Top image: La Vaca Birria's burrito. Photo by SFist

The great burrito wars of San Francisco may never come to any satisfying conclusion. But in a town as blessed as ours is with burrito riches, we probably shouldn't complain and just enjoy that everyone has their passionate preferences.

It's been a couple of years since SFist has surveyed the city's burrito scene. And while many of the players and the tortilla-rolled delights remain largely the same, things have not stayed completely static. A couple favorites, like the Castro's Tacorgasmico and NoPa's Green Chile Kitchen, are gone now, and there a couple of newcomers to the scene.

The Chronicle has hired a new full-time restaurant critic, MacKenzie Chung Fegan, to replace the erstwhile critic Soleil Ho. (That was in June, but Fegan's byline has not yet appeared and it looks like she had a baby in August.) In the meantime, associate critic Cesar Hernandez has been filling in, and this week he offered up his ranked list of his top five burritos in the city.

Hernandez said he surveyed all the existing lists online, and "many of those rankings don’t hold the same weight they once did." And somehow, BIZARRELY, he finds no top-five-level love for Taqueria Cancun, which has consistently been SFist's fave over the years, particularly for the al pastor.

Hernandez casts his votes for El Farolito (#5), saying "Carne asada is the move here," and "In spite of the gamut of ingredients, each component plays off of each other well without distracting from the asada"; Chuy's Fiestas (#4), where he likes the rice-less, "massive, crispy flattop burrito"; tortilla specialists La Palma Mexicatessen (#3); and La Espiga de Oro (#2), which has also long been an SFist fave, and where he recommends the chicharron.

For Hernandez's new #1, he crowns relative newcomer La Vaca Birria, which opened a couple years back in the former Pig & Pie/Discolandia space on 24th Street. Hernandez praises the delicious homemade tortillas made with rendered beef tallow, as well as the char-roasted salsas, and the rich, flavorful birria — which the restaurant also uses to make popular quesabirria tacos. And he recommends the grilled cheese burrito as being "the taqueria’s more memorable take on the Mission burrito," because it has a "thick cheese skirt that corrects the cold cheese issue of many other burritos."

SFist sampled the work of La Vaca Birria, and it is a very tasty and satisfying birria burrito. The meat is delicious, as is the tortilla. The onions are nicely, finely diced, and the charred jalapeno salsa is indeed a winning addition.

Is it the city's best, and does it rival, say, a super al pastor from Cancun, or a dorado-style carne asada from La Taqueria? That is surely up to personal preference. And does everyone remember when the Five Thirty Eight did a burrito bracket in 2014 and La Taq beat out every other burrito in the nation?? We balked at that at the time, but the place continues to have many ardent fans.

Previously: The 15 Best Burrito Spots In SF

La Vaca Birria - 2962 24th Street, San Francisco - Available for takeout or on Uber Eats

50 years after opening, La Taqueria is still getting lines down the block on Mission Street, and has both James Beard honors and “Burrito Bracket” awards to show for its five decades of greasy goodness.

Back nearly ten years ago, when ESPN bought the popular data nerd site FiveThirtyEight, one of the relaunched site’s first big features was the (very effective) clickbait contest of the March Madness-style Burrito Bracket. And the national winner was La Taqueria, the no-frills taqueria at 25th and Mission streets. Naturally, that choice was highly controversial. But there’s no arguing with a James Beard distinction, and La Taqueria won one in 2017 when it was bestowed a James Beard America’s Classics award.  

But as the name of the place would tell you, La Taqueria is more of a cult-favorite for its tacos rather than its burritos. And the Chronicle points out that La Taqueria is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In a 50-year retrospective article, they profile 80-year-old owner Miguel Jara, and the man who makes those tacos, four-decade employee Miguel Ruiz.

“He’s never missed a single day of work,” the owner Jara said of Ruiz. “Without Miguel over here, I don’t know what we’d do.”

It has not always been a smooth ride. The Chron points out how in  2018, La Taqueria was forced to pay more than $500,000 for wage violations over unpaid overtime, health care costs, and sick pay. And while owner Miguel Jara does own the building at 2889 Mission Street, he had to pay $1.7 million to keep the place later that same year in an inheritance dispute with his siblings.

