Wrapped Yum

Beans and cheese is about as bare-bones as you can get with a burrito. (Take away the beans and you have a quesadilla!) The simplicity of this style is what makes it so popular at fast-food restaurants and in the frozen food section.

It’s unclear who originally bundled their bacon and eggs in a flour tortilla, but Tia Sophia’s restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico claims to be the first to use the name “breakfast burrito” on their menu in the 1970s. Wrap your own morning meal with these breakfast burrito recipes.

Brace yourself for a truly American spin: California burritos come stuffed with French fries in addition to carne asada, guacamole, sour cream, cheese and pico de gallo. Also dubbed the “San Diego burrito” because of its birth city, this Golden State goliath dates back to the 1980s, when it was dreamed up in a Roberto’s Taco Shop.

California is likely the birthplace of the Korean burrito. The Golden State should seriously consider changing its nickname to the Burrito State! LA is where two favorite cuisines—Mexican and Korean—started to mix, and pork and beef bulgogi, along with chicken katsu and kimchi found their way into burritos. Try one with 36-hour Asian marinated steak at Tacos Tu Madre in West Hollywood.

Like so many Hollywood meals, the LA-style burrito is light on carbs (hey, even a roll-up needs to be ready for its close-up). While northern California prefers to stuff an entire plate into a tortilla, LA sticks to just meat and cheese and skips the rice. Gobble up this version at Burritos La Palma in El Monte.

Another California creation, the Mission-style burrito is known for its size and generous helpings of rice and beans. Two San Francisco restaurants in the city’s Mission neighborhood claim to be home to this massive meal: Taqueria La Cumbre and El Faro. If you plan on making your own, perfect your tortilla skills with this primer on how to fold a burrito.

Of course bean-and-cheese burritos can be vegetarian-friendly, but this type of burrito really showcases vegetables. This recipe for Black Bean Burritos combines beans with green pepper, tomato, fresh cilantro and avocado. Elsewhere you might find roasted zucchini, red onion and mushroom together in a tortilla.