# Burritos: Rice and/or beans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902 "2015-08-26T01:31:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/41 "2015-08-26T17:11:24Z")
What a fajita was originally distinguished by was the cut of meat: They’re made with skirt steak, which used to be a very cheap cut until fajitas made them popular. Nowadays, though, you’re just as likely to see things labeled as “chicken fajitas” or even “bean fajitas”, so that doesn’t really work any more. In practice, the distinction seems to be that a fajita has large-sliced sauteed onions and bell peppers. They’re also often just folded over once into a half-circle, instead of rolled up completely like a burrito, but that varies. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/42 "2015-08-26T17:17:28Z")
I grew up in San Diego, and the only times you’d expect to see beans on a burrito at a taco shop down there is on a veggie burrito or a “mixed” burrito (stewed beef, beans, and cheese, nothing else). Rice I’ve only seen on a shrimp burrito. If you must have a starch in your burrito, go with the California burrito instead - carne asada, French fries, cheese, lettuce, guacamole, and salsa. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/43 "2015-08-26T17:26:20Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I’ve changed your poll to include that option, as you asked, **JohnnyLA.** Muchas gracias! ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/44 "2015-08-26T17:34:44Z")
My burrito of preference is beans and cheese. Nothing else. If it comes down to it, I can accept lettuce, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and maybe some guacamole. Salsa and/or sour cream goes on the side. So does rice, if it must be there at all. Don’t get me wrong; I love rice. Just not in (or with) a burrito. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/45 "2015-08-26T17:40:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What a fajita was originally distinguished by was the cut of meat: They’re made with skirt steak, which used to be a very cheap cut until fajitas made them popular. Nowadays, though, you’re just as likely to see things labeled as “chicken fajitas” or even “bean fajitas”, so that doesn’t really work any more. In practice, the distinction seems to be that a fajita has large-sliced sauteed onions and bell peppers. They’re also often just folded over once into a half-circle, instead of rolled up completely like a burrito, but that varies. Until I looked at images in response to this post, I had never in my life seen fajitas assembled before serving. The only way I have ever encountered them is as a dangerously hot skillet of goodness with tortillas on the side. Some assembly required. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/46 "2015-08-26T17:41:36Z")
I believe that burritos are like sandwiches - a proper one should be too big to eat and contain every component of the meal. So put me down for rice and beans. That said, the most important thing for me is clear descriptions on menus. I don’t want to be making any assumptions about what they’re putting in there. Also, there should be a balance of the ingredients. If it’s a carne asada burrito, I don’t want the meat to be a mere flavoring for a pound of rice. By the way, best burrito in the world: the Beached Whale at [Pepe Delgado’s](http://www.yelp.com/biz/pepe-delgados-mexican-restaurant-san-luis-obispo) in San Luis Obispo, California. Go eat one if you dare. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/47 "2015-08-26T17:42:29Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Why the dickens did you leave out the option of rice and beans! To keep out the riff-raff, obviously. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > Oh, so, so RIGHT. My formative years with Mexican food were in the SF Bay Area so of course I want rice AND beans. Southern CA-style is wimpy :D. No lettuce though - that shit doesn’t work in a burrito. > > Chopped chicharrones, chile verde or carnitas, rice, beans( pintos, whole ), guacamole, sour cream, cheese, salsa/pico, hot sauce. Should weigh a good pound or two. La Cumbre makes a perfectly fine burrito, but I mostly stick to the East Bay these days. Ramiro & Sons in Alameda is my preferred go-to spot ( but only for their burritos ). Didn’t work. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I’m a vegetarian, so my burritos need both rice & beans to make a complete protein. Plus, I agree with **silenus** : pretty much everything makes a good burrito component. My mother, who’s very interested in nutrition, pointed out that every cuisine that had access to the ingredients, has developed a rice-and-bean dish. As you point out, that forms a complete protein. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/48 "2015-08-26T17:42:35Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Californian. Beans, yes. Beans are delicious. Half the time, I just want a bean burrito anyway. > > Rice, though, is an abomination. You can’t have two starches. It doesn’t even make any sense. People who put rice in burritos are bad people, and their restaurants should be shut down. Right. Authentic burritos have beans. Rice is just a cheap filler. