But what will this do to the taxonomy?
May 21, 2022 10:19 AM Subscribe
Edible, tasteless food tape to keep alllll the ingredients in the burrito. Student project solves real problem. Honestly, I want to see this replace at least half the tinfoil around giant fast food burritos.
But will this help achieve the eternal dream of the travel taco?
posted by hippybear at 10:26 AM on May 21, 2022 [25 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 10:26 AM on May 21, 2022 [25 favorites]
I've been wishing for this for years. Please make it happen.
posted by charlesminus at 10:46 AM on May 21, 2022
posted by charlesminus at 10:46 AM on May 21, 2022
The problem I generally have with burritos is the bottom leaking juice and small ingredients, not the side. Make the tape in 4" diameter circles, then you've got something!
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:46 AM on May 21, 2022 [17 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:46 AM on May 21, 2022 [17 favorites]
The food-grade adhesive is meant to keep fillings in a burrito, taco, gyro or wrap.
The burritos I get at food trucks and taquerias don't need tape -- the pros know how to fold and wrap them to maintain integrity, so there's no market there. And the idea of taping up a taco is kind of ridiculous (but more power to the people who do want to tape their tacos -- no judgement!).
I've certainly had wraps, though, that were falling apart. I'm not sure tape is really the answer, but I can see the problem that this is trying to solve. I hope they are able to achieve their goal of selling their patent for lots of money. If the invention works, I can see it having a market for manufacturers of prepared foods, maybe.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:55 AM on May 21, 2022 [18 favorites]
The burritos I get at food trucks and taquerias don't need tape -- the pros know how to fold and wrap them to maintain integrity, so there's no market there. And the idea of taping up a taco is kind of ridiculous (but more power to the people who do want to tape their tacos -- no judgement!).
I've certainly had wraps, though, that were falling apart. I'm not sure tape is really the answer, but I can see the problem that this is trying to solve. I hope they are able to achieve their goal of selling their patent for lots of money. If the invention works, I can see it having a market for manufacturers of prepared foods, maybe.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:55 AM on May 21, 2022 [18 favorites]
I'll eat this when I know exactly what it's made of.
posted by Splunge at 10:56 AM on May 21, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 10:56 AM on May 21, 2022 [6 favorites]
Dip Flash beat me to it. Wouldn’t it just be easier and more resource friendly to just learn to wrap a burrito correctly?
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 10:58 AM on May 21, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 10:58 AM on May 21, 2022 [7 favorites]
Not particularly interested in changing burritos. But I'm curious what artistry an experimental molecular restaurant could do with this tool. Or a creative pastry chef.
posted by Nelson at 10:58 AM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 10:58 AM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Let's hope this succeeds. Going to have issues eating blue tape. but... OK
posted by Windopaene at 10:58 AM on May 21, 2022
posted by Windopaene at 10:58 AM on May 21, 2022
Why wouldn't you just use a strip of nori?
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 11:00 AM on May 21, 2022 [13 favorites]
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 11:00 AM on May 21, 2022 [13 favorites]
Judging by the photographs, what they need is larger tortillas. And a steamer, if they want to get fancy.
posted by niicholas at 11:04 AM on May 21, 2022
posted by niicholas at 11:04 AM on May 21, 2022
I saw a Tweet recently where a person who works in a vet said that when they have to wrap a feisty cat up in a towel so that they don't get scratched trying to give it a pill they call it a 'spicy purrito'.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 11:06 AM on May 21, 2022 [30 favorites]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 11:06 AM on May 21, 2022 [30 favorites]
I can't wait for nacho-cheese-flavored food-tape-filled tacos, with food-tape-flavored taco shells taped together by guacamole-flavored food tape, taped together into conjoined taco twins. Also: fried taco tape at the county fair.
posted by swift at 11:22 AM on May 21, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by swift at 11:22 AM on May 21, 2022 [5 favorites]
If it's strong enough you could use it to tape your feedbag to your face and then, in a few years, when someone patents an edible feedbag there'd be no waste.
