La Taqueria

From WikiTacos, the taco encyclopedia · Taquería

La Taqueria

Representative image: Tacos de carnitas. Not taken at La Taqueria.
Photo: Luis16k, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Type	Taquería
Location	Mission District, San Francisco, California
Founded	1973
Known for	Mission-style burrito without rice, Carnitas, Carne asada tacos, Dorado-style griddled burritos
Address	2889 Mission St.
Status	Open
Recognition	FiveThirtyEight Burrito Bracket (2014): America's best burrito (carnitas burrito); James Beard Foundation America's Classics (2017)
Links	Map

La Taqueria is a counter-service taquería on Mission Street in San Francisco's Mission District, opened in 1973 by Miguel Jara and widely cited as one of the defining Mission-style burrito and taco shops.

Contents

History
Menu
Reviews
Watch and learn
See also
References

History

Miguel Jara, who grew up in Tijuana and came to the United States as a young man, opened La Taqueria in 1973 on Mission Street between 24th and 25th streets. He has said he started the business because he missed the food of home, and the restaurant's cooking has long been described as Tijuana-influenced.

In 2014 the data-journalism site FiveThirtyEight ran a nationwide "Burrito Bracket" that reviewed 64 restaurants, and La Taqueria's carnitas burrito was named the best in the country. In January 2017 the James Beard Foundation named the restaurant one of its America's Classics, an honor for long-running, locally rooted restaurants.

The shop departs from Mission-burrito convention by leaving rice out of its burritos, which are built around meat, beans, cheese and salsa. Its carnitas are cooked slowly in lard and then roasted. Regulars often ask for a burrito or taco "dorado," in which the tortilla is crisped on the griddle, an off-menu style the restaurant is known for. Tacos, including carne asada and lengua, are regularly singled out by San Francisco chefs in local taco roundups.