Santana's=Fresh MXN?

Hi burrito lovers!

I got a great response from the first post and have been slacking on updating so far. Fear not, the lack of posts does not mean that I have not been consuming enough burritos. In the last week and a half I have consumed a large amount of Mexican food including, but not limited to, quite a few burritos. I have to say that finding an excuse to eat more Mexican food is reason enough for me to continue with this blog.

I have gotten into a few heated debates with people over the first blog entry. Apparently I ruffled some feathers with my declaration against cheese in a true burrito. Other people were confused about my dislike of steamed tortillas. I say, bring on the discussion people!

On with the post...

Santana's taco and burrito shops have always had a special place in my heart. These stores (especially in point loma and by el tecolote canyon) are representative of my early days burritoing (yes I just made that into a verb). I would roll in to Santana's during high school and delight in the simple splendor of their carne asada burrito which consists only of some delicious guac and seasoned carne.

Even now, when I need a burrito that I know will be high quality and consistent I find myself going back to Santana's. Don't get me wrong, the burritos are still tasty. I am just confused about the rebranding of the restaurant. What was once a lovely hole in the wall taco and burrito place, boasts several new outlets and is now touting its food as fresh mxn (whatever the hell that means).

First things first Santana's, you are not fooling anybody with calling your food "fresh." You sell California burritos. These monster burritos are a POUND of filling including FRENCH FRIES. On what planet could this sort of establishment ever be called fresh or healthy?

Delicious? Yes.
Indulgent? Heck yeah!
Best hangover cure known to man? Most certainly.
But healthy?!?! I think not.

Last week Kaylin and her boyfriend Cody visited and one day, after a few hours at the beach, we decided to stop at Santana's so my guests could sample a California burrito. My parents were taking us out for a fancy Mexican dinner a few hours later so we limited ourselves to splitting one California burrito. I haven't had a California burrito in years, but that bad boy was freaking delish. In addition to french fries a California burrito includes carne asada, salsa, and yes, cheese. No apologies from this burrito purist, because few things taste better after a few hours at the beach than a cali burrito even if it is gringo food.

Santana's remains a good stronghold of my burrito fancy despite its confusing rebranding. We shall see what changes the future will bring to Santana's, but in the meantime I am happy to have it as a consistent burrito standby. Kaylin and Cody even insisted we return to Santana's for one last burrito before they headed back to Pennsylvania.

An idea forms...

I fancy myself a burrito connoisseur, but when I try to explain the essence of a San Diego style burrito to my friends around the United States they do not seem to really get it. Because I will be home this summer I figured that now might be the time to make use of my vast burrito knowledge. With my trusty burrito partner Kirby we will attempt to discover new burritos, and share our combined knowledge and expertise with the unlearned burrito masses.

When it comes down to it an excellent burrito requires a few fundamentals...

• 1) Fresh tortilla that is slightly grilled, not steamed (hear that Chipotle?!?!)
• 2) Fresh grilled meat, correctly seasoned and spiced. As a recovering vegetarian I can authoritatively testify to the fact that veggie burritos do not come close to the joy of a meaty burrito. I really wanted the veggie burritos to be as good, but they just aren't so you should probably get over it.
  
• 3) Simple ingredients. An excellent burrito should consist of a handful of ingredients. Required among these ingredients are a grilled tortilla and meat (see above). To complement a burrito avocado, guacomole (the real deal), mexican sour cream, cilantro or salsa are best. It is important to concentrate on one or maybe two of these additional ingredients in order to highlught the taste of the meat and the tortilla . Sometimes I enjoy the addition of grilled onions to my burrito, but this is usually only limited to special occasions. Fresh hot sauce should be used with the burrito. I am a burrito puritan so I stay away from the addition of cheese on the burrito. Under no circumstances should rice or even beans be used in a true burrito. Rice and beans are filler and take away from the true flavor of a San Diego style burrito.