posted by dobbs at 11:26 AM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by dobbs at 11:26 AM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
If this is based on hagfish technology then I for one welcome them as our long-overdue overlords.
posted by away for regrooving at 11:27 AM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by away for regrooving at 11:27 AM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
This is classic engineer's disease. White people, please, if you're going to ever set out to improve something, please limit yourself to the 100,000 problems white people have caused, and leave things that were invented by other people that you benefit from alone.
posted by bleep at 11:28 AM on May 21, 2022 [19 favorites]
posted by bleep at 11:28 AM on May 21, 2022 [19 favorites]
"words" taco bell hasn't used yet:
- burraco
- taconach
- quesoditorito
- taped cinnamon chocogorconacharito bellgrande supreme drink
This will be great for when I want to eat peas, but I'm all out of honey.
posted by emelenjr at 11:31 AM on May 21, 2022 [19 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 11:31 AM on May 21, 2022 [19 favorites]
This is classic engineer's disease. White people, please, if you're going to ever set out to improve something, please limit yourself to the 100,000 problems white people have caused, and leave things that were invented by other people that you benefit from alone.
In a way, burrito closure failure is kind of a problem white people invented though? Like, in San Diego, this just isn't a problem and burritos come wrapped loosely in wax paper, but your typical fast food burrito isn't crammed with a bunch of filler ingredients - you order a carne asada burrito, and it has carne asada and guacamole in it. That's it.
posted by LionIndex at 11:39 AM on May 21, 2022 [8 favorites]
In a way, burrito closure failure is kind of a problem white people invented though? Like, in San Diego, this just isn't a problem and burritos come wrapped loosely in wax paper, but your typical fast food burrito isn't crammed with a bunch of filler ingredients - you order a carne asada burrito, and it has carne asada and guacamole in it. That's it.
posted by LionIndex at 11:39 AM on May 21, 2022 [8 favorites]
We’ll have to test it against the Scalzi Burrito In whatever unholy combination he has thought of that day.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 11:45 AM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 11:45 AM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
This tape would negate the need for this invention.
posted by jonathanhughes at 11:47 AM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jonathanhughes at 11:47 AM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Interesting technology, but the proposed application is moronic and could only have occurred to someone whose exposure to burritos is limited to Chipotle.
posted by aramaic at 12:06 PM on May 21, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by aramaic at 12:06 PM on May 21, 2022 [6 favorites]
The burritos I get at food trucks and taquerias don't need tape -- the pros know how to fold and wrap them to maintain integrity, so there's no market there.
Yeah, this is one of the hallmarks of a really good and pro burrito, specifically the Mission style super burrito, which is often just called a California burrito outside of California, and it's something that chain places like Chipotle just don't get right.
And I've never had a "Mission" or "California" burrito outside of SF or bay area that gets this right, ever. It's kind of like bagels and NYC. Sure, you can get a good bagel outside of NYC but the very very best traditional bagels in the US are mainly found in NYC.
For one they use huuuuge tortillas and tortilla steamers/stretchers. We're talking like 24"+ tortillas that end up stretchy and vaguely sticky so they adhere to themselves when folded. If you can peel apart your burrito without tearing the tortilla it's not done right, and the tortilla should take on a warm, soft, slightly leathery texture not unlike a steamed bun or similar items.
Other finer points of good burrito engineering are that the ingredients are perfectly balanced from start to finish, not unlike a big nori roll that's left uncut, or a hoagie or sub sandwich. The ingredients should be layered together in such a way that you get a little of everything all the way through.
Part of this engineering is how the rice is placed so that it forms a structural, absorbent core that keeps wet ingredients like juices from pico, salsa or meat from leaking out. The tucked corners of either end of the burrito should have a little bit of rice in there acting as absorbent plugs.
