BEAN AND CHEESE BURRITOS IN L.A. TO EAT NOW
Your firm grip swaddled around a warm flour tortilla may be the arrival of a personal journey for your soul’s cravings, but this euphoric destination was truly God’s gift to the world, wrapped in foil.
Centuries ago Juan Diego was selected to bear witness to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico in the year 1530. 400 years later, He ordained another Juan to reveal apparitions in the translucent edible form. No, we’re not talking about manna flatbread. We’re talking about circular, buttery, and crisp burritos that melt in your mouth and make your stomach sing Hallelujah.
Mexican folklore and contemporary food scholarship postulate two origin stories for the hearty meal. The most convincing account is that of Juan Mendez in the state of Chihuahua during the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s. Señor Méndez stored his food in saddlebags, hauled by burros [donkeys], and he wrapped his comida in tortillas to keep the huevos con weenies warm.
Ahí está, the burrito was born.
Today, most regard burritos to be frontera provisions created by Norteño street vendors forging ingredients from Mesoamerica combined with flour from Spaniards during the late 1800s to the 1900s. One speculates cafe de olla was made nearby during the 1920s. The burrito is a hybrid superfood, transforming and evolving with time from its primordial origin as calle food into a glorified mode of fine cuisine.
Decade after decade, the burrito grows with the hearts and pancitas of the nation with many new variations emerging from Méndez O.G. recipe, including burritos in the following styles: Tex-Mex, Mission, California, Sonora, Zacatecan, and frozen edibles by Trader Joes and pre-made sustenance packs distributed by the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Burrito, which translates into English as donkey, has a rich history throughout Califas. It first appeared on food menus in Los Angeles during the 1930s. In Central Cali, our government force-fed braceros through an abusive guest worker program to begin the 1940s. It was in 1956 that a Mexican butcher created the first frozen burrito, not Duane R. Roberts.
Cali loves burritos, and so does The Coffee Man. In the early 90s, I had my first burrito in San Pedro at my grandma’s house. I was five years old, when Jose walked me into his mother’s tight quartered kitchen, featuring wooden cabinets with beige countertops. Dad fired up the warped pan, and slammed a flour tortilla on the skillet until it turned golden brown.
When the edges of the tortilla curled up, as exploding hot pockets burst into air, it was ready. With a shiny tin spoon, he smeared an inch of creamy butter on the tortilla until it melted into a golden liquid. My dad rolled the tortilla like a tight hand-rolled joint before eating.
In fact, it was my other grandma, Grandma Connie, who took me to my first Mexican Restaurant! We would eat bean and cheese burritos and milkshakes at Carnitas El Indio in Torrance.
Coffee Man, can you please get to the list!
Why so much backstory?
Sound the mariachi trumpet, and pop the top on your Trinity CBC Cafe de Olla Cold Brew. I now present you with...
Top 5 Bean & Cheese Burritos in Los Angeles:
PART 1!
EL LITTLE BURRITO JR.. aka L.B.J. - Harbor Area/South Bay
If you didn’t grow up in the South Bay, or if you’re not born and raised in the Harbor Area, then you have never ordered the “Special C": 2 Bean and Cheese burritos with a soda.
I’ve been eating L.B.J. for nearly two decades, and when I lived on Knob Hill and P.C.H., I survived many hangovers with this little donkey. In 2020, I ate at LBj (yes, with a little “j” by definition to the local fanfare) at least once a month during my coffee delivery routes.
These mission-style burritos are no joke, along with their various portions store-to-store. Their tortillas are always charred to perfection, and foil-wrapped [which is slowly dying and being replaced by paper wraps].
“Our tortillas are delivered fresh daily,” says one member in the LBj familia. “Our beans are cooked fresh daily and are refried with a little lard.” In fact, their beans are never scorching hot and are seasoned to perfection with salt. They use a cheese blend that is always fully melted, and proportional to their refried beans. “That’s the hidden treasure…it’s our family’s go-to burrito.”
Bonus: L.B.J. is known for giving a handful of saltless tostada chips and chunky tomato salsa. I’ve paired LBj with our Horchata Cold Brew on multiple occasions, and it’s delicious.
Follow them now on I.G. and DM them, “Top Bean & Cheese in L.A.!”: @el_burrito_jr_inc
BURRITOS LA PALMA - Boyle Heights/Santana
These Zacateca-style burritos are cute, buttery, and delicious. Don’t let the size of their burritos challenge your understanding of a great-tasting bean and cheese, or its merits. Sure, these burritos are the size of a modern American taco, but this fact explains why Burritos La Palma are special.
Their simplicity makes for the perfect, simple bean and cheese. Here, it’s not a volume game. Bigger is not better. It’s a balance of beans to cheese ratio wrapped in an amazing hand-made tortilla. Gustavo Arellano calls the bean and cheese burrito the “Chicano Burrito.” Here’s why: It’s simple, classic in a word.
Burritos La Palma’s bean and cheese is simple, classic. Their translucent tortillas are tightly rolled in 100% jack cheese, featuring semi-runny pinto beans with lard. While the cheese is nothing to rave about, their tortilla is nothing short of amazing. They are an illuminating golden color with burned sunspots. Their texture is soft, slightly crunchy with a buttery mouthfeel. Yeah, go eat one now!
