribly creamy and scrumptious it wants no limes or salt.

I moved to New York three years in the past, however I nonetheless have not discovered a burrito fairly pretty much as good as La Taqueria’s. I miss the crispy tortilla and yearn for the unapologetic messiness and luxury of biting right into a burrito on a foggy San Francisco afternoon. Decided to get my palms on a burrito, I got down to recreate my very own at house. 

So I searched on-line for a Mission-style burrito recipe, and located one from Critical Eats contributor Kiano Moju. At first, I used to be a bit skeptical—how might a recipe replicate such a selected, emblematic dish? However Moju‘s recipe proved me improper. Like me, Moju has spent appreciable time serious about this iconic burrito in all its permutations. She recreated her favourite model from El Balazo, a now-shuttered taqueria that after reminded her Kenyan household of house. 

Her recipe stars all of the Mission-style burrito necessities: carne asada that is marinated and barely charred, wealthy pinto beans, quite a lot of colourful toppings, corresponding to pico de gallo and bitter cream, and rice. The carne asada marinade alone—a combination of orange and lime juice, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and smoky chipotle—expertly balances shiny, tangy, and herby flavors. Moju additionally meticulously toasts her rice in oil with onion, garlic, tomato paste, and makes use of rooster inventory to reinforce the flavour of the grains. Substitutions are fairly simple right here, too. You possibly can seamlessly swap carne asada for carnitas (as I do) or throw in any sturdy greens or proteins you select. Her model is not fairly my order at La Taqueria, nevertheless it’s the closest I’ve gotten to having fun with a Mission-style burrito in New York. And I am greater than grateful for it.

Now that I’ve a recipe shut at hand, I could not should fly 3,000 miles for my favourite burrito. Every time I take that first chew, I am proper again in Dolores Park watching the fog settle over town.