And a properly wrapped super burrito ends up having at least two layers of tortilla around the filling at it's thinnest points, with the folded and crimped ends being more like 3-5 layers in cross section, but well folded like the bottom of a brown paper bag so that it's not just a thick wad of tortilla.
Another key point is the finished shape of the burrito should be nearly a perfect cylinder, with a width to height ratio that means it can easily stand up on either end without falling over.
Put this all together and you have burrito that will hold it's shape and not leak to the point you could put the whole thing in your pocket without any foil or paper wrap and know that it won't leak as long as you don't pierce the tortilla.
When I was living in SF and regularly able to get real Mission burritos they were only served with a super thin foil wrap one or maybe two layers deep, and that was mostly just for heat retention and something to hold on to, not as a structural element to hold the burrito together.
The end result is you can confidently eat half of one of these huge burritos, wrap the remaining half in the remaining foil to cover the open end and stick it right in your jacket pocket or bag and it won't leak or fall apart in there.
This kind of legit Mission burrito has evolved over the years as a working class meal designed to be eaten on the go. You should be able to gnaw on it with one hand while you have a soda or beer in the other and walking around and it won't come apart because the steamed, stretched tortilla has adhered to itself and become sort of welded together.
You should be able to set it down and pick it up again, or put half of it away for later. It'll be a perfect balance of moist and dry ingredients all the way through to the last bite, and ideally the last few bites of the folded and crimped end of the burrito will have rice that's still pleasantly moist with juices from salsa, pico and meat soaked into it, but not so much that it's dripping out or making a mess, all the way down to the last bites of crimped tortilla at the end.
Guh, I don't think I've had a proper Mission burrito in over ten years now and I miss them. If someone were to offer to send me a burrito from El Faro or Can Cun packed in dry ice I'd totally eat it cold or slowly warm it in an oven or something and love every minute of it.
And as a side note, I'm not expecting a megachain like Chipotle to get it right. For one they don't use the same kind of tortillas and their burritos are assembled by underpaid people who don't really care about burritos. And the ordering processes is different and more like a Subway counter, whereas in a Mission burrito place you order differently and can omit things, but it's not a free for all, and the people making it will adjust their burrito engineering and ingredient ratios to match. Some of the staff in Mission burrito joints have been making and wrapping burritos for decades and have elevated burrito wrapping into a fine art.
posted by loquacious at 12:12 PM on May 21, 2022 [64 favorites]
Yeah, this is one of the hallmarks of a really good and pro burrito, specifically the Mission style super burrito, which is often just called a California burrito outside of California, and it's something that chain places like Chipotle just don't get right.
And I've never had a "Mission" or "California" burrito outside of SF or bay area that gets this right, ever. It's kind of like bagels and NYC. Sure, you can get a good bagel outside of NYC but the very very best traditional bagels in the US are mainly found in NYC.
For one they use huuuuge tortillas and tortilla steamers/stretchers. We're talking like 24"+ tortillas that end up stretchy and vaguely sticky so they adhere to themselves when folded. If you can peel apart your burrito without tearing the tortilla it's not done right, and the tortilla should take on a warm, soft, slightly leathery texture not unlike a steamed bun or similar items.
Other finer points of good burrito engineering are that the ingredients are perfectly balanced from start to finish, not unlike a big nori roll that's left uncut, or a hoagie or sub sandwich. The ingredients should be layered together in such a way that you get a little of everything all the way through.
Part of this engineering is how the rice is placed so that it forms a structural, absorbent core that keeps wet ingredients like juices from pico, salsa or meat from leaking out. The tucked corners of either end of the burrito should have a little bit of rice in there acting as absorbent plugs.
And a properly wrapped super burrito ends up having at least two layers of tortilla around the filling at it's thinnest points, with the folded and crimped ends being more like 3-5 layers in cross section, but well folded like the bottom of a brown paper bag so that it's not just a thick wad of tortilla.
Another key point is the finished shape of the burrito should be nearly a perfect cylinder, with a width to height ratio that means it can easily stand up on either end without falling over.