That unpleasantness is all now long past. And we should acknowledge that Bon Appetit credits La Taqueria with inventing the Mission-style burrito. That too is disputed, as Taqueria La Cumbre makes this claim, as does El Faro (which is different than El Farolito). But what is not disputed is 50 years of San Francisco love for La Taqueria, as evidenced by the long lines on Mission Street during most of its business hours.

Related: La Taqueria Wins Honorary James Beard Award [SFist]

Image: Andy C. via Yelp

Do you live someplace outside of California and your local taqueria (or whatever they call those there) is the world's worst when it comes to properly folding and rolling a burrito?

Fans of Mission-style burritos in San Francisco — and really fans of any self-respecting taqueria in most of urban California — know that a properly, tightly rolled burrito does not come apart. You carefully peel the foil down the sides as you eat, and while things may leak depending on the juiciness of the filling, that thing doesn't need any gadgetry to keep it from falling open — though the final few bites might require extra napkins and/or a fork.

But some recent graduates of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore — not exactly a hotbed of burrito-craft — have nonetheless come up with a solution to a problem we do not have out west. It's called Tastee Tape, and it's an engineered, edible product for use in taping shut poorly made burritos and wraps.

In the photos below, the transparent Tastee Tape is the real stuff, on the left, while it's dyed blue on the right just for demonstration purposes.

The tape is flavorless, gluten-free, and vegan.

As Food & Wine first reported, Tastee Tape came out of the Whiting School of Engineering's annual Design Day earlier this month. An all-female team of engineers — Tyler Guarino, Marie Eric, Rachel Nie, and Erin Walsh — describe the invention as "an edible adhesive comprising a food-grade fibrous scaffold and an organic adhesive that ensures the ingredients in your favorite wrap are kept tucked tightly inside during cooking and consumption."

The genesis of the invention idea, Guarino tells CNN, came from real life eating troubles. "Erin was eating a burrito and the tortilla opened all over her," Guarino says.

The team isn't disclosing the formula they used for the edible adhesive strips, because they're currently applying for a patent.

But they're getting plenty of press considering this isn't even on the market yet!

"First, we learned about the science around tape and different adhesives, and then we worked to find edible counterparts," Guarino told Food & Wine. "Tastee Tape allows you to put full faith in your tortilla, and enjoy your meal, mess-free."

Again, if your burrito was wrapped neatly and correctly... Anyway, there's no hope for a lot of burrito places around the nation, so this is probably a useful invention for them.

Related: The 15 Best Burrito Spots in SF

Food truck star Señor Sisig is planning a third brick-and-mortar location, and it promises to be the swankiest location to date for the brand in San Francisco's Ferry Building.

As Eater reports today, Señor Sisig is taking over the Ferry Building space (#41) that was vacated by Brown Sugar Kitchen in early 2020 — and which was formerly home to Il Cane Rosso in years past. And because the new digs will come with some outdoor seating space at the back of the building, owners Gil Payumo and Evan Kidera are planning to offer some expanded menu offerings, including some new seafood options and pulutan, or shareable dishes.

And while beer and wine is available at the Mission location, the Ferry Building spot is going to come with a full liquor license, and Payumo and Kidera are planning a cocktail menu with tropical flavors like calamansi and ube as potential ingredients.

Best known for their Mexican-Filipino mashups like burritos made with pork sisig and chicken adobo, Señor Sisig has steadily grown from its food-truck beginnings to a mini-empire in the Bay Area. Payumo and Kidera opened their first brick-and-mortar shop in SF's Mission District in 2019 — adding a cheeky nod to Taco Bell's Crunchwrap to the menu — and that was followed by the debut of their Oakland location in early 2021, offering a full vegan menu alongside the regular offerings.

With the help of Local Kitchens and their micro-food halls, you can also now order Señor Sisig's food in San Jose, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Lafayette, and Roseville. And the Señor Sisig trucks still make regular appearances around SF and the Bay Area, at SPARK Social, Off the Grid, and elsewhere.

The Oakland location of Señor Sisig is going to be relocating nearby this year, to the new Zo apartment complex by Lake Merritt, and that location will also have a cocktail menu and full bar, as the Chronicle previously reported.

