The Mission-style burrito was invented in this neighborhood in the 1960s: a large flour tortilla, steamed to make it pliable, wrapped around rice, beans, meat, salsa, and whatever else you add, in foil. Two taquerias claim the origin story. El Faro at Folsom and 20th dates its first oversized burrito to September 1961, and La Cumbre on Valencia claims 1969. Nobody has settled it, and the neighborhood has been arguing about burritos ever since.
These are the places I send people. All three are on Mission Street, all three are within a 15-minute walk of each other, and each one does something different.
La Taqueria
2889 Mission Street, between 25th and 26th. Open since 1973, James Beard America’s Classics Award winner. The burrito here breaks the Mission formula: no rice. Beans, meat, salsa, and the tortilla, which concentrates everything on the meat. Order the carnitas or the carne asada, and ask for it “dorado style” if you want the tortilla griddled crisp. Expect a line out the door on weekends; it moves fast.
El Farolito
2779 Mission Street at 24th. The late-night option: open until 2:45 a.m. most nights and 3:45 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, which is why the line after midnight is as long as the line at lunch. The super burrito (adds cheese, sour cream, and avocado) is the standard order, and the al pastor is the meat the place is known for. Several locations around the city; the 24th Street original is the one with the history.
Taqueria Cancún
Mission Street at 19th. Known for two things: the mojado (wet) burrito served smothered in salsa, and one of the more reliable veggie burritos in the neighborhood, built around grilled vegetables and avocado. Open until 12:45 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, 10:45 p.m. most other nights.
How to Order
Regular gets you meat, beans, rice (except La Taqueria), and salsa. Super adds cheese, sour cream, and avocado. Salsa questions usually mean red (hotter) or green (milder). Most taquerias hand you chips with the order. A super burrito currently runs in the $13 to $17 range at most Mission taquerias; check menus for exact prices because they move every year.
Getting There
BART runs to both ends of this stretch: 24th Street Mission station puts you a block from El Farolito and four blocks from La Taqueria, and 16th Street Mission station is three blocks from Taqueria Cancún. The 14 Mission bus runs the length of Mission Street. Street parking in the Mission on evenings and weekends is genuinely difficult; take BART.
For more of the neighborhood, see the Mission District guide.