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| Mission burrito |
A Mission burrito (also known as a San Francisco burrito or a Mission-style burrito) is a type of burrito that first became popular during the 1960s in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. It is distinguished from other burritos by its large size and inclusion of extra rice and other ingredients. A key method to the burritos' construction is to steam the wheat flour tortilla to increase its flexibility prior to adding the other ingredients, although that is not a requirement and burritos may be grilled instead. It has been referred to as one of three major styles of burritos in the United States, following the earlier, simple burrito consisting of beans, rice, and meat. It precedes the California burrito, which developed in the 1980s and contains cheese and potatoes.
Many taquerías in the Mission and greater San Francisco Bay Area specialize in Mission burritos. It is typically a large flour tortilla that is wrapped and folded around a variety of ingredients, served in a piece of aluminum foil. A food critic for the San Francisco Chronicle counted hundreds of taquerias in the Bay Area, and noted that the question of which taqueria makes the best burrito can "encourage fierce loyalty and ferocious debate". New York-based writer Calvin Trillin said that the burrito in San Francisco "has been refined and embellished in much the same way that the pizza has been refined and embellished in Chicago." Since its commercial availability began in the 1960s, the style has spread widely throughout the United States and Canada.
Though an authentic mission burrito is made in San Francisco's Mission District at family owned Mexican restaurants called "taquerias", Chipotle Mexican Grill, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Panchero's Mexican Grill, Freebirds World Burrito, Barberitos, and Taco del Mar are large national chains in North America that arguably offer versions of a San Francisco style burrito. Chipotle was started by a chef who directly acknowledges the inspiration of Mission taquerias. The New York City–based restaurant chain BurritoVille, which existed from 1992 to 2008, specialized in San Francisco–style burritos. Atlanta was home to one of the first San Francisco–style burrito restaurants on the East Coast, called Tortillas, from the mid-1980s until the early 2000s.
Some New York establishments advertise "Cal-Mex" or "San Francisco style" burritos. Two chains of Boston taquerias (Anna's Taqueria and Boca Grande Taqueria) are directly modeled after a local Bay Area chain, and other burrito businesses also cite the influence of San Francisco burritos.
Burritos made in the San Francisco style can be found in other cities across the United States.
A small chain of establishments have been appearing in the UK under the name "Mission Burrito" selling Mission-style burritos in Oxford, Reading, and Bristol. M4 Burritos, with two Montreal locations, also claims to serve Mission-inspired fare.
The aluminum foil wrapping, which is present whether the customer is eating in the restaurant or
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| Mission burrito as served wrapped in foil |
Diners eating Mission burritos customarily forgo utensils entirely and eat the burrito with their hands, tearing the foil gradually down as they eat from above, but keeping the foil on the bottom to continue to support the structure of the uneaten portion. Adding salsa to the burrito before each subsequent bite is a popular practice.