Longtime friends and food lovers, Payumo and Kidera and decided to launch their food-truck business together back in 2008, at the height of food-truck mania around California elsewhere. Inspired in part by the success of Roy Choi and his Kogi BBQ truck in LA, which serves tacos with Korean-style meats, Payumo and Kidera decided to meld Payumo's Filipino heritage with the Mexican food they love in the Bay Area.

As the pair told Hoodline several years ago, they don't see themselves as "pioneers" of Filipino food, but they feel they found success by offering American palates simplified versions of Filipino flavors in new contexts. "“We were able to have something new in two ways: a food truck and a new cuisine no one has ever seen," Kidera said.

Look for the new Ferry Building location of Señor Sisig to open across from the entrance to Slanted Door sometime this summer.

Rendering via Tecta Associates

The North Beach location of El Farolito is suddenly expected to open “any day now,” after an eight-month battle over SF formula retail rules. A compromise deal has greased the skids for the taqueria to open near Grant Avenue and Broadway.    

It was back in August when we learned that local legend taqueria chain El Farolito was opening a North Beach location. But just a month later, it seemed the deal wouldn't amount to beans. San Francisco formula retail rules said there were too many El Farolito locations, and the chain’s 11 Bay Area locations had similar signage and menus that constituted some sort of McDonald’s-like menace. This super charged the debate over SF formula retail rules, because come on… El Farolito is absolutely a small and locally owned business!

But North Beach burrito fans, you’ll finally get the whole enchilada. The Chronicle reports on a compromise deal that will allow the North Beach El Farolito to open, and that the new North Beach taqueria “will open any day now.”

“All is well that ends well and a vacant space is about to open with a new and popular restaurant in the recovering North Beach corridor and everybody can’t wait,” the North Beach district’s supervisor Aaron Peskin, who apparently helped broker the deal, tells the Chronicle. “The bottom line is at a time like this the city needs to be a better partner to a business like El Farolito.”

The Lopez family that owns the chain did not return comment to the Chronicle on the store's opening. But the Chronicle notes that the “The yellow awning is up at 1230 Grant Avenue, across Fresno alley from the Saloon watering hole, and the opening is pending a final permit approval by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.”

The issue with El Farolito was the chain had 11 locations throughout the Bay Area, and 11 is the exact number that gets a chain classified as formula retail under San Francisco’s 17-year-old formula retail ban (which applies to North Beach, Chinatown, and multiple other "Neighborhood Commercial Districts"). Some of the other outlets had names like “El Favorito,” but the SF Planning Department deemed them all too similar, and denied the necessary permit in September.

But that denial was not permanent, it just forced El Farolito to go back to the drawing board. And according to the Chronicle, “That technicality was overcome by some modifications to signage at other outlets in the chain.”

This is definitely a win for Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who can bill himself as the Supreme negotiator who won El Farolito their permits while keeping the formula retail rules intact. But it’s more of a win for North Beach late-night revelers, who will be able to enjoy arguably San Francisco’s best burrito when it had seemed like the chips were stacked against El Farolito.

Related: Could the El Farolito Debate Finally Move the Needle on SF's Formula Retail Rules? [SFist]

Photo: Danny Sauter

Pancho Villa Taqueria is a perfectly respectable choice when discussing San Francisco's much lauded burrito scene, and that's what Mayor London Breed's immediate choice was when the Chronicle asked her for her go-to burrito place.

"It’s easy," says Breed, an SF native who's gone to Pancho Villa since she was a teenager. "Everybody from my neighborhood would go to Pancho Villa.” She says friends would make burrito runs and "we’d all pile in the car and drive over to Pancho Villa. That’s the spot."

The Chronicle mapped the favorite burritos of an odd mix of San Francisco political and culture figures, and strangely there was no love for SFist's longtime declared favorite, Taqueria Cancun — though critic Soleil Ho knew a good thing when she tasted the al pastor there, and Cancun has a spot on her concise list of the 11 best burritos in the region. (This is all part of a BIG burrito package the paper just put out.)

SFist also made it known when that bullshit burrito bracket thing came out on The Five-Thirty-Eight a few years ago that in no universe does La Taqueria make the city's best burrito, let alone the nation's. But City Attorney Dennis Herrera likes his burritos from there, "no rice."

