Michael Our Noe Valley neighborhood borders the Mexican Mission District, where naturally there is delicious Mexican food in abundance. I remember that years before we moved, we once ate at a Mexican restaurant in Munich. It was good, but expensive. Here, Mexican food is inexpensive fast food. One example is the so-called "burrito," a forearm-length roll made from a wafer-thin flour tortilla (or "wrap," in modern parlance) and filled with all kinds of ingredients such as meat, rice, lettuce, and sauces.
Just as the döner kebab in Germany is not an authentically Turkish dish but a foreign adaptation created by Turkish immigrants for the German palate, the Mission burrito is an American invention derived from a similar Mexican dish but enhanced with rice, guacamole, and sour cream. Where was the burrito invented? In San Francisco! Either at "Taqueria La Cumbre" or at "El Faro"—the experts disagree. Both establishments, however, are in the Mission District.
It is also important to know that you do not simply enter a taqueria and say, "One burrito with everything," as you might with a döner kebab (although, according to YouTube, you apparently no longer do that either). Instead, you move along the counter with the server and select from the different ingredients. The beans alone are available as pinto, black, or refried. There is usually orange-colored seasoned rice as well, though it is not mandatory, and for the protein the customer can choose among beef (carne asada), pork (pastor), and chicken (pollo). These main categories are divided into further subcategories. The beef, for example, usually comes in small steak cubes that are quickly seared. If it has to be chicken, I like to order it with "Mole", a thick, chocolate-brown sauce that is hard to describe and very, very delicious. All told, a typical taqueria offers around 20 kinds of meat filling.
With a regular burrito, that is where the choices end. The slightly more expensive super burrito also includes guacamole (mashed avocado), sour cream, and salsa—typically pico de gallo or a puréed version spiced with chili peppers. You can also add lettuce, chili peppers, or herbs such as cilantro.
About once a week, I go to "Casa Mexicana" around the corner and have them wrap up a burrito to go. Incidentally, many Mexican day laborers who are currently working on various houses in the neighborhood eat there too. At home, I eat half of the enormous burrito and save the rest for Angelika, who has it for lunch at school the next day. As for the cost: in 1997, the super burrito at the place around the corner cost six dollars. Today it is $16. Inflation! I have heard from several people who moved away from San Francisco that one of the things they miss most is the delicious burritos from the Mission. The dish is still reasonably common in the Bay Area, but in other states you often search for it in vain.
Greetings from the city of tasty treats:
Angelika and Michael