Very serious topic - Where are the REALLY good burritos
Many years ago, I was in San Francisco. My guides insisted on a burrito. I rarely say no to them. What I experienced was something so delicious from the size (forearm length) to the fresh ingredients (I've never had black beans like the ones I had in California) to the tomatillo salsa. I had at least one burrito for every one of the five days I was in SF.
Frankly, I prefer the ones I make at home to anything I've ever had in a Toronto restaurant. I've eaten them at:
Burrito Boyz
Quesada
El Sol
Burrito House
Tequila Sunrise
Tacos El Asador
other places that slip my mind right now.
The closest I've had was a place in Guelph that almost made burritos as good as SF burritos. I want to trek up to Rebozos up on Rogers, 'cause I"ve heard good things. Has anyone had anything close to a SF burrito?
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thought to mention mex-i-can in hamilton .... on james st. just north of king .... they make EVERYTHING fresh (except their canned cactus)... and the owners/cooks are mexican and el salvadorian ..... they have food from both cultures.... which are similar, but all the dishes i've tried are very good ...
with regards to burritos, i've tried their "super burrito" ... which is quite large (a bit shorter than forearm length, maybe 2/3) .... with the pork (smokey flavour, forget the name.....) and a host of other ingredients.....and it was awesome!... i haven't had toronto burritos in a long time, but i've been to el sombrero and it was pretty good.. this definitely compares....
nonetheless, i'd definitely like to try burritos from california and see what all the fuss is about.... they definitely sound great!
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scarberian
Jul 20, 2008 03:35 PM
Well I just got back from San Diego, now that's a place with serious burritos. My aunt lives a block from a fast food Tex-Mex hole in the wall called "Victoria's" and they serve some massive tasty as hell burritos. Their main specialty was the carne assada burrito which is a beef filled burrito with home made guacamole, onions, green peppers and cilantro. I also tried the carne asada fries which is the best damn poutine I've ever had. The beef is NOT ground, but steak that's been sliced into small pieces. (BTW order the California burrito and it's the carne asada fries wrapped in a tortilla with cheese).
I don't know what the problem is up here in Toronto, but can anyone here make or even import a decent tortilla? The tortillas they use in San Diego for the burritos are soft and don't have that rubbery texture like the ones up here.
Anyone know of any Mexican restaurants in Scarborough? Man I'm dying for a carne asada!
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re: scarberian
aser
Jul 22, 2008 03:12 PM
well you got la torilleira in kensington w/ their tortilla making machine. They make the standard sized tortillas for tacos, but I'm sure you can ask them to custom make larger ones for burrito. 1/2 kg of tortillas is $1.75, 1 kg is $3.
I assume everybody is looking for the tex mex version since lettuce, salsa, guac, cheese, sour cream are nowhere to be found in a true mexican burrito. I agree w/ wordsworth, the burritos in mission weren't anything special. LA and SD fare much better.
I must say w/ the taco ladies at the back of perola's and rebozos on rogers rd, mexican food is doing a lot better in Toronto than 3 yrs ago.
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Your experiences are a good reflection of the situation. I hate to tell you but the burritos you got in SF (used to live there myself) hardly notable, either. The worst hole in the wall taco stand I've ever been to in the southwest has better burritos than the best you can get in Toronto.
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re: wordsworth
I don't understand why it's so difficult to replicate a mission-style burrito here. When I was at Mucho Burrito last week they seemed so skimpy with their portioning of the limited ingredients and the meat had a harsh, tex-mex character to it.
I've given up on finding anything remotely close to the SF taqueria experience here, aside from making my own at home, which I have and it was dead simple but very tasty.
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Just tried El Sombrero in Mississauga for the first time today and have to say it was way better than Burrito Boys. I worked around King and John for a few years and BB quality has really started to decline as their prices increased. The last burrito I bought from BB I actually threw out.
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re: cheezy1
Food Tourist
Jul 18, 2008 07:12 PM
I had a chicken burrito at El Sombrero today ($7.99) - large flour tortilla, rice, seasoned chicken plus choice of toppings (sour cream, cheese, jalapenos, salsa, guacamole) and they grill the tortilla first before adding fillings, so no use of sandwich press on final product...On the bright side, the guac is house-made and very fresh (the friendly lady made up a batch of tomato-free guac right on the spot for my tomato-averse friend). I was famished so I admit I devoured the burrito - it was definitely very edible but it wasn't perfect - maybe I'm just not a fan of highly seasoned chicken or of this kind of burrito in general. Another strong point is the patio - rare in take-out fast-food style restaurants.