And DA Chesa Boudin makes the unfortunate choice of saying the Sunset's Hook Fish Co. is his favorite burrito place, because he likes fish burritos and apparently never goes to the Mission.

A bunch of people including state Senator Scott Wiener still think Gordo is tops, and El Farolito gets plenty of much-deserved praise from MythBusters alum Kari Byron and SF Public Defender Mano Raju.

Ho's list of the best burritos around the Bay is, on balance, solid, and includes a few spots outside the city that we'll need to try now. Though she might want to consult our list as well next time.

She includes La Taq, El Farolito, Papalote, and the Al Pastor Papi truck, as well as Cancun — but notably she does not find room to include Gordo, or El Toro, or any of the other nonsense that the "newsmakers" list includes.

Let the griping and sniping commence!

Related: The 15 Best Burritos in SF [SFist]

Photo courtesy of Pancho Villa Taqueria

It's been a couple years since we tackled the always controversial Best Burrito list, so it's time to update SFist's official opinions on the topic. We all should know by now that if you want to start a fight in this town, just try going to the mat over the relative superiority of La Taqueria or Taqueria Cancún, and you're bound to get people on both sides to join that debate. Some people are going to tell you that a burrito is a burrito, and they're all pretty much the same — not to mention they aren't even really Mexican, but more of a Mexican-American creation that has its roots about 50 years ago in SF. But they are not created equal! And making some spot-on al pastor — or any filling for that matter besides grilled chicken — takes some culinary mastery and likely a centuries-old family recipe. Not to mention the tortillas, the salsa, and the presentation — all these things contribute to artworks in a medium that claims quite a few masters in this town. Below, our humble opinions — I'm sure you also have yours. And please note: We are a city blessed with many a good taqueria and taco truck, but that is not what we're talking about here — this is about burritos alone. — Jay Barmann

Taqueria Cancún
The al pastor burrito at Taqueria Cancún is, in my opinion, the paradigm of the Mission burrito, and the standard-bearer against which all others must be judged. There are Taquerias Cancún on mid-Market (at Sixth), and south of Cesar Chavez on Mission Street, but it's the the one near 18th and Mission that most people are most familiar with. All the super burrito combinations at this unassuming, admittedly greasy-seeming spot boast good crema and fresh avocado, all with the backdrop of a nicely blistered tortilla. You may recall during the infamous, drawn-out "Burrito Bracket" on FiveThirtyEight that Cancún came in a close second, and got the endorsement from comedian Marc Maron. It should have won. That is all. — Jay Barmann
2288 Mission Street between 18th and 19th Streets
1003 Market Street at Sixth
3211 Mission Street at Valencia

El Farolito
The OG, old-school, unreasonably gigantic burritos and drunkard-friendly late-night hours give iconic status to the greasy-spatula taqueria institution known as El Farolito (More like El Fart-olito, ammirite?) In addition to the free chips and salsa, huge ladles of sour cream and apparent total disregard for food costs, El Faro also serves burritos with exotically grotesque Mexican meat options like lengua (cow tongue), sesos (cow brains), and cabeza (cow head meat) which you have to try once, but probably won’t ever try a second time. We will also note that this very SFist blog was birthed in 2004 at the 2779 Mission Street location by Rita Hao, Jackson West, and current SFist Editor Eve Batey, but it’s the burrito baby bump in your stomach that will keep you coming back (and making repeated visits to the bathroom). — Joe Kukura
2779 Mission Street (at 24th Street), 4817 Mission Street (at Russia Avenue), 2950 24th Street (at Alabama Street), and 358 Beach Street (at Taylor Street)

Taqueria La Cumbre
Controversially presented by SF Gov TV as the originator of the Mission burrito (a claim La Cumbre repeats on their website, and which is disputed by El Faro), this 25-year-old Mission standby is also notable for its Nacho Burrito, which was briefly served in 2012. We await its return. With an emphasis on serving grass-fed beef, many burrito prices change to reflect the market, but pricing on their chicken, seafood, and veggie offerings remain steady. An appearance on Man v. Food a few years ago definitely made this place more of a tourist destination than some on the list, but the increased attention hasn't caused a change in quality. — Eve Batey
515 Valencia St, between 17th and 18th Streets

Gif: Burrito Justice

Veggie burrito at El Castillito (Image: Yelp's M.C.)

