St. Louis, MOBurritos

Miguel and Nikky Cortez opened this Mexican store and taqueria beside their long-running El Nopal, and St. Louis Magazine's Trevor Johnson describes breakfast burritos as heavy as a small dumbbell, offered all day. Order the chorizo version, filled with scrambled eggs, rice and black beans in a soft flour tortilla, which he says needs no salsa. While you wait, note the barbacoa tacos cut from shoulder rather than brisket and the fried whole green onions that come alongside.

A cheery, colorful diner with a New Mexican bent that closes at 2 p.m., which is why St. Louis Magazine's patio guide sends people here early for the New Mexico style breakfast burrito. Order that, and Jonathan's Famous Fiery Scramble beside it. Sauce recommends the Grits on Fire with red chile braised pork shoulder and eggs, the tamale plates with red or green chile, and the posole, a hominy stew with spicy pork.

Cheryl Baehr's line on this Hampton Avenue room is that the menu runs to a burrito as big as Popeye's forearm, which settles the question of what to order. She also points to house-made thin chips and an intensely flavorful salsa ground from tomatoes and fresh herbs. Sauce reported at opening that the kitchen does Tex-Mex staples alongside authentic street tacos, with a bar built around custom margaritas. Rooftop seating sits above the main patio.

Eddie Arzola, of Chuy's, returned to the business here alongside his son Coby and Coby's partner Derek Fatheree, and St. Louis Magazine reports a fajita-based menu that can be served as a burrito, a taco or a quesadilla. Order the fajitas rolled into the burrito, add a margarita off the short list, and take a table on the inviting rear patio, where serapes get draped across the chairs once there is a chill in the air.