# Educate me about burritos, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 15, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849 "2022-01-15T14:55:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/21 "2022-01-15T16:27:35Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, what is it if you put a hot dog in it? Lunch. And yes, I’ve done this. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/22 "2022-01-15T16:45:24Z")
In regard to why you would heat the tortilla before you assemble the burrito: the tortilla can be too rigid to really wrap around the filling without breaking when they are at room temperature. Heating the tortilla (not frying it) makes it temporarily more flexible to make the wrapping easier. This is less of a problem with good tortillas, but the shelf stable ones (like Mission brand) can be particularly inflexible. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/23 "2022-01-15T16:50:39Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > This is less of a problem with good tortillas, but the shelf stable ones (like Mission brand) can be particularly inflexible. Getting them apart can be difficult if they are cold as well. I’ll often throw the whole bag in the microwave for a minute, otherwise, pulling them apart can end up with some tears and delaminations. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/24 "2022-01-15T16:56:49Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I’ll often throw the whole bag in the microwave for a minute, A minute? While I sometimes have to be careful separating my low-carb tortillas, 10 or 15 seconds for two of them in the microwave oven is enough to ensure flexibility. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/25 "2022-01-15T16:58:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > but you’re not going to find uncooked tortillas unless you make them yourself You can find uncooked tortillas in grocery stores, they will be in the refrigerated section of the store. If you can find them the best tortillas are made with lard. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/26 "2022-01-15T16:58:25Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > where they deliver a burrito the size of your head Oh, and [La Bamba](http://labambaburritos.com/), a regional chain, specifically says in their slogan that they have “burritos as big as your head.” (They’re not the mission-style burritos, though.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/27 "2022-01-15T17:35:29Z")
There is or was a Mexican burrito place near me that served hot dog burritos. ETA: Looks like it’s closed. That place advertised itself as making Juarez style burritos, that were a lot sparser than the bigger-is-better burrito you get at most places. Just a flour tortilla wrapped around a filling – not even closed at either end. No lettuce, no tomato, no rice. Nice and simple and delicious. Place was rated 4.5 on Yelp before it closed. Here’s an example of their Juarez-style burrito: [![](https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/2zRTvKltgBPgdn93ScpwFg/o.jpg) ](https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/2zRTvKltgBPgdn93ScpwFg/o.jpg) Rita’s Burritos in Chandler, Arizona, has a reminiscent style of burrito: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dda10JWV0AAK8km?format=jpg&name=small) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dda10JWV0AAK8km?format=jpg&name=small) ---
**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:** [January 15, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/28 "2022-01-15T17:38:50Z")
> **[13 Burrito Styles Everyone Should Know](https://www.seriouseats.com/burrito-styles)** > > An opinionated guide to the different style of Burritos, from Mexican-style burritos that contain a single filling to Mission-style burritos as large as a big swaddled baby, and everything in between. I grew up (until I was 15) in San Diego, so I was weened on San Diego-style burritos. The site above calls them ‘California burritos’ (not to be confused with Mission-style burritos). We never had fries in them, so I’m guessing that was a later development. San Diego style burritos are probably why I liked the Mach Meat burritos. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/29 "2022-01-15T18:14:17Z")
I was just coming in here to rep for California-style burritos. Between San Diego and the Mission District in San Francisco, California rules the burrito world. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/30 "2022-01-15T18:22:06Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > California rules the burrito world. ^ QFT. ETA: In my previous post, ‘Macho’ instead of ‘Mach’ Macho burritos are good. Mach burritos are poor quality and go through you at the speed of sound. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/31 "2022-01-15T18:38:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ETA: In my previous post, ‘Macho’ instead of ‘Mach’ Macho burritos are good. Mach burritos are poor quality and go through you at the speed of sound. People stand outside the restroom marveling at the volume of your sonic booms? Technically I don’t see why you can’t have a PBJ burrito. A burrito is filling wrapped in a tortilla a certain way…sort of. What I really didn’t get is why they call it “little donkey.” If you make it bigger, does it become a burro? Extra large would be a burrote (burroto?)? > **[So Who Actually Invented The Burrito? - Quesada | The Joy of Mex](https://quesada.ca/so-who-actually-invented-the-burrito/)** > > The burrito. Ever wondered how this comforting food came to \[…\] > Since traveling was commonly done by donkey, the burrito was named after the travel companion. Gustavo Arellano, who wrote the book “Taco: USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America” and is an expert on the topic, [believes this theory is the most plausible](https://www.vox.com/2015/5/1/8525335/burrito-history-invention-america), since Sonora is the region of Mexico known for growing wheat, which is the main ingredient in flour tortillas. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/32 "2022-01-15T18:43:19Z")
