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Alright everyone... I'm moving back down in a couple weeks; I lived in LA from 02-07, and work has taken me back down and I'll be in Beverly Hills... I'm pretty excited about the whole move
So, there were definitely some places that I'd hit up freuently around LA for good Mexican - Mexican Village, La Cabana, Guelaguetza, El Texate, and I'm pretty excited to get back to them.
However, I've gotten used to the Bay Area, Mission-style burrito as an institution - for those who are familiar with SF, I'm talking places like Taqueria Can-Cun, El Farolito, and Pancho's... where your burrito is as big as your upper arm, wrapped in tinfoil, and filled with black beans, guac, and flavorful rice!
This is a really big deal to me.
Anyone have any recommendations? I'm free for the first week I get back in town to reacclimate to the city, so I'll probably hit up all your suggestions!
Alright everyone... I'm moving back down in a couple weeks; I lived in LA from 02-07, and work has taken me back down and I'll be in Beverly Hills... I'm pretty excited about the whole move
So, there were definitely some places that I'd hit up freuently around LA for good Mexican - Mexican Village, La Cabana, Guelaguetza, El Texate, and I'm pretty excited to get back to them.
However, I've gotten used to the Bay Area, Mission-style burrito as an institution - for those who are familiar with SF, I'm talking places like Taqueria Can-Cun, El Farolito, and Pancho's... where your burrito is as big as your upper arm, wrapped in tinfoil, and filled with black beans, guac, and flavorful rice!
This is a really big deal to me.
Anyone have any recommendations? I'm free for the first week I get back in town to reacclimate to the city, so I'll probably hit up all your suggestions!
You could always make your way down to King Taco (there's a bunch of them everywhere), but I find it to be a tad overrated, but it's always good to go to as a tourist (they don't give you salsa, the meat tends to be fatter than most, etc.)
I'm a HUGE fan of Taco Llama (there's one here in Northridge, so it may be too far from you), where they make their own tortillas, have their own really good lean meats, etc. etc. Another good place is Sabor A Mexico in Panorama City, where you get a pretty decent sized burrito for $5.
If you're in the mood for NorCal like carne-asada fries or California burritos, there's a good place in Eagle Rock that sells them, but I prefer going to the Alberto's on Vanowen and Van Nuys in Van Nuys. It's really awesome stuff
Now that you're closer to the SFV, you should check out more of it
However, nothing beats my best friend's grandmas carne asada burritos. She taught me how to prepare the meat, but I can't get it right for some reason. Then washing it down with some homemade horchata! You can hit up Vallarta or El Super to buy these things, but...its not quite the same.
El Taurino for al pastor burrito pure carne. And their sopes and tostadas are even better. I don't eat mission style burritos so someone else could probably give suggestions. Welcome back to LA!
Can there really be a "best burrito"? I mean, it's just a tortilla wrapped around meat, cheese, tomato, and lettuce. It's almost like asking who makes the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich...
Thanks guys! I forgot to mention... I'm a vegetarian and have been for the last eleven years! Can't do the asada. When I did eat meat, that or barbacoa was where it was at, but now, alas...
I'll try those spots though! I'm willing to drive basically anywhere in the MSA and waste $15 in gas for a good $5 burrito
Quote:
Originally Posted by Visit a Library
Can there really be a "best burrito"? I mean, it's just a tortilla wrapped around meat, cheese, tomato, and lettuce. It's almost like asking who makes the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich...
Blashpemy! Visit a Library, you need to Visit a Taqueria!
Here's a test: go to Taco Bell and splurge... the the Grilled Stuft Burrito (I think it's like a buck 99). Add guacamole for 39 cents. Now, take that with you and go to the nearest Baja Fresh. Baja Fresh isn't the most amazing burrito ever by a long shot, but it's decent.
Take a bite out of the Taco Bell burrito. Chew, savor, swallow, wait a moment. Now, take a bite out of the Baja Fresh burrito and do the same. You will understand.
I've gotten used to the Bay Area, Mission-style burrito as an institution - for those who are familiar with SF, I'm talking places like Taqueria Can-Cun, El Farolito, and Pancho's... where your burrito is as big as your upper arm, wrapped in tinfoil, and filled with black beans, guac, and flavorful rice!
unfortunately, i don't think you're going to find mission burritos of that caliber in the LA area. mission burritos are a distinctly sf bay area food, and to be honest i've never had a genuinely great version outside of that region - probably since they're the ones who invented that style in the first place.
not to mention, a friend of mine who lived in the bay area for 7-8 years but just moved back to LA has been complaining about the lack of good mission burritos in LA (he's tried several places based on yelp recommendations), although he'll be the first to admit that LA's mexican food scene as a whole is better than in the bay area.
as you may already know, the classic LA style of burrito differs from the mission burrito in that it's smaller and only filled with beans, cheese, and meat, while eschewing most of the other fillings. from what i understand, the LA bean-and-cheese burrito is much closer to the authentic northern mexican style.
what i didn't realize until fairly recently, though, is that the great majority of people in mexico don't eat burritos - it's actually a regional specialty of the northern state of chihuahua along the texas/new mexico border but largely unavailable in other parts of the country. and since the great majority of the mexicans who immigrated to the u.s. decades ago were from these northern areas, the burrito became disproportionately popular in this country compared with mexico.
nowadays, though, the great majority of mexican immigrants originate from other areas of mexico where the burrito is not popular or even non-existent. this means that, ironically, some of the better and more authentic burritos in LA are served at the old-school mexican-american stands from the 1970s and earlier. even though these places are americanized (and really more of a chicano/eastside phenomenon rather than a "mexican-mexican" thing), they still hold true to that original style of beans, cheese, and meat.
