My Personal Burrito Takes
I suspect my workplace may be a little bit different than yours. But even I was surprised when Eater correspondent Matthew Kang sent me a Slack explaining that he would be in San Francisco on a reporting trip, and would I like to join him for an Instagram video highlighting my favorite burrito places?
Say less.
The thing that most people don’t know about me, is that I take this responsibility very seriously. Burrito takes are plentiful. Eater’s California sites did a whole package on burritos. I recognize that no one will ever be satisfied with my picks. In order to reach my own pinnacle of burrito list enlightenment, I must first reach a place of acceptance, and then I must let go.
I say this because my belief is that burritos are personal. With the hyper-customization of each ingredient, I think this is where we all get into trouble with the Best Burrito debate. I, for example, grew up on super burritos. Having no sour cream, guacamole, and extra cheese in my burrito feels wrong. I have strong feelings about burritos needing rice. Breakfast burritos need a specific potato-to-everything-else ratio.
Inevitably, I will meet a purist who will try to dissuade me from such opinions. To this I say, I like my burritos, and this is how I’m eating them. I also order with my feelings. One day, I feel like al pastor. Another day, carne asada. Sure, maybe there is a “correct” meat order, but sometimes I don’t feel like it. Call me difficult. Call me mercurial.
Which is all a long way of saying, I already know this will sow discord in my inbox. Trust that my response will be: I’m sure your burrito spots are perfect in their own way.
Onto the list:
La Palma Mexicatessen. If I’m ever anywhere near La Palma, I’m always drawn in by the promise of burritos and groceries. I typically grab at least a pack of tortillas, which are made fresh daily. Preferably with an agua fresca, usually jamaica. This is one of my favorites, specifically for those tortillas. One of the off-camera stories I told Matthew is that growing up as a second-generation Filipino American, my family had to learn about other cuisines through — where else? — the grocery store. And for years, I was subjected to mass-produced tortillas that I eventually learned don’t really taste like the real thing. I won’t say I’m above a grocery store tortilla in a pinch, but now I go seek out places that make it with much better (and tastier) results. And La Palma is one of those places. 2884 24th Street, San Francisco
El Farolito. El Farolito is a bit of a nostalgia pick for me, culled from many late-night visits I made in the aughts. Thanks to 3 a.m. closing hours, it became a favorite hangout spot for my friends and me, post-drinking. The late-night scene made for excellent people watching over burritos and sodas. The food is always very consistent, drinking or not, and while this month’s burrito crawl was definitely the earliest I’d ever visited this El Farolito location, it’s a Forever Favorite of mine. El Farolito is the MVP of the Mission’s bar scene as far as I’m concerned. 2779 Mission Street, San Francisco
Señor Sisig. I always like to drop in a wild card pick onto lists like these, and as such, I thought of another mainstay of mine, Señor Sisig. Sisig is “the thing” here, but invoking my aforementioned mercurial nature, it’s the tosilog that really does it for me here. Tosilog is a portmanteau of tocino (a sweet, Filipino pork item) combined with silog, a breakfast combo of garlic rice, egg, and a protein (tocino, in this case). The side of vinegar is a must, even if it’s an oddity for the burrito scene, and it’s important to me that Señor includes it with the order, rather than letting it be lost to local tastes. It’s tart, it’s sweet, it’s savory, it’s just how I like it. 990 Valencia Street, San Francisco ✦
april 1, 2026