El Castillito
While some of the lively cooks occasionally get shout-outs on Yelp, the true star of this Church Street spot is the massive, bold burrito (not to be confused with a couple other El Castillitos which may only be loosely connected to this one). Remarkably fresh and simple yet decidedly huge, El Castillito's options consistently score high marks, although folks rave about the vegetarian burritos. Like most spectacular burrito joints, the jarringly red and yellow-hued space isn't much to look at. But we're not at El Castillito for the ambiance. We're there for the excellent al pastor, or the Super Carne Asada with no beans (don't start with me.) Portions are so generous here that Yelp's Kelly R. claims, "My arm felt legitimately sore from carrying it by the time I got to Duboce Park." That's a good thing, right? — Beth Spotswood
136 Church Street

A zapato at Garaje. (Image: Yelp's Lindsay R.)

Garaje
"Don't bother [calling], too busy to answer" boasts Garaje's website, although they're busy (and braggy) for a reason. This rustic/industrial dive bar in SoMa's South Park serves up popular zapatos, which means "shoe" in Spanish and "grilled burrito" at Garaje. Basically, the delicious zapato is a burrito shoved into a panini press, complete with grill marks on the exterior crispy tortilla and melty meat and cheese inside. Paired with an extensive beer collection and in close proximity to AT&T Park, Garaje is ideal for a pre-game or post-work stop-by. The venue, which contains tons of seating and an eclectic menu of Mexican bar food (and well-reviewed burgers,) is cash only — so come prepared. — Beth Spotswood
425 Third Street

Photo: Janice C./Yelp

Green Chile Kitchen
This being the city's only New Mexican restaurant, they deserve props for representing their particular corner of Mexican-American food — with an emphasis on delicious hatch green chiles. They do a great smothered burrito here (which you can get "Christmas" style with both red and green sauces), and a green chile roasted pork burrito, but in true New Mexican style they also do a ground beef burrito. The quality of ingredients shows, and this is a solid delivery options for the NoPa environs as well. — Jay Barmann
1801 McAllister Street at Baker

Andrew M. via Yelp

La Espiga De Oro
Be forewarned that this tiny hole-in-the-wall taqueria on 24th Street closes at 7:30 most nights (6:00 on Sundays), but don't let that stop you from a visit and a side of big, crispy chicharones. The super carne asada is the go-to, with perfectly melted jack cheese, but everything in this place screams freshness and care, including the homemade chips, Guatemalan tamales, and excellent pupusas. Once upon a time, the now defunct Burritoeater declared this burrito one of the absolute best in the land, and it should not be ignored. — Jay Barmann
2916 24th Street between Florida and Alabama Streets

Art C. via Yelp

The Little Chihuahua
Yes, The Little Chihuahua has three locations and (for a taqueria) is kind of fancy... some might say bougie/gringo. But it is also delicious, with carefully-sourced ingredients, grass-fed beef, and all that other jazz you likely, let's admit it, try not to think about when you're ordering a meal at some of the other places on this list. Their garlic shrimp burrito is consistently fantastic, although you can get mushroom and other vegetarian burrito options if your heart desires — and this is one of the only spots in town with actually vegan, non-larded beans. Brace for your tab, as it's a little pricier to support all those sustainable ingredients. — Eve Batey
292 Divisadero Street between Page and Haight Streets, 4123 24th Street between Castro and Diamond Streets, and 581 Valencia Street between 16th and 17th Streets

Photo: Rich W./Yelp

Mateo's Taqueria
This relative newcomer on the Mission scene prides itself on using fresh and organic ingredients, and it's definitely bougier than your average Mission taqueria, with prices to prove it. But you can't discount quality, and the meats here — especially the carnitas, pineapple-y pastor, and mole — are top notch. One of their specialties is a carnitas burrito stuffed with plantains and dressed with chipotle sauce, and for vegetarians, there's the very un-boring Oaxaqueno burrito with crimini mushrooms, kale, Oaxacan cheese, mole, epazote, and pearl onions. As SFist discussed last year, the place was founded by SF native Matt Ishak, and he may or may not still have plans for a mid-Market locations at Uber HQ. — Jay Barmann
2471 Mission Street between 20th and 21st Streets

