The Burrito That Tastes Like House, 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 just a few occasions a yr, however the second my airplane touches down, I head straight to La Taqueria within the Mission District for a burrito. Anybody who has kindly volunteered to select me up from the airport instantly regrets it: For 20 minutes, they must endure my hunger-fueled ramblings as I rave about how a lot I’ve missed the comically massive Mission-style burrito on the best way to the restaurant.

In northern Mexico, burritos take the type of small flour tortillas full of 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, resembling 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 satisfaction. They set the precedent for the overstuffed, foil-wrapped variations of burritos in America at this time, influencing chains resembling 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 loyal following: There are at all times regulars quietly digging into their orders served on purple plastic baskets, and there’s virtually at all times a line of hungry diners snaking out from the restaurant.

La Taqueria’s burrito is perhaps my quintessential Mission burrito, however even their basic model diverges from the remainder. Most Mission-style burritos embody rice for heft and carbs, however I choose theirs, which skips the rice fully. 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 evenly crunchy. (That is technically an off-menu order, however one thing most regulars learn about.) Right this moment, this burrito from La Taqueria is so legendary that San Francisco locals, vacationers, and meals writers communicate 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 pals, members of the family, and coworkers with a foil-wrapped burrito in hand. This burrito has been a continuing by way of the ups and downs of my life. One summer season in faculty, I briefly turned a vegetarian to impress a man, and swapped my ordinary 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 turned a approach to keep related with pals throughout city. I might decide 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 would collect, every spaced six ft aside, to match the fillings. All proteins had one thing to supply: The lengua struck a superb steadiness between bouncy and chewy, the chorizo was completely spiced, and the carne asada—an total fan favourite—had my pals wishing they’d ordered extra.

Since then, I’ve tried virtually each filling and mixture. Today, nonetheless, my order is about 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 dwelling. 

So I searched on-line for a Mission-style burrito recipe, and located one from Severe 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 fascinated about this iconic burrito in all its permutations. She recreated her favourite model from El Balazo, a now-shuttered taqueria that when reminded her Kenyan household of dwelling. 

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, resembling pico de gallo and bitter cream, and rice. The carne asada marinade alone—a mix of orange and lime juice, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and smoky chipotle—expertly balances vivid, tangy, and herby flavors. Moju additionally meticulously toasts her rice in oil with onion, garlic, tomato paste, and makes use of rooster inventory to boost the flavour of the grains. Substitutions are fairly straightforward right here, too. You’ll be able to 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, however 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 now not must fly 3,000 miles for my favourite burrito. Each time I take that first chew, I am proper again in Dolores Park watching the fog settle over town.