Richmond Burrito Trail: Discovering Chiapas cuisine at Las Cabañas Food Truck on 23rd Street
We went searching for the authentic flavors of Chiapas, Mexico and found it in a gas station parking lot on 23rd Street in the form of a delicious shrimp burrito at Las Cabañas Food Truck.
Las Cabañas Mexican Grill and Taqueria is a popular Berkeley restaurant and food truck that established a new outpost in Richmond a few months ago.
The San Francisco Chronicle called Las Cabañas one of the best restaurants in Berkeley and highlighted a dedicated Al Pastor section that beckons pedestrians with a marinated pork spit. Wow.
Cesar Hernandez
On the Richmond Burrito Trail, we’ve sampled food from Sonora, Jalisco, Tijuana, and Michoacán but haven’t had Chiapas-style. So we rolled into the United gas station parking lot across from the now-shuttered Richmond Hospital, looking for lunch.
The Las Cabañas shiny black trailer has a large, fiery picture of a pork spit, but we spotted a shrimp burrito on the chalkboard specials and went with it. The Shrimp Burrito comes with Camarones con Vegetales, Arroz, Frijoles, Salsa Especial, y Pico de Gallo acordando al chalkboard.
With that shrimp burrito calling our name, we saddled up to the window and ordered one with everything.
While waiting for our order, we spied several people enjoying a late afternoon meal seated at the chairs and tables beside the gas station convenience store.
Las Cabañas’ website says they also offer Mole with Chicken, Quesabirrias, tortre de Mariscos, Aguachile, bolsa de camarones, Mojarra Frita, and camarones momias.
We returned to Grandview HQ with a piping-hot slab and were eager to dig in.
The burrito is stuffed with shrimp, veggies including onion and red peppers, melty cheese, beans, Spanish rice, pico de gallo, and guacamole, which has been noticeably absent from the recent burritos we’ve eaten. While some burritos can be a satisfying home-cooked variety, Las Cabañas’ offering is a complex burrito with layers of interesting flavors coming together in elevated cylinder form.
Soren Hemmila
The Trail is closing in on 20 burritos, but this is only the second shrimp burrito we’ve had. We also enjoyed an excellent Shrimp Burrito from Mi Casita Mariscos Taqueria.
The whole 701-gram burrito is grilled after assembly, giving it a nice toasty tortilla. It comes with warm chips and three salsas for $15.42. As we approached the burrito's end, a feeling washed over us, like when you don’t want a good book to end. We finished the burrito and definitely couldn’t have eaten another bite.
Let us know where to eat next, and check back next week for another stop on the Richmond Burrito Trail.
The Grandview Independent has been embarking on a culinary adventure to explore every taqueria, food truck, and restaurant in Richmond. This initiative, dubbed the “Richmond Burrito Trail,” aims to showcase our city’s diverse and delectable burritos.
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