Image: J.C. via Yelp

Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa is still riding high over Leah Garchik’s 2010 proclamation calling it the “French Laundry of taquerias,” a justifiable assessment given their burritos’ fresher-than-most ingredients, gourmet tortilla options including spinach, whole wheat, and red chile, and unbeatable selections of free salsa. Many of these burrito joints are best suited to your post-nightlife nosh, but Pancho Villa feels like a nightlife destination itself — a incredibly vibrant and crowded (read: loud) scene whose ample and packed seating section affords opportunities to unexpectedly run into your friends. This Mission location is among the best cheap taqueria bets for vegetarian burrito lovers, because instead of one vegetarian burrito option, Pancho Villa offers nine. — Joe Kukura
3071 16th Street (Between Julian Avenue and Caledonia Street)

Image: Olga M. via Yelp

Papalote Mexican Grill
While serving what still qualifies as a traditional Mission burrito, Papalote jazzes up the menu with foodie-friendlier burrito fillings like grilled zucchini, marinated tofu, and soyrizo. The ambience and presentation at both the Mission and Western Addition locations are significantly lovelier than a standard taqueria, and for this you can expect your burrito to cost $2-3 more. But people, you are not going to find a burrito with shrimp, sautéed mushrooms, and bell peppers prepared with white wine and butter at a run-of-the-mill taqueria, and Papalote’s range of house-made salsas is as impressive as any in town. — Joe Kukura
3409 24th Street (at Valencia Street), 1777 Fulton Street (at Central Avenue)

Photo: via Facebook

Senor Sisig
Being one of the OG trucks in SF's now decade-old food truck craze, Senor Sisig is well known to many a downtown luncher — and they even made it onto Check, Please!. How can you go wrong, really, with a California burrito (that's the one with French fries inside) stuffed with excellently marinated, Filipino-style pork sisig and dripping with cilantro-cream sauce. It is the stuff dreams are made of — and hangovers are made for. — Jay Barmann
Various locations. Check here.

Photo: Nikolai S./Yelp

Tacorgasmico
Suffice it to say you need to ignore the terrible name they chose for this place and focus on the food, which is all extremely well executed, homey, and delicious. They specialize in some regional Mexican platter-style pork dishes that aren't so common around SF, including poc chuc and cochinita pibil, but because their meats are so good this place easily now takes the title of best burrito in the Castro. (They know they're in a burrito town, so they couldn't not do a burrito.) The carnitas and cochinita pibil make for excellent burrito fillings, and you could even ask for extras like pickled onions, to liven things up. — Jay Barmann
2337 Market Street near Noe

Image: SFGiantist Instagram

El Toro
You cannot miss El Toro on the corner of Valencia and 17th because its logo, that of a giant, manly bull, is as eye-catching as it's burritos are delicious. El Toro has a whole bevy of ways one might customize a burrito, from a small but super baby burrito to "Pura Carne" which is a tortilla filled with just meat and salsa. I prefer the $8 Chicken Fajitas Especial Burrito, which is a step down from Super and thus does not contain warm lettuce. Seafood fans will want to head to El Toro for vast array of underwater options, including red snapper, grilled salmon, and garlic prawns. Another perk to El Toro is that diners in a rush can order online and swing by to pick-up their order, which is great because everyone knows that burritos are the only food that truly travels well. — Beth Spotswood
598 Valencia at 17th

Related: The 16 Best Tacos In San Francisco

The James Beard Foundation Awards, a.k.a. the Oscars of Food, don't happen until May. But after getting completely snubbed at the 2016 awards, San Francisco is at least guaranteed to be taking home one nice honor this year, which goes to the Mission's La Taqueria. As Eater reports via the JBF website, La Taqueria has been named one of this year's American Classics, which is the category in which the foundation honors legacy restaurants around the country, "often family-owned, that are treasured for their quality food, local character, and lasting appeal."

In the text tied to the award, which will be officially bestowed at the May ceremony in Chicago, the James Beard folks say that "quality stays high" at owner Miguel Jara's 44-year-old taqueria — which can also lay claim to winning the FiveThirtyEight blog's "burrito bracket" in 2014, getting crowned the best burrito in the country, which SFist continues to take issue with but whatever.

