Johnson suggested that LA Weekly critic Jonathan Gold's disparaging remarks earlier today about bulky Bay Area-style burritos were more or less a sideshow. "All burritos are good," said Johnson, who lives in the Lower Haight. But given the choice, Johnson goes for SF heft or LA skinny. "We tend to prefer the Mission style, which stretches as far south as Mountain View and San Jose."
More troubling than the north-south rift, Johnson told SFoodie, is the fact that a good burrito of any style is unknown to much of the nation. "You can't get a decent burrito in Oklahoma, in Maine, or in the entire city of New York," Johnson said. "Until that happens, we've got better things to do than fight over which is better."
Johnson did, however, take exception to Gold's remarks in one key aspect: They were inaccurate. "He implied all burritos here use steamed tortillas, when in fact almost all of them are grilled." One of the only places in the city that steams its burrito tortillas is Taqueria Pancho Villa. "And you can put me on the record as saying that I think they make an inferior burrito," Johnson said, suggesting that, while he has no interest in stoking a north-south war, there are just some burritos that must be stopped.
