There are good breakfast burritos, and there are garbage breakfast burritos. Here’s the lowdown on the former.
Traced back to the 1970s, the breakfast burrito has become a permanent fixture on menus everywhere. This prevalence, however, has led to widespread quality-control tomfoolery. Too often they’re dry, sad and filled with overcooked eggs. Or they’re an exorbitant $19, like at inflammatory grocer Erewhon, or, as I recently spotted on a menu at one of our coastal enclaves, a nearly-stale version paired with a “side of mixed greens.” Oof.
An ideal breakfast burrito must feature tender scrambled eggs, some format of a crispy potato (diced, hashbrown, etc.), cheese and a savory protein — bacon, chorizo, sausage or even al pastor — all of which gets wrapped in a thin, chewy tortilla that can be either seared on a plancha or steamed. Other additions might include rice, avocado/guacamole, beans or whatever evokes morning-hour fare.
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Fortunately, a new and downright satisfying entry into the breakfast burrito pantheon has arrived, and you can find it at Angel’s Tijuana Tacos in Anaheim, which just introduced its own, much-anticipated iteration of the popular breakfast dish. But it didn’t just drop a new breakfast item; it debuted a portly package that rivals the best in Orange County.
I ordered mine with a duo of bacon and chorizo, which delivered a salty, smoky and slightly spicy foundational perimeter around the inside of the burrito. Crucially, the eggs were fittingly fluffy, none of that rubbery nonsense that plague lesser burrito slingers. Angel’s makes a clever move by subbing the standard diced or shredded potato with plump, crisp tater tots, lending a welcome textural crunch against the soft filling. The shredded cheddar-jack cheese gave the dish its velvet, salty bite. All of this bounty was contained in a tortilla that is pleasingly plump without being structurally compromised.
What’s more, this comforting meal sets you back $12. Not too bad of a price point considering its size and heft. (The physical opposite of Los de Juárez Burritos’ slender burritos, which are equally glorious.)
Angel’s Tijuana Tacos started as a single street-stand operation on a North Hollywood sidewalk in 2018, soon gaining a reputation for its simple approach to Tijuana-style tacos, particularly for its stellar al pastor shaved right off the vertical trompo. The Anaheim location, which opened to similar acclaim earlier this year, will soon be joined by an in-progress second brick-and-mortal location to open in Santa Ana. Angel’s also has stands and food trucks in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire.
Find it: 3436 W. Lincoln Ave., Anaheim