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Ediblethoughts
May 18, 2008 03:35 PM
I tried Big Fat Burrito today, the yam one (done spicy) and while I enjoyed it, I prefer Burrito Boyz: Burrito Boyz' ingredients seem to flow more satisfyingly than BFB (the chunks of the pickled jalapenos in BFB interrupted the "flow" of the burrito and while I love yams, I found the burrito a bit sweeter than I want in my first course foods); also the kick to the BB burrito is much more impressive than the BFB--just a little kick there. And my companion who had the pulled pork burrito done medium didn't notice any kick at all. She also found her burrito a bit dry (too much pork; not enough other stuff).
Still we enjoyed our food and if I'm in Kensington Market, I'd go back.
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There is a new one in Burlington I want to try, It is called Mucho Burrito and it is located at UpperMiddle and Appleby, anyone try that one yet?
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re: duckdown
pancake
May 15, 2008 08:40 PM
Well, i'd suggest heading to kensington market. There are 4 places within walking distance that offer mexican food/burritos - el trumpo, the new mexican place that just opened where by the way cafe was, johnny banana and big fat burrito. Hopefully one of the four will satisfy your craving. I had the fajitas at el trumpo and i'd say they were closer to what I imagine to be authentic mexican - red peppers, sliced beef, bacon, and cheese served with corn tortillas. Tasty, not heavy and over-greasy. If they have burritos on their menu they might be the sort you are looking for.
I enjoy big fat burrito, although I cannot comment on the authenticity factor. I like there veggie option best.I have yet to try the other two places.-
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re: pancake
Ediblethoughts
May 16, 2008 03:56 PM
Are any of these places reasonably OK for sit in (or is it better to just assume you're taking it away with you)?
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re: Dimbulb
pancake
May 17, 2008 08:04 AM
Yes Dimbulb, my mistake, it was not called By the way cafe, it was named something else. What i'm refering to is the small restaurant that sits just east of the Toronto Western Hospital Emergency Department. It is now called La Tortillaria.
All the places I mentioned have sit-down.
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re: pancake
I second "pancake's" posting.. Big Fat Burrito is delicious - again, not sure about how authentic it is .. but I could defiantly consider myself (as well as at least 10 other people i know) addicted to the 'Steak & Yam" burritos there.
I have also heard amazing reccomendations for Johnny Banana - supposedly more authentic.
Burrito boyz is really not my thing.
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Calipoutine
May 15, 2008 01:01 PM
*sigh*, Great burritos is one of the things I miss most about living in Cali. I crave fabulous mission style burritos, but have yet to find one here in Ontario. I was somewhat excited when Taco Del Mar opened in London, but it sucks too. They also make you pay for sour cream!!!
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Kagemusha
May 14, 2008 03:44 PM
No. Not even close. Poseur Mexican joints around the GTA occasionally rise to mediocre--at best. Burritos are just not up to scratch--yet. The old Sombrero on Hurontario seems to suffer from the same curse on the restos in that strip mall--the dismal Nirvana and the under-staffed, struggling Kumai sushi. It's not an ingredient issue as much as a lack prep skills and flavor benchmarks. Some day, some way, this will change for the better.
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I lived in the Bay area about 5 years ago for work and know and crave what you're talking about. As of yet there's nothing I've come across that quite hits the mark for a bay area burrito. But there's a few things to fill the void. Burrito Boys was good when they started but it's really gone down hill. The attitude from staff doesn't make me run out to grab a burrito that was much better a couple years ago.
My personal fave in the city is at Johny Banana at Queen and Bathurst. The chiorzo and potato burrito is excellent. The steak burrito is similar to the SF style but the meat has a different seasoning. The place is either South or Central American so that would explain the different seasoning.
