Carnitas or carne asada, black beans or pinto, green sauce or red: just a few of the decisions that go into crafting the perfect burrito. To celebrate National Burrito Day, we took a look into the comfort food’s origins, and recommendations on where to get yours whenever the cravings hit.
Curious about why it’s called a burrito?
It’s widely accepted that the word “burrito” is a diminutive of “burro,” the Spanish word for donkey — so a “burrito” is a “little donkey,” however why it’s referred to as a “little donkey” is a little less clear.
The burrito likely originated from northern Mexico, where donkeys were used to carry huge amounts of goods on long roads. David Thomsen theorizes in his book “Burrito! Hot on the Trail of the Little Burro” that burritos, like donkeys, can carry huge amounts of ingredients in one wrap — hence, a little version of a donkey.
Some theories suggest that the burrito was actually a sidekick to the donkey and those traveling with one. The good-for-travel, handheld nature of the food made it easy to bring on long trips. While another suggests that a vendor named Juan Méndez was the first to wrap his food in a tortilla and travel with it by miniature donkey. Some say that “burrito” doesn’t refer to a donkey at all, but dimwitted school children for whom a vendor invented the food item.
Whatever the origin, it was a success.
It seems nearly every street corner in Los Angeles has a late-night burrito vendor. Today, both Taco Bell and Chipotle rank in the top 10 food chains in America. And most students have a go-to spot to satisfy their craving.
For some, it isn’t far from home. Bailey Johnson, a senior studying industrial and systems engineering, said her go to is the pre-made sausage burrito from Seeds Marketplace.
Off-campus, Armin Bazarjani, a first-year student in the psychology doctorate program, recommended El Huero, Chichen Itza in the Mercado la Paloma or Taco Bell for a “guilty pleasure” meal.
However, most agreed that the best time of day for a burrito was not during the day at all.
The ideal time? “Definitely 2 a.m. when you’re drunk,” Nick Galland, a student in the master’s of international trade law and economics program, said. His favorite spot is Cerveteca in Culver City, or a street vendor that can put together his go-to order: al pastor with pineapple, cilantro and onions.
The pop-up stands around campus remain the favorite for freshman Quame Pierre in the theater program.
“There’s this one down Vermont I love called Taco Zone — it’s always where I go to get my tacos and burritos. Best time of day … 2 a.m.,” Pierre said. He recommended the avocado sauce.
“It’s beautiful.”
If waiting until the street vendors set up this evening is too painstaking, check out some of the offers below to get a better burrito bang for your buck:
- Taco Bell: half off the second burrito you order on the Taco Bell app
- Chipotle: $0 delivery fee with code “DELIVER”
- El Pollo Loco: buy one, get one free under the loyalty program
- Baja Fresh: buy one, get one free under the loyalty program, or with code “BURRITO2024″
- Rubio’s Coastal Grill: $8.99 burritos with code “BURRITO” on the Rubio’s Coastal Grill app
- Qdoba: free burrito with order of an entree and drink under the loyalty program
- Dog Haus: buy one, get one free when you order on the Dog Haus app
- Wahoo’s Fish Taco: $1 off the citrus slaw and outer reef burritos until April 8 ($10.95 each)
- DoorDash: $5 off when you spend $20 or more on Taco Bell
- Uber Eats: buy one, get one free beefy five-layer burrito from Taco Bell
- Grubhub: free burrito when you spend $22 or more on Taco Bell