Food Rewind: The Burrito
The word burrito literally means "little donkey" in Spanish, coming from
16th century The Aztec people of Mexico used tortillas to wrap foods, with fillings of chile sauce, tomatoes, mushrooms, squash, and avocados.
1840 The Burrito originates in Northwestern Mexico. It was made with spiced meat wrapped in flour tortillas. Burritos were by Northern Mexican and American gold miners.
1934 The first U.S. mention of the burrito.
1960s San Francisco was a hot spot for the burrito in the U.S. Some say that in San Francisco, burritos were first eaten by farm workers, while others say the San Francisco burrito traced back to the 1800’s. But it was in the 1960’s that the burrito popped up in restaurants in San Francisco.
The typical San Francisco burrito is made on an assembly line. A large tortilla wrapped in aluminum foil is stuffed with rice, beans, a meat or veggie, salsa, white Mexican cheese, fresh sour cream, avocado or guacamole, tomato, cilantro, onions, roasted peppers, and rarely lettuce.