Put this all together and you have burrito that will hold it's shape and not leak to the point you could put the whole thing in your pocket without any foil or paper wrap and know that it won't leak as long as you don't pierce the tortilla.
When I was living in SF and regularly able to get real Mission burritos they were only served with a super thin foil wrap one or maybe two layers deep, and that was mostly just for heat retention and something to hold on to, not as a structural element to hold the burrito together.
The end result is you can confidently eat half of one of these huge burritos, wrap the remaining half in the remaining foil to cover the open end and stick it right in your jacket pocket or bag and it won't leak or fall apart in there.
This kind of legit Mission burrito has evolved over the years as a working class meal designed to be eaten on the go. You should be able to gnaw on it with one hand while you have a soda or beer in the other and walking around and it won't come apart because the steamed, stretched tortilla has adhered to itself and become sort of welded together.
You should be able to set it down and pick it up again, or put half of it away for later. It'll be a perfect balance of moist and dry ingredients all the way through to the last bite, and ideally the last few bites of the folded and crimped end of the burrito will have rice that's still pleasantly moist with juices from salsa, pico and meat soaked into it, but not so much that it's dripping out or making a mess, all the way down to the last bites of crimped tortilla at the end.
Guh, I don't think I've had a proper Mission burrito in over ten years now and I miss them. If someone were to offer to send me a burrito from El Faro or Can Cun packed in dry ice I'd totally eat it cold or slowly warm it in an oven or something and love every minute of it.
And as a side note, I'm not expecting a megachain like Chipotle to get it right. For one they don't use the same kind of tortillas and their burritos are assembled by underpaid people who don't really care about burritos. And the ordering processes is different and more like a Subway counter, whereas in a Mission burrito place you order differently and can omit things, but it's not a free for all, and the people making it will adjust their burrito engineering and ingredient ratios to match. Some of the staff in Mission burrito joints have been making and wrapping burritos for decades and have elevated burrito wrapping into a fine art.
posted by loquacious at 12:12 PM on May 21, 2022 [64 favorites]
This burrito you've described in such detail... it's surely full of beans?
posted by hippybear at 12:15 PM on May 21, 2022 [15 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 12:15 PM on May 21, 2022 [15 favorites]
the steamed, stretched tortilla has adhered to itself and become sort of welded together
Ah. The art of alimentary adhesion.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:24 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Ah. The art of alimentary adhesion.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:24 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Twitter account Burrito Justice says about this, “may I introduce you to foil”
posted by larrybob at 12:32 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by larrybob at 12:32 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
Look I agree that this isn't needed for a good burrito but we are sooo close to the mythical travel taco I can almost taste it.
posted by muddgirl at 12:32 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 12:32 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Yeah, this is one of the hallmarks of a really good and pro burrito, specifically the Mission style super burrito, which is often just called a California burrito outside of California, and it's something that chain places like Chipotle just don't get right.
I've seen where a "California" burrito outside California is an attempt at the San Diego version (actually called a California Burrito at pretty much every taco shop in town) that includes fries. Some places do a decent facsimile, others just add fries to whatever their regular burrito is. In San Diego it's carne asada, fries, cheese, and pico, some places include guac, some don't.
posted by LionIndex at 12:34 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
I've seen where a "California" burrito outside California is an attempt at the San Diego version (actually called a California Burrito at pretty much every taco shop in town) that includes fries. Some places do a decent facsimile, others just add fries to whatever their regular burrito is. In San Diego it's carne asada, fries, cheese, and pico, some places include guac, some don't.
posted by LionIndex at 12:34 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
I distinctly remember something like this being invented in the early 90s by a middle schooler to help her disabled brother be able to eat. I wonder if I’ll be able to turn up any articles about it.
posted by Bottlecap at 12:35 PM on May 21, 2022
posted by Bottlecap at 12:35 PM on May 21, 2022
In a way, burrito closure failure is kind of a problem white people invented though? Like, in San Diego, this just isn't a problem and burritos come wrapped loosely in wax paper, but your typical fast food burrito isn't crammed with a bunch of filler ingredients - you order a carne asada burrito, and it has carne asada and guacamole in it. That's it.
