San Antonio, TXBurritos

The first stop on Gabriel Romero's burrito column, and at his July 2022 progress report the only one he had given a nine, which made it his favorite of the search so far. The order is the al pastor with cheese, an $8 burrito of rice, beans, onion, cilantro and your choice of meat, with the house green chile on top. He found the meat juicy and the rice and beans cooked through, the portions generous, and the Culebra Road dining room a reminder of home in California.

One of the most requested stops in the column's reader mailbag, and the one whose burritos Romero called massive, bigger even than Big Poppa's. The $14 California Asada Burrito comes loaded with seasoned fries, shredded cheese, crema, pico de gallo and house sauce, and left him with lunch for the next day. Staff will walk you through a long list of variations, and the Loop 410 dining room is done up to feel like Venice Beach. Bring someone to share.

A reader sent Romero to this Guilbeau Road taqueria, and he wrote that it was the first Tex-Mex-style burrito of his search and among the cheapest and most satisfying he ate. The carne asada burrito runs $6.25 with meat, lettuce, tomato, cheese and avocado, and arrived crisp and full of meat with the lettuce and tomato still cool rather than wilted. He wrote that one bite changed how he thought about Texas burritos, and that he had already gone back.

The California Burrito is painted on the marquee here, and it is the thing to order: carne asada, spicy pico de gallo, shredded cheddar and fries, not potatoes. Romero found the asada finely diced, juicy and well seasoned, the pico restrained, and the fries pulled from the fryer at the right moment to keep their crunch, and he called the burrito great from the first bite to the last. Green salsa on top; five salsas at the counter. Skip the Conga.