Al & Bea's Mexican Food ★ 4.5
Al & Bea's in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles has wrapped bean and cheese burritos since 1966 from the same walk-up window. Closes by 17:00 daily.
Try: Bean and cheese burrito
History
The breakfast burrito in its current LA form, scrambled eggs, hash browns or tater tots, cheese, bacon or chorizo, salsa, wrapped in a flour tortilla and foiled, took shape in the 1970s in East LA panaderias and corner shops. Al & Bea's on First Street has been making them since 1966; Cofax on Fairfax updated the format with chorizo verde in the 2010s. The defining feature is structural: every ingredient is hot and cooked separately, then layered hot so the tortilla never goes soggy. A real LA breakfast burrito is eaten foil-on, peeling back as you go, in the car on the way somewhere.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 2 large flour tortillas (25cm), warmed
- 1 medium russet potato, grated and squeezed dry
- 2 tbsp neutral oil, divided
- 4 large eggs
- 60ml whole milk
- Sea salt, black pepper
- 100g sharp cheddar, grated
- 4 rashers smoked bacon, OR 120g Mexican chorizo
- Hot salsa or salsa verde, to serve
- Aluminium foil, for wrapping
Method
- Pat the grated potato very dry. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high. Spread the potato in a thin layer, season, cook 6 minutes per side until golden and crisp. Set aside.
- Cook the bacon in the same pan until crisp, or brown the chorizo and break it up with a wooden spoon. Drain on paper towels.
- Beat the eggs with milk and a good pinch of salt. Heat 1 tbsp oil over low. Add eggs, stir slowly with a rubber spatula, pull off heat while still glossy.
- Warm the tortillas one at a time directly over a gas flame, or in a dry pan, until pliant and lightly blistered.
- Lay a sheet of foil down. Place a tortilla on top. Pile potato, eggs, meat and cheese in a line down the centre. Add salsa.
- Fold the bottom up, fold the sides in, roll tight. Wrap the foil around the burrito. Cut on the diagonal through the foil.
Tip from the editors. Squeeze the grated potato in a tea towel before frying. Wet potato will not crisp; dry potato will.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat the la breakfast burrito
The LA breakfast burrito in Los Angeles
Cofax Coffee Shop ★ 4.3
Cofax Coffee Shop on Fairfax, Los Angeles updated the LA breakfast burrito with chorizo verde and house-fermented hot sauces. A reliable Mid-City stop.
Order: Chorizo verde breakfast burrito and a flat white.
Tip: Counter and patio only; queue at 09:30 weekends, walk-in fine weekdays.
Burritos La Palma ★ 4.6
Burritos La Palma in East LA, Los Angeles wraps birria de res in handmade flour tortillas from Jerez, Zacatecas. James Beard finalist since 2018.
Order: Birria de res burrito wrapped in Zacatecas flour tortilla.
Tip: Open 09:00 to 17:00; the burritos sell out by 14:00 on weekends. Eat in the car.
Lucky Boy ★ 4.5
Lucky Boy in Pasadena, Los Angeles serves a foil-wrapped breakfast burrito that locals queue for from 06:00. Open from 05:00 daily, drive-through window in back.
Try: Breakfast burrito
More cities are in research. Want the la breakfast burrito covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.