As much as I don't like to talk about San Diego's weird burritos with french fries in them, this is true. I don't understand "burritos" that don't have structural/filler starches like rice in them.
This is classic engineer's disease. White people, please, if you're going to ever set out to improve something, please limit yourself to the 100,000 problems white people have caused, and leave things that were invented by other people that you benefit from alone.
Also true, but as I understand the history of the burrito in the US - well, California in particular, and this story may be wildly apocryphal - was that it has a weird hybrid history that started with and evolved from the concept of a "travel taco" when a firefighter went into a taqueria and asked for something larger and more portable than a taco that resembled a sub or hoagie sandwich and they wrapped up a bunch of ingredients in multiple smaller tortillas, and then the giant flour tortillas and tortilla steamers came later as it evolved.
As I understand it all indications about the birth of this kind of burrito - specifically the Mission style "super burrito" packed full of layered ingredients - is something that is uniquely a product of Cali-Mex cuisine and Hispanic diaspora in California.
As far as I know you couldn't actually find this kind of burrito in Mexico itself until much later, and even today it's something that is still kind of hyper-specialized and local to San Francisco despite spreading all over the US and the world.
Outside of SF/BA I've talked to a bunch of taqueria owners and operators over the years who used to live in SF/BA and asked if they could make me a Mission style super burrito and they have all said - paraphrased - "No way, but we'll do our best!" followed by discussions that they just can't get the right kind of tortillas for it in the right size, and that the tortilla steamer/stretcher presses used in SF are often custom/bespoke pieces of equipment that have lived in those restaurants for decades, and you can't just go down to the restaurant equipment supply warehouses and buy one off the shelf that's the real thing.
If you go into the burrito specialty places in SF and the Mission and look at their prep lines and check out what they use to steam and press the tortillas they're all a little different and appear to be hand made one-off pieces of equipment that someone fabri-cobbled together.
I have no idea what they make them out of but it's basically an oversized panini press with a very heavy and smooth plancha and lid kind of thing going on.
posted by loquacious at 12:35 PM on May 21, 2022 [9 favorites]
As much as I don't like to talk about San Diego's weird burritos with french fries in them, this is true. I don't understand "burritos" that don't have structural/filler starches like rice in them.
This is classic engineer's disease. White people, please, if you're going to ever set out to improve something, please limit yourself to the 100,000 problems white people have caused, and leave things that were invented by other people that you benefit from alone.
Also true, but as I understand the history of the burrito in the US - well, California in particular, and this story may be wildly apocryphal - was that it has a weird hybrid history that started with and evolved from the concept of a "travel taco" when a firefighter went into a taqueria and asked for something larger and more portable than a taco that resembled a sub or hoagie sandwich and they wrapped up a bunch of ingredients in multiple smaller tortillas, and then the giant flour tortillas and tortilla steamers came later as it evolved.
As I understand it all indications about the birth of this kind of burrito - specifically the Mission style "super burrito" packed full of layered ingredients - is something that is uniquely a product of Cali-Mex cuisine and Hispanic diaspora in California.
As far as I know you couldn't actually find this kind of burrito in Mexico itself until much later, and even today it's something that is still kind of hyper-specialized and local to San Francisco despite spreading all over the US and the world.
Outside of SF/BA I've talked to a bunch of taqueria owners and operators over the years who used to live in SF/BA and asked if they could make me a Mission style super burrito and they have all said - paraphrased - "No way, but we'll do our best!" followed by discussions that they just can't get the right kind of tortillas for it in the right size, and that the tortilla steamer/stretcher presses used in SF are often custom/bespoke pieces of equipment that have lived in those restaurants for decades, and you can't just go down to the restaurant equipment supply warehouses and buy one off the shelf that's the real thing.
