Prologue

 

Being born and raised in America’s Finest City, one is keenly aware that San Diego is a border town — you are never more than an hour away from Mexico and the city of Tijuana. This proximity has brought many of Mexico’s culinary gifts to San Diego. Namely, the Taco Shop. Nondescript Taco Shops are woven into the fabric of San Diego county; every shopping center has one, every strip mall has one, every San Diegan has ‘their one’. Usually no frills and oftentimes cash only, the Taco Shop is your comfort when things are awry, your culinary constant in a world of unknowns.

 

The Food

 

The food is cheap, comforting, filling, and by G-d tasty. Even though they are referred to as Taco Shops, the stars of the show are the Burritos. In San Diego, Burritos are a culture and way of life — a culinary staple akin to what BBQ is in Texas or Pizza is in New York. 

 

There is the Surf and Turf Burrito, the California Burrito, and my favorite… the Breakfast Burrito. These Burritos — no matter the type — are typically as big as your forearm and pack a punch of flavor equal to their size.

 

The Ingredients

 

You probably have enjoyed many Breakfast Burritos before, but the San Diego variety delivers a Breakfast Burrito experience I have yet to see challenged. It is a product of its close-to-the border Mexican influences and the competitive forces generated when San Diegans are privileged with the choice of 3 taco shops within a 10-minute radius. 

 

Although there are other ingredients you will often find in Breakfast Burritos — hash browns, pico de gallo, guacamole, etc. — in my opinion, the following is the purest, most unadulterated form of the San Diego Taco Shop Breakfast Burrito. 

 

The SD Breakfast Burrito shines with a simple, yet perfect combination of core ingredients; eggs, potatoes, bacon, and cheese wrapped in a thick, expansive flour tortilla served with the obligatory red and green salsas. The Potatoes; slow cooked, soft, and umami, fill the nooks and crannies of the Burrito with starchy goodness. This is a type of Potato that could command its own dish as the sole ingredient (e.g. Tacos de Canasta served in the streets of Mexico City). The Bacon; crunchy and thick, adds the optimal frequency of salty kick and a texture that complements the otherwise soft ingredients. The Eggs; fluffy and ever present, are the glue that holds together the otherwise disparate ingredients. 

 

The Tortilla; thick, large, and chewy, it is the only vessel — as if evolved through a process of culinary Darwinism — that could enclose such a rocket ship of deliciousness. You may say, a tortilla is a tortilla! What’s so special about these ones? Well, once you go north of Oceanside, you will not find a durable, unrippable tortilla anywhere else in the country like the San Diego variety . 

 

And finally the Salsas; tangy, spicy, and more runny than thick. At a proper San Diego Taco Shop you will only find a Red Salsa and a Green Salsa(1). These Salsas beg to be consumed with every bite, balancing the hot-off-the-press Burrito with a necessary cool and acidic zing. The role they play is not unlike the maple syrup drizzled on your french toast, the cream cheese spread on your morning bagel. Whether your preferred Salsa dosage ratio is 1 green bite to 1 red, 2 green to 1 red, or 1 green to 3 red, always be sure to walk away with at least two containers of each.

 

The Experience

 

To the unfamiliar, San Diego Taco Shops are unassuming and hum-drum. People shuffle in and out across the tiled floors, ordering their food and taking their place at one of the ground-anchored, wooden booths. Somehow these people found their way into this particular establishment, which otherwise is just another one of the strip mall’s cookie cutter storefronts.

 

To the Local, however, San Diego Taco Shops are comforting & familial. Havens of the most delicious food San Diego has to offer. Like a bird finding their way back home after a long winter’s migration, loyal patrons arrive for their weekly visit, ordering the day’s selection of their rotating favorites. Eventually, they slide into their wooden booth of choice knowing a meal awaits them that — like their favorite grandma or aunt — has ritually served, taken care, and delighted them since their youth. A home-cooked, yet eaten-out meal, which has consistently warmed them on cold, marine-layer-covered mornings and dutifully refueled them after a long day’s work.

 

The Defining Moment

 

You’ve ordered your Burrito, your number has been called, your salsas collected, wooden booth chosen. The first decision you face is whether to bunker down and tackle the Burrito whole or opt to cut it in half in a wishful attempt to save some for later. Regardless, once the surrounding yellow paper is removed and the first steamy bite is taken, the ultimate breakfast cross-section is revealed. A masterful, griddle-top Mexican stir fry; an artful marriage of the best components of a hearty Sunday morning breakfast for you to enjoy in every bite. 

 

How to Know You Found the Right Place

 

1. Breakfast is served all day. 

 

2. The Taco Shop is run by a local Mexican family. 

 

3. There are only two salsas, a red, and a green. No salsa bars, no tapatio, no cholula, just two house-made salsas. 

 

My Favorite Places

 

Nico’s Taco Shop in Carmel Valley and Los Dos Pedros in Pacific Beach
(but you can’t go wrong applying the above principles to the hundreds of Taco Shops in San Diego county) 

 

Pro Tip

 

If you’re feeling extra hungry and want the deluxe experience, try adding rice and beans

 

Outside of Burritos, San Diego is also the best place in the country to get fish tacos, carne asada fries, and taquitos (honorable mention for the Machaca Breakfast Burrito)

 

Best Enjoyed

 

After a tough workout, a day at the beach, or a long night of drinking

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“Party people in the place to be,

You are now in the midst of the realest Eats"

   - Ye
 

Peer Reviewers: Jake Posnock, Ethan Laser