The full text:

The Mission-style burrito is a beloved expression and encapsulation of Mexican-American culinary heritage in the Bay Area. Burrito connoisseurs endlessly debate which taqueria makes the definitive version of the foil- wrapped, all-in-one meal of meats, beans, rice, cheese, and more, wrapped in a whopper of a flour tortilla, and often called a “silver torpedo,” Through the years, La Taqueria has stood out as a standard-bearer, and a barometer upon which to argue over other burritos. Jara is from villa Guerrero, Jalisco and grew up in Tijuana. The burritos he serves are not of any specific region of Mexico. At his counter-service restaurant, filled with simple wooden tables, Jara rejects the beans-and-rice approach, doubles down on the meat, and griddles his burritos golden-brown. Discussions about the merits and culture of the burrito form always, at some point, lead to La Taqueria, where the line to get gets more and more absurd as time goes by, but the quality stays high.

Eater earlier explored Jara's "riceless riff" on the Mission burrito in this 2016 piece, but am I wrong that this photo from FiveThirtyEight definitely has rice in it?

Anyway, La Taqueria's unique tacos are also awesome — and rank among SFist's Must-Have Classic San Francisco Dishes — and congrats to Jara on the much deserved honor. He'll be around for the foreseeable future, keeping the quality up, because as he told Eater, "I'll retire the same day they put me in the funeral home."

Other American Classics announced today are Sahadi’s, Brooklyn; Schultz’s Crab House, Maryland; Gioia’s Deli, St. Louis; and Bertha’s Kitchen, North Charleston.

Related: The 16 Best Tacos In San Francisco

The year was 2014, and FiveThirtyEight's Burrito Bracket had elevated data journalism to new heights. Just kidding, that was a waste of time and money, as the winner, La Taqueria, was a pretty obvious pick (for good or ill, depending on your leanings).

That's also sort of what OC Weekly writer Gustavo Arellano reveals in a piece this week explaining why a potential underdog candidate, the Mission's El Castillito, was excluded from the running altogether — and why, in his words, it should have won.

A curious afterlife has emerged over a burrito that wasn't considered because of me: El Castillito in San Francisco, on Mission and 17th streets. During our Burrito Bracket deliberations, I specifically excluded the spot from deliberations because I felt that my sentimentality over the place—I've eaten here once a year since 2000, drawn to its ruddy al pastor, silky-smooth beans and rice, toothsome tortillas, and a television perpetually tuned to soccer matches—clouded my objectivity in saying it's the best burrito in the world.

In 2014, Arellano was already playing up how sad it was that he'd been responsible for overlooking the spot, with head burrito correspondent Anna Maria Barry-Jester adding that she too would "always remember El Castillito as the one that got away." Barry-Jester quotes chef David Chang as saying of El Castillito: “I don’t know. It might be the best burrito I’ve ever eaten.”

Folks, just relax. You can still go there. If anything, you've done everyone a service by not putting it on a pedestal or blowing up its spot, so to speak. It's going to be okay.

The occasion for Arellano to look back once again and wonder what could have been: In Bon Appétit this month, local food writer John Birdsall wrote a feature story on burritos. In it, he sings the praises of the humble taqueria between 16th and 17th on Mission Street.

Bearded bros are nowhere in sight on the Mission Street sidewalk in front of El Castillito. There’s only a mighty cliff of a man, sucking at the remaining inch of what must have been an epic blunt. Nearby, businesses sell car insurance and cheap bleached jeans—this is the kind of place where the Mission burrito was nurtured.

Birdsall later exclaims of the El Castillito burrito that "This could be the best Mission burrito in San Francisco. This could be the best Mission burrito in the world. Damn, I’ll go Chang one better: This is the best burrito I’ve ever eaten." How could it come to be?

Maybe it’s survived, with original Mission soul intact, by building enough of a wall to obscure it from the tourists, the techies, and the condo buyers. That’s some irony: The most authentic Mission burrito is also the most obscure. Long may it roll.

So don't tell anyone I guess? Oops.

