SAN FRANCISCO Transplant Looking for a BURRITO

[feralfluke]

Hi, moved to manhattan from SF& can't find a decent burrito anywhere in manhattan, any suggestions please?? Thanks!

[westvillageandbeyond]

I feel you. You have to switch to tacos. There are 4 great taco places I know of but you just will not find a good burrito here. 1. El Idolo, a taco truck on 14th and 8th. Outstanding $2 tacos, like the Howard st truck in SF. 2. La Esquina on lafayette 3. Taqueria y Fonda on 109 and Amsterdam. 4. Pampano in the Crystal Pavilion in midtown east. Little stand off shoot of the over priced restaurant. 5. There is supposedly a good place on Mulberry but haven't been yet.

[sugartoof]

You probably mean on Mott, and it's pretty darn good.

[KTinNYC]

The place on Mott that is being referred to is Pinche, correct? If so I third.

[feralfluke]

Thanks everybody...but honestly, if anyones looking for a great business opportunity in the food industry opening a decent burrito shop in manhattan seems like a real hole that needs to be filled, it can't be that hard. If anyone else reads this and has any suggestons though please send them along...thank you again for all the replies!

[maggiej]

Second Downtown Bakery. Pretty great. But park slope has a few good burritos too.

[tigerwoman]

my vote goes to the downtown bakery which virtually defines hole in the wall.
they are located on the westside of 1st avenue around 4th or 5th street.
try their mole sauce - amazing! great guacamole too and their burrittos come very close to CalMex

[a_and_w]

Hi. As a burrito fanatic born and bred in SF, I feel your pain. Your best option for a Mission-style burrito is honestly one of the chains like Chipotle. Downtown Bakery does decent carne asada burritos. I'm also partial to the asada burritos at Pio Maya in the Village. If you're in Soho or Grammercy at lunch, the Calexico cart is another place that's good. Cosmic Cantina does Mission style burritos but their meat can be very hit or miss. Honestly, though, the best way to scratch the itch is to hit Tulcingo Del Valle for a torta al pastor with avocado instead of guac -- quite tasty for NYC.

PS: AVOID BENNY'S AT ALL COSTS! I mean no disrespect to those who recommended, it, but a Benny's burrito is not what you're looking for. Please trust me on this...

[Shield]

Gotta go to Brooklyn - take the express D train to Sunset Park. It's so quick, it'll hardly pain you that you have to leave Manhattan. And in a year you'll move to Brooklyn anyway, so you might as well start getting to know it.

[bussy26]

I echo the ewwwww's on Benny's. Try Florencia 13 on Sullivan. Not a Mission street level Burrito but pretty good. The family that runs the restruarant is from LA.

[cimui]

I can't claim to be any sort of real SF style burrito aficionado since I only lived in the bay area for a year -- but the Calexico cart seems to me a very near match to what you'll find in the Mission.

And Tulcingo del Valle is a great rec for tortas...

[feralfluke]

Where is the Calexio cart?

[cimui]

The original location is at Wooster and Prince St. And there's a new location at 25th and Lexington. I've only been to the one on Prince.

-----
Calexico
125 Prince St, New York, NY 10012

Calexico
103 E 25th St, New York, NY 10010

[kathryn]

The new one is at 25th and Park Avenue, not Lexington! Just outside the Bank of America.

[cimui]

Ah, sorry -- thanks for the correction, kathryn! Should also note that it's still only sporadically there, apparently, to judge by Chowhound postings on the subject.

[cimui]

kathryn, didn't realize this was your post tipping us off on the new location!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/546042

[kathryn]

Yup :) and they were definitely there today, starting about 11am! Lucky for me it is right by my office.

[feralfluke]

Tried the Calexico cart, great suggestion! not perfect, but still delicious! Thanks!

[sugartoof]

I agree, I've had Chipotle and Burritoville burritos that came closer to hitting the mark then any of these other suggestions....I've also had one of the worst burritos ever at one Chipotle location so I think it's hit or miss.

I find that the best advice is if someone ever tells you they've found the perfect burrito in New York and it's just like San Francisco...it's usually going to be lousy.

The taco situation is getting much better though!

[captkenjeroo]

That, my friend, is going to be tough and eventually lead to a lot of disappointment. It's been about 16 years since leaving SF and have found nothing remotely close in NYC. It's theorized that the patterns of migration just aren't the same and thus haven't brought those SF/Mex culinary traditions back east. To be sure, there are pockets of Mexican enclaves here in NYC / Brooklyn, but perhaps not from the same regions of Mexico that are mirrored in SF.

If anyone has any good, recent suggestions and can compare them to those small, SF area hole-in-the-wall, burrito / taco joints where abuela is lovingly rolling out flour tortillas, I'd be amazed but grateful. None of the gringo-ized mini-chains come close.

[PlomeekSoup]

I second the Benny's rec, and if you're willing to schlep to Brooklyn, I'm a big fan of Taco Chulo - http://www.tacochulo.com/index.html - which kind of reminded me of Taqueria Cancun's style of burritos (but not as cheap as $4, unfortunately).

[malibu]

really? benny's and taco chulo? we all have our tastes, but those are the two that stand out as the worst in my mind. the blandest of the bland. i wish i had good suggestions for the OP, but do not. i sometimes get the burrito at Bonita (also in Brooklyn- sorry) and that is the only one i eat- not really mission style but pretty good. good luck!

[kcijones001]

El Rey Del Sol
232 W 14th
AND
Benny's Burritos to Go
93 Ave A

[baldwinwood]

Good luck, it aint happening. I have been back in New York for 5 years, and yet to find anything close to what you'll find in the mission.

[Sugar]

yeah, true mission burritos don't exist here. "mission-style" sure but they all kind of stink.

[prdct]

I've had burritos at both El Rey and Benny's and I think they are actually among the worst I've had. Best I've had in nyc (aside from the ones at kitchen/market which is now closed) are in Brooklyn at La taqueria, but as other posters have said, they really are not going to come anywhere close to what you can get in the mission.

[chet steadman]

burrito deli, 97 & lex.