A Sonoran-style burrito: shredded beef braised with roasted green chiles, rolled into a thin flour tortilla, often served enchilada-style under cheese and sauce.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The green chile burro is everyday Sonoran-Arizona food, built on the region's thin flour tortillas and the roasted green chiles that arrive each autumn. Family kitchens braise shredded beef with chile until it falls apart, then roll it tight. Phoenix's old-guard Mexican rooms keep it on the menu year round, sometimes plain, sometimes wet under sauce and cheese.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. Use real roasted green chiles, not canned salsa; the smoky roasted-chile flavour is the whole point of the dish.
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.
Comedor Guadalajara on South Central is a big sit-down Mexican room of regional staples, fast service and lunch specials that fill a plate without much spend.
Try: Mexican plate lunches
Order: A combination plate off the lunch-special menu with rice and beans.
Tip: Lunch specials are the value; the room is large, so walk-ins move fast.
Cocina Madrigal in South Phoenix is Leo Madrigal's from-scratch Mexican room, plating handcrafted tacos and homemade enchiladas with house specialties.
Signature: Handcrafted tacos, Homemade enchiladas, Mole
Order: The handmade enchiladas and a plate of the day's specialty tacos.
Tip: On 16th Street near the Wood Street tracks; weekends fill, the patio is the cool-month seat.
Los Reyes de la Torta on North 7th Street stacks some of the biggest tortas in Phoenix, a family room of burros and tacos priced for a working lunch.
Try: Overstuffed Mexican tortas
Order: The Cubana torta, loaded with multiple meats and avocado.
Tip: One torta usually feeds two; the family room is busiest at lunch.
More cities are in research. Want green chile burro covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.