Related: La Taqueria Slammed As A Result Of Burrito Bracket Win

Coming to 22nd Street. attn @burritojustice pic.twitter.com/hb2zuu8eFY

— Capp Street Crap (@cappstreetcrap) September 18, 2015

According to Capp Street Crap herself, "This is happening."

So it would appear.... with details scant so far except a sign in the window that says "Coming Summer 2015". This we know: It's called Futo (presumably like futomaki), it's on 22nd near Mission Street, and you'll soon be able to savor Japanese-fusion burritos much, presumably, like those found downtown at Sushiritto. What's that, you ask?

Those are these:

Yes, pictured are giant sushi rolls for which you wait in a similarly giant line. The Geisha's Kiss is very good!

Indeed, much is likely to be made of the forthcoming sushi burrito invasion of a standard, which is to say Mexican, burrito bastion. To that, it could be added that "imitation is the highest form of flattery." Or something.

SFist will share more pressing details as they become available

If you want to start a fight in this town, try bringing up the burrito thing. Everyone's got a favorite, and Mission boozehounds will go to the mat over the relative superiority of El Farolito and Cancun. Then that FiveThirtyEight blog had to go and crown La Taqueria's carnitas burrito the finest burrito in the nation, and while SFist can't get behind them on that judgement, it is certainly a fine burrito and kudos to La Taq for being blessed with even longer lines as a result. All of the above make our definitive, 2015 list of the best burritos in town, which at least a dozen of you are probably going to call bullshit. But this is a list we can stand behind, and will benefit all new arrivals in town who can't tell one Mission taqueria from the next.

El Farolito
Recommended order: carne asada or lengua
I'm obligated to list El Farolito, because it was at their 2779 Mission Street location that Rita Hao, Jackson West and I met in spring of 2004, in our first planning meeting for the website that would become SFist. Sentiment aside, however, the taqueria, which also has two more SF locations, offers the gold-standard Mission burrito, with endless choices of pork, chicken, and beef options — and with options like sesos, lengua, and cabeza, you know this place is not playing. And, look, guacamole is great, but sometimes you just want big fat slices of avocado sliding into your mouth, right? That's how they do it at El Farolito! Don't worry, it's a "healthy" fat. — Eve Batey
2779 Mission Street (at 24th Street)
4817 Mission Street (at Russia Avenue)
2950 24th Street (at Alabama Street)

Pancho Villa Taqueria
Recommended order: grilled chicken super burrito
The Chron's Leah Garchik once described Pancho Villa as "the French Laundry of taquerias." I've never been to the French Laundry, so I don't know about that, but I will say that Pancho Villa serves one of the best burritos in SF. Watching the guy at the front of the place going nuts with that cleaver, seeing your meat sizzling on the grill moments before it goes into your tortilla, you realize that the anticipation is half the fun. And if your burrito needs a little extra something, Pancho Villa's remarkably-comprehensive salsa bar is there to rescue you. Oh, and don't ignore those buskers: one of them might be Beck.-- Eve Batey
3071 16th Street (Between Julian Avenue and Caledonia Street)

Gif: Burrito Justice

Caroline N. via Yelp

Photo: via Facebook

Andrew M. via Yelp

The mojado burrito at Los Coyotes. Photo: Rik Panganiban

Photo: Kirk McMurray

Walter P. via Yelp

Tacos Club
Recommended order: chicken mole
Yes, this place is called Tacos Club, but I'm going to go ahead and say that they make the best burritos in the Castro, albeit not the cheapest. They do some good grilled chicken and carnitas, but the star here is really the chicken mole, with a sauce that's spicy-sweet and somewhat unique among local moles. And, for vegetarians, they do a solid nopales burrito which is kind of a holdover from the previous tenant here, La Fajita. (If only they had held over La Fajita's marinated pollo asado, which I dearly miss.) — Jay Barmann
2312 Market Street near Noe

Photo: Dave Beckett

Honorable Mentions

Chile Pies & Ice Cream / Green Chile Kitchen (1801 Macallister Street, 601 Baker Street, and 314 Church Street)

El Toro (598 Valencia)

The New Spot (632 20th Street)

Taqueria San Francisco, especially for carnitas (2794 24th Street)

Zapata Mexican Grill (4150 18th Street)

Related: The 10 Best Nachos In SF
Where To Find The Best Tacos In San Francisco