If you go into the burrito specialty places in SF and the Mission and look at their prep lines and check out what they use to steam and press the tortillas they're all a little different and appear to be hand made one-off pieces of equipment that someone fabri-cobbled together.
I have no idea what they make them out of but it's basically an oversized panini press with a very heavy and smooth plancha and lid kind of thing going on.
posted by loquacious at 12:35 PM on May 21, 2022 [9 favorites]
Another dismaying thing about this story is that I guess they're teaching nothing about exploring the problem space before solutioning. Finding the best burritos and finding out how they're made. Nope, nothing, just get in there, slap down some plastic poison & everyone claps.
posted by bleep at 12:37 PM on May 21, 2022
posted by bleep at 12:37 PM on May 21, 2022
Which is not to say the idea itself has no merit but if this is what they're teaching at product design school good lord we're in trouble.
posted by bleep at 12:38 PM on May 21, 2022
posted by bleep at 12:38 PM on May 21, 2022
Speaking from experience, it is surprising and disappointing to order a burrito in California and actually get an authentic Mexican burrito.
posted by meowzilla at 12:40 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by meowzilla at 12:40 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
Instead of tape, would meat glue work to hold it together?
Another idea, and this is really thinking outside the tortilla: how about using Sysco's "Unique 3-D technology" (previously) that "gives you the look and texture of a solid muscle chicken breast, at a fraction of the cost" to make the entire wrapper out of chicken? Then the inside-out-burrito can be cooked with friggen laser beams for an extra over-engineered meal.
posted by autopilot at 12:43 PM on May 21, 2022
Another idea, and this is really thinking outside the tortilla: how about using Sysco's "Unique 3-D technology" (previously) that "gives you the look and texture of a solid muscle chicken breast, at a fraction of the cost" to make the entire wrapper out of chicken? Then the inside-out-burrito can be cooked with friggen laser beams for an extra over-engineered meal.
posted by autopilot at 12:43 PM on May 21, 2022
Look I agree that this isn't needed for a good burrito but we are sooo close to the mythical travel taco I can almost taste it.
The travel taco is basically a Mission burrito.
If you want "tacos el carbon" where it's just chopped meat, onions and cilantro on two small corn tortillas as a travel taco, that has also existed for decades, and the way it works at most taco trucks in LA or SF is you order your desired quantity and type of taco and they loosely wrap 2-3 tacos each in their own foil squares, pile these packet high in careful layers on a sturdy paper plate, cover that in foil. Then you get your pico de gallo, salsa or pickled veggies in little plastic cups and wedge it into your plate under the foil cover and you walk away with your travel tacos, which can be eaten standing or walking by working your way down through the layers of tacos and adding your salsa or pico to taste as you go.
And now I'm having flashbacks to LA-specific 24 hour taquerias like Tacos Mexico where they'd have like 20 different kinds of meats ranging from the standards of carne asada, carnitas or al pastor to more exotic choices like lengue, buche and more and they were all 50 cents each, and so we'd end up there long after 2 am going clubbing and the whole place would be filled with late night partiers, workers and drunk people smashing huge plates full of tacos.
Ten bucks would get you way too many tacos, some horchata or aqua fresca and a very full belly.
posted by loquacious at 12:49 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
The travel taco is basically a Mission burrito.
If you want "tacos el carbon" where it's just chopped meat, onions and cilantro on two small corn tortillas as a travel taco, that has also existed for decades, and the way it works at most taco trucks in LA or SF is you order your desired quantity and type of taco and they loosely wrap 2-3 tacos each in their own foil squares, pile these packet high in careful layers on a sturdy paper plate, cover that in foil. Then you get your pico de gallo, salsa or pickled veggies in little plastic cups and wedge it into your plate under the foil cover and you walk away with your travel tacos, which can be eaten standing or walking by working your way down through the layers of tacos and adding your salsa or pico to taste as you go.
