by Jordan Shay

Authentic is a word frequently thrown around when people want to describe their favorite Central American restaurant that serves burritos, but the humble burrito is actually a Mexican/American invention, not authentic Mexican food. Supposedly, during the Mexican Revolution, a man named Juan Mendez in El Paso, Texas, used to sell tacos from the back of his donkey. One day he decided to instead wrap the taco’s ingredients in a homemade flour tortilla, so that the fillings would stay warm longer. He found great success in El Paso with this new form of taco and people started calling it the “food of the burrito”-- eventually shorted to “burrito,” which translated literally means “little donkey.” In the United States, what has come to mean burrito to most is the gargantuan, California-style, over-stuffed burrito, full of beans, rice, meat, cheese, avocados, hot sauce, and sour cream.

One of the good things that came out of Katrina was New Orleans’ introduction to taco trucks and real Latin food because of the workers who migrated en masse after the storm. Now there are many places to eat burritos in New Orleans, and there are some that stand out more for using authentic Central American ingredients, while other places have taken the foundation of Mexican food and adapted it for a broader, American audience.

Starting at the truly Mexican end of the spectrum, with dishes from $3 to $6, Taqueria Sanchez has satisfying food for cheap. The Sanchez family came to New Orleans after Katrina and opened up a series of mobile taco stands to cater to the growing Latino workforce. But after the Jefferson Parish council voted to ban mobile food vendors in their parish, Taqueria Sanchez found a more permanent home in a former snowball stand in Gretna on the Westbank Expressway, and business has grown recently to include a location in Metairie that has tables for sit-down business.

Like Taqueria Sanchez, Tacos San Miguel, in Metairie, serves adventurous burritos with traditional Mexican ingredients. At Tacos San Miguel, all burritos include Chihuahua cheese (a Mexican version of mozzarella), but tongue, tripe, slow-cooked brisket in banana leaves, pork cracklin's, and even cactus grace the varied burrito menu.

A new Mid-city lunch spot, Taqueria Guerrero, is a family owned Mexican restaurant that gives a feeling of authenticity with its largely untranslated menu and Latino customers. The food is cheap, delicious, and off the beaten path, with monster-sized chimichangas-- essentially a deep-fried burrito.

Not far from Taqueria Guerrero, across Carrollton Avenue, is the similarly Central American, Fiesta Latina Bar and Grill that serves burritos, chock full of the usual ingredients, but its cheap prices, good selection of Mexican sodas and beers, and dive, hole-in-the-wall feel add a certain amount of both curiosity and delight.

At Felipe’s Taqueria, with locations Uptown and now in the Quarter, and at Izzo’s Illegal Burrito in Metairie you can choose your own ingredients for your burrito. The emphasis is on fast food made to order, but at Felipe’s, they go the extra distance to provide fresh food, fast, by making all of their own many varieties of salsa by hand in small batches, and hand-squeezing all the limes for the house margaritas, using no mix or concentrates.

Salsas por el Lago is a new restaurant in Lakeview that is one of the only places to get breakfast burritos in town. Anything you’d want in an American breakfast is wrapped up in a flour tortilla, sometimes with green chiles added: eggs, bacon, potatoes, chorizo, ham, sausage, and cheese. Small family-owned and with a neighborhood feel, Salsas por el Lago will keep you coming back for their monster breakfast burritos.

In terms of sit-down Mexican restaurants in New Orleans, Taqueria Corona boasts of “the best tacos in town,” but they also have a great variety of burritos stuffed to the gills with the standard beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, tomato, plus with unique optional additions like chorizo, fish, or beef tongue. Owner Roberto Mendez, who is actually from El Salvador, introduced New Orleanians to inexpensive, Central American food in the 90s--minus the grease present in many versions--served in a small, casual neighborhood eatery and bar.

Carreta’s on Veteran’s in Metairie has long been the standard for what diners in the New Orleans area consider authentic Mexican food. In reality, Carreta’s has managed to make food that seems authentic, but is really toned down to appeal to a broader American audience afraid of spice. That being said, they still serve a very satisfying burrito (it’s hard to go wrong with beans, cheese, and meat wrapped in a warmed flour tortilla) and the service is fast and efficient, even on busy evenings when you bring in a crowd of six or more.

Another sit-down eatery, but with more of a sports-bar feel, is Superior Grill, famous for the daily two-for-one happy hour that features their infamous frozen margaritas. The restaurant also serves Mexican-style food, and while their burritos are pretty standard, noteworthy among the options is the greasy yet satisfying chimicanga.

Nacho Mama’s restaurant, with locations Uptown and in Elmwood, has a unique menu that caters to a broad variety of tastes. They have standard California-style, over-stuffed burritos, but there are also chimichangas, wraps, and the appealing baked burritos. Baked burritos contain ingredients that extend beyond the boundaries of Mexican food burritos. Jerk chicken, Mama’s ultimate veggie (with potatoes, spinach, and other vegetables not commonly found in a burrito), and a sweet and spicy BBQ pork burrito are among the unusual offerings on the menu. Many of the baked burritos are topped with sauce and melted cheese or sour cream, and meant to be eaten with a fork. Nacho Mama’s wraps are generally for those a little more health-conscious, with lighter, salad-like ingredients like spinach, tomatoes, shrimp, and served with different dressings.

Juan’s Flying Burrito, a local favorite, is known for their colorful combinations of carefully selected ingredients. The namesake flying burrito includes steak, chicken, and shrimp, and the al pastor features slow-cooked pork with pineapple salsa, but they also offer a vegan friendly “super green” burrito that includes, among other grilled vegetables, spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms.

This French Quarter Mexican restaurant offers specials at every time of day, which makes it difficult to decide which time to go.  If it’s morning on the weekends, El Burrito Loco is sure to pacify the worst of hangovers.  Full of chorizo, potato, onion, tomato, cheese, beans and 3 eggs scrambled, all wrapped in a large flour tortilla and topped with ranchero salsa, El Burrito Loco is Tex-Mex and its most fulfilling.  If it’s afternoon or evening, the Juanitos' Burrito is sure to satisfy.  The large flour tortilla stuffed with onions, Poblano peppers, beans, Mexican rice and various Mexican cheeses, smothered with a chorizo salsa, sour cream and guacamole, just begs to be accompanied by an El Gato fresh-squeezed margarita, traditional or made with carrot juice.

A trip to Chevy’s Fresh Mex is also worthwhile for the burritos.  The Fajita burrito features a variety of choices of grilled meat with cheese, pico de gallo and beans and vegetables, while the smothered Chile Verde burrito features braised pork, and refried beans tucked into a large flour tortilla and topped with fresh green tomatillo salsa and crema fresca.  The burrito menu is rounded out with the addition of a vegetarian option, the Veggie burrito, that incorporates an assortment of grilled vegetables, black beans, three cheeses, and hot salsa, wrapped in a festive red-chile tortilla.

With festive atmosphere that feels like a Mexican cantina, Cuco’s Mexican restaurant (in Metairie and Gretna) keeps the tasty margaritas flowing.  The staff is friendly and the ‘tres fuegos’ salsa is zesty.  The menu features fajitas and lots of combinations plates that serve burritos paired with other Mexican food standards – a delicious surplus of food that comes at reasonable prices.  Don’t miss the sopapillas for dessert – the decadent pastry is like a Latin version of a beignet.