When I get a Chipotle craving, Moe's Southwest Grill fills the void for me. It's kind of a dumbed down Chipotle but in the second wave of burrito fillings(you'll know what I mean if you go) one is able to spice them up as needed. The salsa bar helps out too. The employees have to yell "welcome to Moe's!" everytime someone walks in the door which gets a bit disturbing after awhile. I've been to the Yonge/Eglington location several times and always left happy. Chicken Homewrecker burrito is tops for me there.
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re: abigllama
I second Johny Banana. The place is super clean, the owner is hands on and she clearly cares about the quality of the product that goes out. It beats Burrito boyz and Big Fat Burrito hands down.
I've had the chicken mole buritto which was very good - and holy smokes their spicey is certainly that (and I love spicey). Also tried their Mexican hot chocolate and Argentine cookies which were good.
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Hmmmm..you sound like you know your burrrriiiiitoooos.
I'd like to recommend what I think is better than a Burrito Boyz burrito....it's called a New York Sub. It's not really a sub or a burrito...but it's very tasty. Try it and let me know what you think.
New York Sub is on Queen Street - west of Spadina.
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New York Subway
520 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V, CA›4 Replies -
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There are a couple of places in the Weston Rd/Hwy 7 intersection that look like frachises and the closest I've come to a SF taqueria type burrito here. I can find out the names and post here.
Otherwise, I've been to Quesada and Burrito House. Never again. What a waste of time.
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re: neighborguy
Thanks for the replies. Hey neighbourguy, if you can dig up those names, I'd really appreciate it! I forgot to mention the one thing I hate about Toronto burritos, putting the burritos on the flattop or into a sandwich press. Drives me crazy! If there's one thing I hate, it's hot lettuce!
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re: air621
dlw88
May 14, 2008 08:30 AM
I recently made the trek to CHORIZO in Mississauga, on Southdowne. Their burritos are not reheated, and are trying their best to duplicate the CHIPOTLE burrito. Unfortunately, they didn't come close. Their "everything fresh" motto was quashed when they added canned jalepenos to my burrito, and the service was brutal. The choziro was very tasty but far too dry. At the end of the day, the overall experience is still better at Burrito Boys. Isn't Chipotle supposed to be opening up here in August?
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re: bluedog
Chipotle is a large chain. It's not the greatest but better than most other chains where you can grab a fresh burrito on the fly. It it's like the Quiznos of sub shops. A lot consider it tasty and given the choice you'd probably go there over Subway. But it would be silly to be included as part of a tour of great cheesesteak places in Philadelphia.
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re: bluedog
Wahooty
May 15, 2008 11:58 AM
Chipotle was, until fairly recently, owned by McDonald's. Given that context, it's surprisingly good - the sort of place that non-'hounds RAVE about while the 'hounds grumble about how much better it could be. And yes, we are supposed to be getting one soon. It's definitely not going to be the holy grail of burritos some on this board are hoping for, but...well...it's a step in the right direction. If we get things like Moe's and Chipotle moving in to ramp up demand, then maybe serious burrito shops will follow eventually.
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re: Wahooty
Fiar enough, but I don't think things will change until we got a critical mass of either mexicans or californians, or at least a community that has real experience with the cuisine.
I understand your argument, but another is that it's like saying if you want good hamburgers, hope that mcdonald's will move in so that the mom and pops will follow.
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re: bluedog
Wahooty
May 15, 2008 05:40 PM
I realize it's a bit of a bass-ackwards argument, but I actually know Torontonians that have never even eaten a burrito, let alone a decent one. I've heard it said more than once that the reason we don't have any good Mexican/TexMex/CalMex food here is because Canadians just don't like the real thing - so maybe baby steps are in order.
But yeah, until we get some Mexicans in this town, I'll keep getting my fixes in my own kitchen and on my semi-annual trips home.-
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re: Wahooty
Davwud
Feb 24, 2009 04:24 AM
We're getting more and more Mexicans all the time and more and more Mexican places are opening up. And people do nothing but pan them. I've been to a couple and thought they were great. I however have not really eaten Mexican in Mexico.
You can make the same argument about Southern BBQ. For that matter, my favourite Chicago style pizza place has had to cut back because it's just not catching on as they suspected. I was talking to a buddy who orders from the religiously and I was proposing the notion that Torontonians just don't like North American food. If it's from NA then convenience will do over taste. Anything from the other side of an ocean does very well if it's good.
DT
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