Boston Burrito Roundup

I’d call this place “serviceable,” but it gets extra points for being among the only cheap eats in Harvard Square. Of course, that means it’s in direct competition with the almighty Pinocchio’s, but I’ll save that for a pizza guide.

Additional bonus points because my friend Sean saw Queens of the Stone Age eating here once.

I used to live near one of Boca Grande’s locations, and for awhile I thought it made me feel sick every time I ate there. It took me months to realize that I only had a stomachache because my trip home required a long walk up a steep hill immediately after consuming an enormous burrito.

Boca Grande has its detractors, but it does in a pinch, particularly in an area where its main cheap-quick competitors are grievously overpriced.

A note to vegetarians: Stay away from the tofu burrito. Just stick with the beans and rice. You’ll thank me.

I’m not going to lie: I have never eaten at Taqueria La Mexicana. They are courteously and extremely open about the fact that their rice contains lard, which isn’t my dietary thing. I have heard from extremely reliable sources, however, that this place is supposedly the cat’s pajamas in terms of serious, “authentic” Mexican cuisine. If meat is in your routine, it seems this place is absolutely worth checking out.

Second only to Picante, I’d consider El Pelon Boston’s other top-shelf burrito vendor. People often accuse their burritos of being too watery or are critical of the fact that they don’t melt their cheese, but those factors have never bothered me much.

El Pelon uses a hot sauce called “John Delisle Super Hot” or something, and as a connoisseur of spicy foods even I found it completely disgusting and pointless, like spraying pepper spray onto your food. Fear not, though, their jalapenos are unpickled and retain an unusual amount of heat.

Anna’s often finds itself synonymous with Boston burritos and, usually, for good reason. Anna’s locations can be found all over the city, and they’re reliably pretty good and inexpensive. It’s a real utility player of a restaurant. I’ve probably eaten at Anna’s locations as much or more than any other restaurant in the city.

I’ve heard a rumor that Anna’s was started by one of the families that invented the burrito, but that seems like the kind of rumor that is almost never true.

The obligatory “sit down, order and pay like ten dollars for a burrito” restaurant, Zocalo more or less is what it is. If anything makes this place stand out, it’s the fact they serve some of the better sangria I’ve had in the city. Who doesn’t like some sangria?

I hadn’t even heard of Baja Betty’s until I walked by it on the street one day. Not much is said about it in the Great Boston Burrito Debate, but it’s not bad. I don’t find myself in this neighborhood much these days, but when I am I make a concerted effort to try and stop by.

I actually made my first real excursion to the oft-maligned Purple Cactus just a few weeks ago. I’d been hearing all kinds of terrible things about it for years, but there I was, another victim of a neighborhood with a serious paucity of fast, cheap food.

It was edible, and I didn’t hate it, but I’d be hard-pressed to call it “good” or to ever eat there again unless completely necessary. This is probably the kind of mediocre burrito my west-coast friends are talking about when they wax nostalgic about the stuff back home.

Another oft-forgotten establishment when it comes to local Mexican, Herrera’s presence around the downtown area makes it a staple for financial district employees looking for a quick bite. The burritos are great, though, and come close to what I assume is the invisible ideal that California expatriates expect.

Hands down my favorite burrito in the area, and several Californians have agreed with me. Picante boasts excellent ingredients, grilled tortillas, and one of the best salsa bars I’ve ever seen.

Picante is even generous enough to toss a few chips in with your burrito, rendering you all the better equipped to experience their delicious salsas. If you only visit one restaurant in this guide, make it this one.

Just to get it out of the way: A few years back this place was burned almost to the ground, rebuilt, and renamed. It is now, awesomely enough, called “Burritos on Fire.” My friendly neighborhood Mexican restaurant, it’s tough for me to stay mad when I’m served room-temperature crunchy rice and half-congealed beans. A friend of mine claims to have once received cigarette butts.

Regardless, the staff are friendly (I have been given free sodas on two separate occasions because it was ‘very hot outside’ and ‘very cold outside.’), and when this place is on, it’s delicious.