The Mission burrito is San Francisco's defining sandwich: a giant flour tortilla packed with rice, beans, meat, salsa and sometimes cheese or sour cream, foil-wrapped to the table.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
The shape was set in the late 1960s on 24th Street. Febronio Ontiveros at El Faro on Folsom is widely credited with the 1961 rice-and-foil package; La Cumbre on Valencia popularised the same wrap a few blocks west. The Mission style differs from a Sonoran burrito in three ways: rice is inside, the tortilla is steamed before rolling and the package is overstuffed to the point that the foil is structural. By the 1980s the form had spread from 24th Street to college towns across the country; Chipotle's founder Steve Ells trained in San Francisco before he opened his first room in Denver in 1993. The burrito is the rare American dish with a specific birth address.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy (if cheese added)
Tip from the editors. If the tortilla cracks, you skipped the warm-up. Steam it longer the second time.
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.
La Taqueria in San Francisco is the Mission burrito and taco counter where a twelve-dollar lunch is the city's most-cited cheap eat, since 1973 with no concessions.
Try: Carne asada burrito or doubled-corn tacos
Tip: Get the dorado-style burrito; the kitchen sears it on the plancha for a crisp edge that costs nothing extra.
El Farolito in San Francisco is the Mission's all-night taqueria on 24th and Mission, with the super burrito al pastor the city eats at 01:00 every weekend.
Try: Super burrito al pastor
Order: Super burrito al pastor with everything, plus a Mexican Coke.
Tip: The 23:00 to 01:00 window has the fastest line of the night; arrive at 01:30 and the line stretches outside.
Taqueria Cancun in San Francisco is the Mission taqueria on 16th and Mission, the baseline burrito mojado the city falls back on, open late every night.
Signature: Burrito mojado, Al pastor super burrito, Carne asada quesadilla
Order: The burrito mojado, smothered in three sauces (guacamole, sour cream, salsa roja) and a side of horchata.
Tip: Mission and 16th is the busiest of the three locations; the 24th Street branch at 3211 Mission has a shorter line at lunch.
Taqueria El Buen Sabor in San Francisco is a family-run Valencia Street taqueria at Valencia and 18th, serving the Mission since 1995 at sub-twelve-dollar prices.
Signature: Carne asada super burrito, Al pastor tacos, Tortas
Order: The carne asada super burrito with everything and a cold horchata.
Tip: Open 11:00 to 21:30 daily; busiest at 13:00, quieter for an early dinner at 17:00.
More cities are in research. Want mission burrito covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.