meanwhile, many of the newer mexican eateries run by more recent immigrants don't make burritos - but if they do, it's only because of gringo demand rather than what they actually eat at home. as a result, they tend to serve the extra large variety of burrito stuffed with rice, guacamole, and whatever else us gringos want - but at the same time, the burrito quality at these newer places can vary wildly since a lot of them treat burritos as an afterthought, sometimes even using generic packaged tortillas and putting less effort into the food overall.
anyway, some of the old-guard bean-and-cheese burrito stands i've tried and liked include al & bea's in boyle heights, j & s in montebello, and lupe's #2 in east LA. i've also heard good things about lupe's in pico rivera, tonia's in pico rivera, and ramona's in gardena.
jonathan gold of LA Weekly did a bean-and-cheese burrito round-up a few years ago, which you can read here. also, el bandini of the great taco hunt blog wrote about his own favorites - several of which overlap with j. gold's recommendations.
some other burrito joints i've heard great things about include la azteca tortilleria in east LA, el chato taco truck in mid-city, and leo's tacos in mid-city. i've never been to la azteca, but i have had great tacos at el chato (carne asada) and leo's (al pastor). never tried the burritos, but i'll have to take care of that soon enough.
i've also heard good things about el taco llama in the valley, which lifeshadower already mentioned. never tried it myself, though. note that they have multiple locations, with some branches reputed to be better than others.
Thanks guys! I forgot to mention... I'm a vegetarian and have been for the last eleven years! Can't do the asada. When I did eat meat, that or barbacoa was where it was at, but now, alas...
I'll try those spots though! I'm willing to drive basically anywhere in the MSA and waste $15 in gas for a good $5 burrito
Blashpemy! Visit a Library, you need to Visit a Taqueria!
Here's a test: go to Taco Bell and splurge... the the Grilled Stuft Burrito (I think it's like a buck 99). Add guacamole for 39 cents. Now, take that with you and go to the nearest Baja Fresh. Baja Fresh isn't the most amazing burrito ever by a long shot, but it's decent.
Take a bite out of the Taco Bell burrito. Chew, savor, swallow, wait a moment. Now, take a bite out of the Baja Fresh burrito and do the same. You will understand.
Can't any of us make a burrito comparable to what's served in Baja Fresh in our own kitchens? Are there really any special skills required to spread various proteins on a tortilla and then roll it up?
unfortunately, i don't think you're going to find mission burritos of that caliber in the LA area. mission burritos are a distinctly sf bay area food, and to be honest i've never had a genuinely great version outside of that region - probably since they're the ones who invented that style in the first place.
not to mention, a friend of mine who lived in the bay area for 7-8 years but just moved back to LA has been complaining about the lack of good mission burritos in LA (he's tried several places based on yelp recommendations), although he'll be the first to admit that LA's mexican food scene as a whole is better than in the bay area.
as you may already know, the classic LA style of burrito differs from the mission burrito in that it's smaller and only filled with beans, cheese, and meat, while eschewing most of the other fillings. from what i understand, the LA bean-and-cheese burrito is much closer to the authentic northern mexican style.
what i didn't realize until fairly recently, though, is that the great majority of people in mexico don't eat burritos - it's actually a regional specialty of the northern state of chihuahua along the texas/new mexico border but largely unavailable in other parts of the country. and since the great majority of the mexicans who immigrated to the u.s. decades ago were from these northern areas, the burrito became disproportionately popular in this country compared with mexico.
nowadays, though, the great majority of mexican immigrants originate from other areas of mexico where the burrito is not popular or even non-existent. this means that, ironically, some of the better and more authentic burritos in LA are served at the old-school mexican-american stands from the 1970s and earlier. even though these places are americanized (and really more of a chicano/eastside phenomenon rather than a "mexican-mexican" thing), they still hold true to that original style of beans, cheese, and meat.
meanwhile, many of the newer mexican eateries run by more recent immigrants don't make burritos - but if they do, it's only because of gringo demand rather than what they actually eat at home. as a result, they tend to serve the extra large variety of burrito stuffed with rice, guacamole, and whatever else us gringos want - but at the same time, the burrito quality at these newer places can vary wildly since a lot of them treat burritos as an afterthought, sometimes even using generic packaged tortillas and putting less effort into the food overall.
anyway, some of the old-guard bean-and-cheese burrito stands i've tried and liked include al & bea's in boyle heights, j & s in montebello, and lupe's #2 in east LA. i've also heard good things about lupe's in pico rivera, tonia's in pico rivera, and ramona's in gardena.
jonathan gold of LA Weekly did a bean-and-cheese burrito round-up a few years ago, which you can read here. also, el bandini of the great taco hunt blog wrote about his own favorites - several of which overlap with j. gold's recommendations.
some other burrito joints i've heard great things about include la azteca tortilleria in east LA, el chato taco truck in mid-city, and leo's tacos in mid-city. i've never been to la azteca, but i have had great tacos at el chato (carne asada) and leo's (al pastor). never tried the burritos, but i'll have to take care of that soon enough.
i've also heard good things about el taco llama in the valley, which lifeshadower already mentioned. never tried it myself, though. note that they have multiple locations, with some branches reputed to be better than others.
lol!
Interesting! I know that burritos are a much more Northern Mexico/El Norte sort of thing, and did notice that it was somewhat more difficult to find independent places that served black beans in the LA area than up here (most places either use refried or whole pintos). Either way, I can't wait!
I'm not originally from here and have been looking for a good taco/ burrito place. Someone just mentioned el tepeyac yesterday to me.
Kings taco is a joke lol
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Can't do the asada. When I did eat meat, that or barbacoa was where it was at, but now, alas...