And now I'm having flashbacks to LA-specific 24 hour taquerias like Tacos Mexico where they'd have like 20 different kinds of meats ranging from the standards of carne asada, carnitas or al pastor to more exotic choices like lengue, buche and more and they were all 50 cents each, and so we'd end up there long after 2 am going clubbing and the whole place would be filled with late night partiers, workers and drunk people smashing huge plates full of tacos.
Ten bucks would get you way too many tacos, some horchata or aqua fresca and a very full belly.
posted by loquacious at 12:49 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Why not just put it on a plate and eat it with a fork and knife ?
posted by Czjewel at 12:49 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Czjewel at 12:49 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
Instead of tape, would meat glue work to hold it together?
Another idea, and this is really thinking outside the tortilla: how about using Sysco's "Unique 3-D technology" (previously) that "gives you the look and texture of a solid muscle chicken breast, at a fraction of the cost" to make the entire wrapper out of chicken? Then the inside-out-burrito can be cooked with friggen laser beams for an extra over-engineered meal.
GET. THE. FUCK. OUT.
posted by loquacious at 12:50 PM on May 21, 2022 [10 favorites]
Another idea, and this is really thinking outside the tortilla: how about using Sysco's "Unique 3-D technology" (previously) that "gives you the look and texture of a solid muscle chicken breast, at a fraction of the cost" to make the entire wrapper out of chicken? Then the inside-out-burrito can be cooked with friggen laser beams for an extra over-engineered meal.
GET. THE. FUCK. OUT.
posted by loquacious at 12:50 PM on May 21, 2022 [10 favorites]
Why not just put it on a plate and eat it with a fork and knife ?
AND YOU.
Both of you go stand in a corner and think about what you've done.
posted by loquacious at 12:51 PM on May 21, 2022 [23 favorites]
AND YOU.
Both of you go stand in a corner and think about what you've done.
posted by loquacious at 12:51 PM on May 21, 2022 [23 favorites]
Why not just put it on a plate and eat it with a fork and knife ?
Why not just get a really big bubble tea straw and use that?
posted by aubilenon at 12:53 PM on May 21, 2022 [11 favorites]
Why not just get a really big bubble tea straw and use that?
posted by aubilenon at 12:53 PM on May 21, 2022 [11 favorites]
Shouldn't we just make the edible tape into the tortilla ?
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 12:55 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 12:55 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have eaten mission burritos in the mission. I have had a Juanita's burrito the size of a newborn baby. Those aren't travel tacos 🤣
A travel taco would be a Tex Mex taco that can be eaten in the car.
posted by muddgirl at 12:57 PM on May 21, 2022
A travel taco would be a Tex Mex taco that can be eaten in the car.
posted by muddgirl at 12:57 PM on May 21, 2022
Burritos are legit hard to roll. I have never succeeded like my local SF/BA taquerias and it’s probably because they have the equipment, supplies, and know-how that loquacious describes. I’ve also often wondered why other SF wrapped-food places like shawarma and falafel joints haven’t figured out the sealing techniques of their burrito neighbors.
So, I would totally try this food tape and I would also recommend it to Truly Med.
posted by migurski at 12:59 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
So, I would totally try this food tape and I would also recommend it to Truly Med.
posted by migurski at 12:59 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
The difference between a burrito and a travel taco is very clearly explained by the dad in the link in the FPP about travel tacos. A travel taco is not a burrito. It is a taco that travels. I refer you to the source document for further argument/elucidation.
posted by hippybear at 1:00 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 1:00 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
If someone wants to make burritos at home without being a skilled burrito person at first, the tape might be a good idea.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 1:04 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 1:04 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
I want to chime in just to say that the Mission Burrito is definitely accessible in the central valley, with its significant Mexican-American population. In fact, hot take: the Mission-style burritos in the San Joaquin Valley are better than any to be had in the East Bay. I don't know SF taquerias well enough to compare to the genuine article. San Diego burritos are also spreading into the valley, though I still find them a bit weird.