Bonus: Their watery tomato salsa is bomb. When I visit, I pair the B&C with our Cafe de Olla Cold Brew…GAME OVER:
LUPE’S #2 - East L.A
It was Highland Park journalist and L.A. Taco writer Gab Chabran who first endorsed Lupe’s to me in preparation for this spotlight in early 2020. In fact, you are not a food journalist in L.A. or a true Angeleno, if you haven’t eaten at this legendary hole in the wall.
Devoid of time degradation and truly an authentic hallmark of East L.A., Lupe’s has a rich history in Los Angeles and simply worth eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. “Our bean and cheese burrito here at Lupe’s is an East Los Angeles classic,” offers employee J.A..
Most in Los Angeles know Lupe’s bean and cheese burrito from “Jonathan Gold’s “5 Best L.A. Burritos” article. Published by the Los Angeles Times in 2015, John wrote of Lupe’s:
“Lupe's is the emblematic old-school East Los Angeles burrito: a slender packet of lard-fried beans and super-spicy chile folded into a slightly charred, griddle-toasted tortilla and served in a paper sleeve; the ideal of Chicano-era Los Angeles.”
While many in Califas seek in earnest to concoct a B&C with artisan tortillas and specialty beans, Lupe’s is confident in using tradition to feed us into the future. I love Lupe’s for many reasons beyond their B&C. The bean and cheese burrito reminds me of a burrito spot of my youth in the Harbor Area. It does remind me of the varrio in Wilmas where the sight of the Virgin Mary on walls is commonplace. In full transparency, I love how raza Lupe’s is from the external building to the neighbor. [I bite into my B&C, as the familiar sound of those oldies but goodies blare from within a green 48 Fleetline bombita cruises along 3rd Street. I feel at home.]
I realize then that Lupe’s will always be a go-to in Los Angeles. Por Vida.
MY TACO - Highland Park
This Highland Park staple is on my list for reasons it shouldn’t: mission-style burrito, finely (baby) shredded semi-melted cheese, and semi-dry beans. Oddly enough, I LOVE MY TACO!
In 2020, I’ve eaten well over two dozen of their B&C burritos. In 2021, I’ve eaten about six so far and we are just in the last week of February.
The first time I visited My Taco, I bit into a B&C that tasted like a mozzarella cheese pizza - burrito! It was bomb. I felt like a kid the first time I ate here, and their B&C actually reminds me of the L.A.U.S.D. calzone. Except, this B&C is actually really, really good!
What I love most about their B&C are the beans. They are semi-runny, salted perfectly [I still can’t tell if they use 100% lard or a blend. I never feel lethargic or sleepy after I eat their burritos.]
Their beans are always a surprise. Thus far, I’ve bitten into a small garlic clove, a tiny onion, and a baby piece of green pepper, but you never taste any of it. I love this! However, their beans always taste slightly veggital (green) to me, a hint of cilantro or maybe a dash of capsicum annuum???
I have no clue, and that is why I love My Taco! If you order a taco, they give you a lot of pickled veggies. You never have to ask for green and red salsa. They give it to you! Thank you, lord cheeses.
Bonus: Visit Amara Kitchen down the street. They serve our coffee, so order a latte and a dessert. Eat your comida in the skate park down the street.
SONORATOWN - Downtown L.A.
The B&C is not about volume, bigger is not better, and mission-style burritos are not required. The B&C is a study on the quality of three core ingredients: tortilla, beans, and cheese. Above all, the ratio of cheese to beans must be perfect, a non-negotiable. If the B&C is listed on the menu, as a single item, it’s worth ordering and Sonoratown is thee spot to try now.
An unlikely destination to eat a delicious B&C is in downtown Los Angeles, just a stone throw away from skidrow called Sonoratown. [I’m particularly proud of Sonora. My grandma Connie lived in Northern Sonora before coming to the U.S. in the late 50s. In 2008, I was able to visit and film the home she grew up in for my 2009 thesis film, Tijuaneros]
While the single-origin cheese is not a particular stand-out at Sonoratown, their beans are tasty and their tortillas are simply outstanding - world-class. The pinto beans are semi-salty, served hot, and runny in texture and appearance. The beans pair perfectly with their pillow-like grilled tortillas, which are mesquite in flavor and made al la mano.
Sonoratown understands what most restauranteurs in Boomtown don’t: the versatility of a one-handed B&C burrito.
Bonus: Their horchata tastes like ours: Bomb! Order the red & green salsa. Oh yeah, their burritos are $3.50.
The bean and cheese evangelist is like no other in the barrio. For nosotros, B&C is life. It is far from a nostalgic bygone snack of our youth. It is a meal of today, ahorita! Frijoles con queso wrapped in a tortilla is our holy trinity of food. For many Chicanos navigating the rapid cultural, technological, and economical changes in Aztlan, the Chicano Burrito is timeless preservative.
In fact, our Spanish is made perfect when we say beans, cheese, and tortilla in Essspanish. For some of us who are far too assimilated into the U.S. culture, it’s the only Spanish we can pronounce with confidence. Exploring our cultura through our ancestral food, especially the B&C, re-establishes our bond to our Raza community.
The B&C binds us to a community that bears our image and validates our identity as American, Mexican-American, Chicano, etc.. After all, the bean and cheese burrito is a celebration of mestizo, both native and foreign, gente of both Indo and Spaniard. Like most ethnic groups in America, who are composites of two identities wrapped into one, the bean and cheese burrito is an edible expression of one great, simple truth:
God so loved the world He created the burrito so we might eat of it.
STAY LOYAL 2 THE FOIL RAZA!