Mission burrito facts for kids
A Mission burrito is a special kind of burrito. It first became popular in the 1960s in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. People also call it a San Francisco burrito. What makes it different is its big size. It also has extra rice and other tasty ingredients.
To make these burritos, the large wheat flour tortilla is often steamed. This makes it soft and easy to wrap. Sometimes, the tortilla is grilled instead. The Mission burrito is one of the main types of burritos in the United States. It came after simpler burritos with just beans, rice, and meat. It also came before the California burrito, which has cheese and potatoes.
Many taquerías (Mexican restaurants) in the Mission District make these burritos. They are usually served wrapped in aluminum foil. This helps hold all the ingredients inside. Food experts say there are hundreds of taquerias in the San Francisco Bay Area. People often have strong opinions about which one makes the best burrito. This style of burrito has become popular across the United States and Canada since the 1960s.
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The Story of the Mission Burrito
People who have lived in the Mission District for a long time say the Mission burrito started in the 1960s. A restaurant called "La Cumbre" Taqueria is often given credit. It's located near Valencia and 16th Street. The owners, Raul and Micaela Duran, first sold burritos from their meat market. In 1972, they turned it into the La Cumbre Taqueria. They believe the San Francisco burrito was born on September 29, 1969.
However, not everyone agrees on this date. Some people remember similar burritos being sold earlier. The owner of "El Faro" claims the first San Francisco burrito was sold on September 26, 1961. It was sold to firefighters. At that time, they used two smaller tortillas because large ones weren't common yet. This suggests the big Mission burrito we know today didn't exist before then.
The Mission burrito also has older relatives. Some people think it was inspired by burritos eaten by California Central Valley farmworkers. These workers needed filling meals while working in the fields. One person remembered these burritos from his teenage years. He said they were spicy and full of protein and fiber. They were perfect for hard work.
Other researchers think burritos go back even further to miners in the 1800s. The word "burrito" first appeared in print in the 1930s. By the 1950s and 1960s, different kinds of burritos spread across the American Southwest.
Most people agree that the Mission burrito became its own distinct style in the 1970s and 1980s. It was a large, cheap, and filling meal. It was especially helpful for people during the economic downturn in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Burritos and Community Life
During the "dot-com boom," the Mission District changed a lot. This was a time when many new technology companies started. Rents went up, and some people had to move out. This process is called gentrification. Some people worried that big chain restaurants were taking over. They felt these places sold more expensive versions of the burrito.
The Mission burrito is important to the local community and its history. It shows the mix of cultures in San Francisco. An article from 1993 in the SF Weekly talked about this. It featured a professor named Jose Cuellar who studied Chicano culture.
How the Mission Burrito Spread
The enlargement of the burrito to humongous, Americanized proportions may be the Mission's supreme contribution to Western civilization ...
While the true Mission burrito comes from family-owned Mexican restaurants in San Francisco, its style has spread. Big national chains like Chipotle Mexican Grill, Qdoba Mexican Grill, and Panchero's Mexican Grill offer their own versions. Chipotle's founder even said he was inspired by the Mission taquerias.
A restaurant chain called BurritoVille in New York City used to specialize in San Francisco-style burritos. In Atlanta, one of the first San Francisco-style burrito restaurants on the East Coast was called Tortillas. It was open from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s.
You can find burritos made in the San Francisco style in many cities across the United States. Even in the UK, there's a small chain called "Mission Burrito" selling this style in cities like Oxford and Bristol.
How They Are Made
The aluminum foil wrapping is very important. It helps hold the large burrito together. It stops the tortilla from breaking open. This is true whether you eat it at the restaurant or take it to go.
How to Eat a Mission Burrito
Most people eat Mission burritos with their hands. They don't use forks or knives. As they eat, they slowly unwrap the foil from the top. They keep the foil on the bottom to support the rest of the burrito. Many people also like to add salsa to each bite as they go.
Images for kids
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Mission-style burrito containing shredded pork and rice