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/49 "2015-08-26T17:43:35Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I’m a vegetarian, so my burritos need both rice & beans to make a complete protein. Plus, I agree with **silenus** : pretty much everything makes a good burrito component. You already have corn or wheat in the tortilla. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/50 "2015-08-26T17:45:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The only way I have ever encountered them is as a dangerously hot skillet of goodness with tortillas on the side. Some assembly required. I count my cast-iron fajita pan as the best/most useful thing I’ve bought at a yard sale. Best $2 I ever spent. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/51 "2015-08-26T17:47:17Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > If it’s a carne asada burrito, I don’t want the meat to be a mere flavoring for a pound of rice. I don’t want the meat to be a mere flavoring for a _grain_ of rice. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/52 "2015-08-26T17:51:24Z")
I recognize two types of burrito: the Freebird style with hot/warm meat, beans, and rice to which you add cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, guac, olives, etc. It’s rolled up and eaten out of your hand. The second is the meat, beans, and rice rolled up and cooked in the oven with cheese and a chili sauce poured on top. This you eat with a fork. But rice and beans always. Weirdos. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/53 "2015-08-26T17:58:58Z")
I’ve always used the following defintion for a burrito: Beans + x wrapped in a flour tortilla where x can be cheese, meat, veggies, etc (and any combination thereof). But the two key parts are beans and flour tortilla. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/54 "2015-08-26T18:04:39Z")
Speaking as a Mexican, my burro of preference is Sonoran style, a tortilla sobaquera filled with machaca or carne asada or chilorio with frijoles de la olla, not refritos. Forget the rice. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/55 "2015-08-26T18:06:37Z")
Brown rice, no beans. In a bowl not a wrap if that matters. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/56 "2015-08-26T18:09:20Z")
> [@CBEscapee](#): > > Speaking as a Mexican, my burro of preference is Sonoran style, a tortilla sobaquera filled with machaca or carne asada or chilorio with frijoles de la olla, not refritos. Forget the rice. Sounds great, but not sure what a\* tortilla sobaquera\*is - are those the tortillas that are enormous and almost paper thin ? Cant find them here, even in Mexican areas. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/57 "2015-08-26T19:21:36Z")
I always order burritos without rice, ever since I realized that was possible. Although I’m not vegetarian, I don’t care for meat on a burrito: it just seems like a waste of good meat to me. (I also don’t like meat in a stir fry). Rice is just bland filler: give me the black beans, the cheese, the hot salsa, and maybe some corn and/or olives, and I’m a happy dude. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/58 "2015-08-26T19:30:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sounds great, but not sure what a\* tortilla sobaquera\*is - are those the tortillas that are enormous and almost paper thin ? Cant find them here, even in Mexican areas. Yes, they are traditional in Sonora. The name comes from sobaco which is also the armpit. The tortilla reaches from the hand to the armpit. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TdlxQ6FzIA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TdlxQ6FzIA) ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/59 "2015-08-26T19:47:15Z")
In LA the fajitas are just meat and veg in a skillet or on an iron plate, with tortillas on the side so you can roll up your own. Burritos come pre-rolled. Here in Texas I don’t know about fajitas (I hate bell peppers so I never order them) but the burrito is very different here. For one thing most places have A burrito. One. It can have your choice of meat but will definitely have rice and beans. Maybe cheese, maybe not. The only places with more than one kind of burrito I have found here is (gag) Taco Bell or Del Taco (a little better), and they aren’t all that different, just bigger or smaller. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902/60 "2015-08-26T19:56:34Z")
Yeah, I think all the better places serve their fajitas as some-assembly-required, but there are a lot of lowest-denominator places that serve them already assembled. > [@](#): > > Quoth **BeeGee** : > > The second is the meat, beans, and rice rolled up and cooked in the oven with cheese and a chili sauce poured on top. This you eat with a fork. This sounds like an enchilada to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burritos-rice-and-or-beans/728902.md?page=4)