Yo tambien. I usually heat the torts in a dry frying pan until they’re hot and puffy, and make the eggs with cream cheese. I sometimes season the bacon with chili spice. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/33 "2022-01-15T18:45:34Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > If you make it bigger, does it become a burro? Extra large would be a burrote (burroto?)? At what point does an omelette become a full-fledged omel? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/34 "2022-01-15T18:52:07Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > What I really didn’t get is why they call it “little donkey.” If you make it bigger, does it become a burro? Extra large would be a burrote (burroto?)? When I was in Merida and Progresso (Mexico), I do remember seeing _burros_ at some places, but they weren’t particularly big or anything. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/35 "2022-01-15T18:52:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > At what point does an omelette become a full-fledged omel? [Clouseau] “How Long Have You Been A Bellboy?” [Bellboy] “Ahhh, Too Long, Monsieur!” [Clouseau] “Keep Up This Good Work And Very Soon I Will See To It That You Become A Bell-MAN!” ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/36 "2022-01-15T18:53:38Z")
I would also like to know how this has happened. Where did you grow up and where do you live? Have you had other Mexican food? This is almost like hearing someone say they’ve never had a burger before. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/37 "2022-01-15T18:54:54Z")
Not new… at least not here in Texas. They’ve been a thing for at least 40 years that I can recall- first one I had was on a Boy Scout campout- scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese & Pace picante sauce on top. They get more interesting from there; a lot of the ones aimed at immigrants have things like beans in them, or chorizo/other meats than sausage and/or bacon. As far as I can suss out, burritos are a Northern Mexican dish that in the US Southwest (Mission style) seems to have turned into a large (12"+) flour tortilla with beans, rice, some kind of meat, and various other toppings- cheese, guacamole, sour cream, barbecue sauce, etc… are all common. So are variations on the beans- refried, black, and charro are common. Fold in the ends and roll it into a cylinder and serve it. That’s essentially what Chipotle serves, and so does Freebirds World Burrito and many other chains around the region. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/38 "2022-01-15T18:56:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > what point does an omelette become a full-fledged omel? Not sure, but apparently, this one isn’t big enough [![](https://apiwp.thelocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1555656635_000_Par7860216.jpg) ](https://apiwp.thelocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1555656635_000_Par7860216.jpg) [https://www.thelocal.fr/20190419/why-one-french-town-is-buying-15000-eggs/#:~:text=Every%20year%20on%20Easter%20Monday,most%20well%20recognised%20quirky%20ceremonies](https://www.thelocal.fr/20190419/why-one-french-town-is-buying-15000-eggs/#:~:text=Every%20year%20on%20Easter%20Monday,most%20well%20recognised%20quirky%20ceremonies). ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/39 "2022-01-15T18:56:48Z")
I’m always confused about the difference between burritos and enchiladas, so if I am at a Mexican restaurant, I always ask, because I prefer corn tortillas. The last time I was in a Mexican restaurant, that particular restaurant used corn tortillas for both, unless you wanted shrimp, and then they used flour. But you could have flour for anything, if you wanted. Typically burittos are with flour and enchiladas are with corn. For the past year I’ve been following John Scalzi on Twitter. He’ll put anything in a flour tortilla and call it a burrito. > **[The Wilicious Burrito](https://whatever.scalzi.com/2016/03/04/the-wilicious-burrito/)** > > Some of you may be aware of the existential battle that Wil Wheaton and I are currently engaged in, involving burritos. I am of the opinion that anything you place into a tortilla, if it is then fo… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849/40 "2022-01-15T19:01:58Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > I’m always confused about the difference between burritos and enchiladas, so if I am at a Mexican restaurant, I always ask, because I prefer corn tortillas. Enchiladas are literally en-chile-d. They are tortillas (usually corn, but can be flour) dipped in a chile sauce or covered and cooked in a chile sauce (or even the corn tortilla itself can be made with chiles in it, a la the San Luis Potosi enchilada.) An enchilada is typically eaten with a knife and fork and cooked like a casserole. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-burritos-please/957849.md?page=3)