Burrito Trail

Richmond’s Burrito Trail brings big flavors to the City of Pride and Purpose

Soren Hemmila

Jan 2, 2025 — 8 min read

Photos/ Soren Hemmila

For Burrito Enthusiasts, the Mission District in San Francisco is hallowed ground, the birthplace of the Mission-Style Burrito. Meanwhile, Richmond has emerged as a not-so-surprising contender in the burrito game. How do they stack up? We braved The Richmond Burrito Trail, eating nearly 40 burritos to find out.

Recently, we made the pilgrimage to El Faro, where the Mission Burrito started to calibrate our palates. It has been a while since we’ve eaten a Burrito from the Mission. El Faro claims to have sold the first retail burrito in San Francisco in 1961, and we wanted to know how it holds up.

Very well. It lives up to every expectation of a burrito we ever had, which has become ever pickier as we sashay down The Trail. The construction is superior, and it survived the trip across the bay. The tender steak anchors every bite, rich and flavorful. The rice—so perfectly cooked it could stand alone as its own dish—melds seamlessly with the melty cheese and sauces.

El Faro’s burrito is an excellent example of the Mission-style classic. Its flavorful steak, saucy interior, and superior construction embody everything a burrito should be. Richmond’s offerings, however, are not to be overlooked. Spots like Lidia’s Restaurant, El Sabor de Guadalajara, and Tacos El Tucán showcase the city’s potential to create burritos that rival the best.

Richmond Burrito Trail: Diverse and Delicious

Richmond’s burrito ecosystem offers a rich tapestry of flavors, from upscale foodie burritos to traditional, hearty slabs, and we’re attempting to feast on each and every one.

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.

Mission Style

This is it. This is what we are looking for in a burrito. A large meal of meat, cheese, rice, beans, guacamole, and sour cream rolled in a huge flaky tortilla with just the right ingredients mix to elevate all of the ingredients to another level.

Lidia’s Restaurant (4th and Nevin)

Lidia’s Super Steak Burrito impresses with tender steak, creamy refried beans, and perfectly fluffy Spanish rice. The inclusion of guacamole and expertly melded ingredients created a standout burrito weighing 722 grams. While it lacked the bold heat of El Faro’s offerings, its balanced flavors and superb construction make it a strong contender.

El Sabor de Guadalajara (Hilltop)

El Sabor’s massive 916-gram Chile Relleno Burrito is a spectacle. With its fresh ingredients and flavorful rice, it’s a culinary juggernaut. While rice-heavy, its robust spices and satisfying heft earned high marks for delivering a burrito that truly feels monumental.

El Trompudo Taco Shop (San Pablo Dam Road)

El Trompudo’s Carne Asada Burrito offers tender steak, creamy refried beans, and a perfect ingredient mix highlighted by cilantro-forward flavors. Weighing 734 grams, this burrito features a nicely grilled tortilla and stringy, melty cheese, making it a filling and satisfying choice.

La Flor de Jalisco (San Pablo Avenue)

La Flor’s Pollo Super Burrito redeems the Mission-style reputation with large chunks of grilled chicken, fluffy rice, and balanced ingredients. At 716 grams, it’s hefty but manageable, with a smoky flavor from caramelized chicken that leaves a lasting impression.

Taqueria La Bamba (San Pablo Avenue)

La Bamba’s Super Carnitas Burrito weighed in at a solid 746 grams. We finished it and weren’t left hungry. It was filled with lots of flavorful fried porky goodness, guacamole, pico, Spanish rice, pinto beans, and melty cheese. La Bamba’s refried beans are a nice complement. They’re soupier rather than pasty, so they make your burrito extra saucy, just like El Faro’s burrito.

Foodie Burritos

These are mostly Mission-Style Burritos but elevated with more expensive ingredients and upscale, technically perfect flavors.

Mi Casa Grill (San Pablo Avenue)

This spot adds a refined twist to the traditional burrito. Their Cochinita Pibil Burrito, featuring tangy pork and delicate, well-prepared vegetables, comes with fresh, house-made salsas and crispy tortilla chips. At 635 grams, it’s on the smaller side, but the upscale flavors—like delicately cooked zucchini—make it a unique entry on Richmond’s burrito trail.

Tacos El Tucán (San Pablo Avenue)

Tucán’s Adobado Super Burrito hits all the right notes with its flaky grilled tortilla, spicy pork, and well-balanced fillings. Weighing 679 grams, it combines traditional flavors with upscale execution, leaving a lasting impression.

Masa Tamales & Taqueria (San Pablo Avenue)

Masa’s Carnitas Burrito is packed with tender, flavorful pork that showcases “porky goodness,” though it misses the crispy bits. The Spanish rice is fluffy, and the overall construction keeps the burrito together. At 544 grams, it’s smaller but satisfying, paired with delicious chips and salsa.

Traditional style

We think of traditional burritos as ones filled with three things. Meat, Rice, and Beans in that order. They are usually so filled with rice-beans-and-meat they are hard to finish. They tend to be kind of dry and lack the sauceyness we are after. These are hearty slabs that could sustain you for a week. We’re not really fans of these types. This is the type of burrito you mostly find along 23rd Street’s food corridor.

Tacos La Raza (Macdonald Avenue)

Tacos La Raza’s Super Lengua Burrito was a departure from the parched, large traditional burritos. The slab is a soupy affair filled with chunks of tender tongue. The meat was good but in an unexpectedly pot-roast-with-brown-gravy way. Rice, beans, cheese, and sour cream rounded out the 726-gram slab. The burrito held together, and we never had to break out the knife and fork to finish.

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