San Francisco Burrito (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose: buy, restaurants, shop)

[mini_cute]

Hi guys,

I am trying to find a good place to get Mexican carne asada burritos like the ones they have in Los Angeles. I am not referring to Mission Burritos per se- I am looking for ones that are just like the ones in LA- namely Albertos. Hopefully someone on here knows what the ones in LA are like and knows of a place in SF I can get ones just like that or very similar. Here is a link to what I am talking about: http://www.yelp.com/biz/albertos-aut...south-el-monte

I prefer clean places too- not too dirty hole in the walls. Thanks!

[Gentoo]

Well mini, in southern Ca. the best Mexican food comes from the whole in the walls. Now I've not yet been able to find a Burrito in the Bay Area like the ones I get in San Diego. I like all the food better up there except the Mexican. Having said that, I've never looked too hard in the city for one either. If you find one, let me know please lol

[Mr. Fantastic]

Originally Posted by mini_cute

Hi guys,

I am trying to find a good place to get Mexican carne asada burritos like the ones they have in Los Angeles. I am not referring to Mission Burritos per se- I am looking for ones that are just like the ones in LA- namely Albertos. Hopefully someone on here knows what the ones in LA are like and knows of a place in SF I can get ones just like that or very similar. Here is a link to what I am talking about: Alberto's Authentic Mexican Food - South El Monte, CA

I prefer clean places too- not too dirty hole in the walls. Thanks!

There's a good place near the intersection of McAllister and Leavenworth. It's decent, but the best Mexican food is in SoCal.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by mini_cute

Hi guys,

I am trying to find a good place to get Mexican carne asada burritos like the ones they have in Los Angeles. I am not referring to Mission Burritos per se- I am looking for ones that are just like the ones in LA- namely Albertos. Hopefully someone on here knows what the ones in LA are like and knows of a place in SF I can get ones just like that or very similar. Here is a link to what I am talking about: Alberto's Authentic Mexican Food - South El Monte, CA

I prefer clean places too- not too dirty hole in the walls. Thanks!

You aren't going to get authentic cuisine at 99% of clean, touristy looking Mexican restaurants. It's important to be clean, but most will look like a hole in the wall...the good ones.

My favorite place for authentic burritos and tacos is from an RV/truck vendor. They're located in the Best Buy parking lot near the Mission District. I've been there more times than I can count and never got sick. They keep the place really clean and it's so good, fresh, tasty, and cheap.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

You aren't going to get authentic cuisine at 99% of clean, touristy looking Mexican restaurants. It's important to be clean, but most will look like a hole in the wall...the good ones.

My favorite place for authentic burritos and tacos is from an RV/truck vendor. They're located in the Best Buy parking lot near the Mission District. I've been there more times than I can count and never got sick. They keep the place really clean and it's so good, fresh, tasty, and cheap.

Great advice. But I think what mini means is, can she get the same style she could in SoCal? There is a distinct difference between NorCal and So Cal Mexican food.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi;16779389[COLOR=navy

I've been there more times than I can count and never got sick. [/color]

Now there's high praise. I'd love to see that in a newspaper restaurant review.

[tstieber]

The fact that there are Mexicans from the same regions in both NorCal and SoCal, yet their food is different, would imply that no matter where you go, it's gotta be pretty Americanized, right? If it were authentic, then it would be the same, but it must be tailored to the local Gringos. Of course, with people moving around the state all the time, you'd think you could find both styles in both areas.

Personally, I have yet to have taco shop food in either San Diego or SF that I didn't think was bland and flavorless. I would like to try some of the places in the Fruitvale district of Oakland, which seems less geared towards American yuppies than the Mission District in SF. Or some of the places down in San Jose. Anyone have recommendations there? Everyone focuses on Mission taquerias, but there's gotta be much better places around the rest of the Bay Area.

[Bulldogdad]

Utter nonsense. I love it when "Mexican" restaurants that cater to weddos put Authentic in their name. I saw the pictures of the food from Alberto's and that is not authentic Mexican cuisine. The Carne Asada looks like it just came out of a steam bath. I didn't see any Mexican cheese on any of that food. If you looking for standard Mexican Cuisine start by going to where no one is speaking English only Spanish. That is a good start.

This Northern/Southern California Mexican cuisine labels are also nonsense. It depends on what part of Mexico/South America that determines the regional differences in the cuisine that you are eating. My Latino family from both Northern and Southern California cook exactly the same with some minor differences. It is heavily based on food from the arid Northern Sonoran Desert area of Mexico. Personally I prefer Oaxacan style cuisine.

Carne Asada Fries? Aye Dios mio

Alberto's is a chain restaurant the closest one to San Francisco is San Jose.

[mini_cute]

lmao, you guys are funny- yes, i suppose it isn't real mexican food- i cannot tell the difference. but i know i like the so cal style of mexican food- yes, there is a big difference between so cal and nor cal mexican. and it is true the more authentic stuff would be from the hole in the walls. if i do find one like so cal in sf i will make a big announcement on city data. i am excited to hear there is an albertos in san jose.

[Gentoo]

Real Mexican? Burritos were actually invented in the US.

There is a difference in Burrito styles which is why mini was asking. There is a distinct style in the Bay Area:

The San Francisco burrito refers to a burrito from San Francisco, California, in which the Mexican-American burrito has become a city specialty, as the New York-based writer Calvin Trillin describes in his essay "Grandfather Knows Best": "In San Francisco, the burrito has been refined and embellished in much the same way that pizza has been refined and embellished in New York and Chicago."[1] Since its likely beginnings in the 1960s, the style has spread widely through the San Francisco Bay Area, and variations on it have spread throughout the United States.
This type of burrito was born in the city's Mission District, and it is often called a Mission or Mission-style burrito as a result. Taquerias in the Mission, contrary to their taco-derived name, specialize in large, aluminum-foil wrapped burritos. The aluminum foil holds a large flour tortilla which is wrapped and folded around a variety of ingredients. The San Francisco burrito is distinguished partly by the amount of rice and other side dishes included in the package and partly by sheer size.[

San Francisco burrito - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia