Chipotle Helped Popularize A Traditional San Francisco-Style Burrito Loved By Locals For Decades

Before your choices of fillings were rolled up in steamed tortillas at Chipotle, foil-wrapped monster burritos were well-known items in California. Tracing the exact origins of these behemoth burritos is a bit of a tricky endeavor, but hefty Mission-style burritos are definitively associated with San Francisco. Burrito shops within the heavily latino Mission District of the city specialized in selling burritos filled with pork, flavorful Mexican rice, beans, and avocado wrapped up into large flour tortillas for years before they were first slid across counters at Chipotle.

Chipotle founder Steve Ells first encountered the hefty meal while working as a line cook in California and wanted to bring a similar experience to the place he grew up. As a result, when Ells opened Chipotle in Denver, Colorado, the Mission-style burritos that were placed on the menu were similarly loaded with shredded and chopped meats, salsas, and customers' choices of accoutrements before the pieces were theatrically packed, wrapped, and rolled inside foil sheets. 

Though standard Mission-style burritos include meats, beans, rice, and salsas, what became known as a "Super" version included extra options like shredded lettuce, sour cream, cheese, and guac or avocado. Today, it is hard to imagine a neighborhood in which these burritos don't exist, and what was once known to a few has become a worldwide experience. Thanks to Ells' vision, more of us now know that steaming flour tortillas prior to layering on ingredients helps keep the base pliable so that ingredients can be rolled up with adept dexterity, and wrappings of aluminum foil can keep weighty items intact while enjoyed both sitting down or on the go. 

Even without stepping foot into any Chipotle establishment, aspiring at-home cooks can be emboldened with the confident example that more is often more when it comes to burrito making, and stashing a generous amount of ingredients into a tortilla means that each bite will be packed with satisfying combinations of flavors.