Anyway, if you replace the foil with tape, then the burrito tunnel electromagnets will no longer function.
posted by agentofselection at 1:12 PM on May 21, 2022 [6 favorites]
Anyway, if you replace the foil with tape, then the burrito tunnel electromagnets will no longer function.
posted by agentofselection at 1:12 PM on May 21, 2022 [6 favorites]
Why not just put it on a plate and eat it with a fork and knife ?
What you want is what's usually called a burrito bowl, which is a burrito with no tortilla, only fillings, served in a bowl of some sort. I prefer these bowls over actual burritos, tbh.
posted by May Kasahara at 1:12 PM on May 21, 2022
What you want is what's usually called a burrito bowl, which is a burrito with no tortilla, only fillings, served in a bowl of some sort. I prefer these bowls over actual burritos, tbh.
posted by May Kasahara at 1:12 PM on May 21, 2022
If you can't keep a burrito together how are you going to wrap tape around it?
posted by rhizome at 1:12 PM on May 21, 2022
posted by rhizome at 1:12 PM on May 21, 2022
Yeah, you need the foil to make a 'plate' so you have somewhere clean to set it down for a bit, or wrap up the half you haven't eaten. The taco/burrito stand a block and a half down the street makes burritos the size of my forearm. Not sure if they qualify as 'Mission', but sounds about right. It's just a shack with a couple of tables outside and a counter. Always a cop car or firetruck parked outside and a small line. Always see people walking up the street with that clear bag with the shiny metal cylinder. Now I want a burrito.
posted by zengargoyle at 1:20 PM on May 21, 2022
posted by zengargoyle at 1:20 PM on May 21, 2022
you need the foil to make a 'plate' so you have somewhere clean to set it down for a bit, or wrap up the half you haven't eaten.
The ginormous burritos available near me come in two layers of heavy foil, the outside one for these purposes and the inner one for structural integrity. We could halve foil demand by using edible tape for the inner layer.
And maybe the plate/storage could be lower on the energy scale than foil.
posted by clew at 1:48 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
The ginormous burritos available near me come in two layers of heavy foil, the outside one for these purposes and the inner one for structural integrity. We could halve foil demand by using edible tape for the inner layer.
And maybe the plate/storage could be lower on the energy scale than foil.
posted by clew at 1:48 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Figure It Out episode 202, 1999, Edible Taco Tape Segment - YouTube
via: Engineering students create edible adhesive tape to keep burrito wrapped tightly | Hacker News
posted by zengargoyle at 1:58 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
via: Engineering students create edible adhesive tape to keep burrito wrapped tightly | Hacker News
posted by zengargoyle at 1:58 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
I remember when I ordered a burrito from a Mexican food chain that just entered the Honolulu market several years back and the worker trying to fold the burrito failed TWICE at not only folding but also got the proportion of filling to tortilla so so wrong. After the second failure, a very bemused Latinx coworker (and as far as I could tell, the only Latinx worker on the premises) gently nudged the burrito-wrapping novice aside to take over so I could finally get my burrito. At least circa 2017, Mexican food options in Honolulu were still very limited.
You betchya that I had my partner bring back an El Farolito burrito when they came back home from a trip to San Francisco. TSA guy asked "is it a bomb or a burrito" when it went through the scanner.
posted by spamandkimchi at 2:17 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
You betchya that I had my partner bring back an El Farolito burrito when they came back home from a trip to San Francisco. TSA guy asked "is it a bomb or a burrito" when it went through the scanner.
posted by spamandkimchi at 2:17 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Yes. I will pay taxes to support this research.
Are we placing bets on what it's made from? I'm going to guess pectin + waste fiber from juicing.
Does this mean that we can finally make a burrito that doesn't have the wads of extra tortilla in there that turns a round shape into a cylinder?
posted by amtho at 2:22 PM on May 21, 2022
Are we placing bets on what it's made from? I'm going to guess pectin + waste fiber from juicing.
Does this mean that we can finally make a burrito that doesn't have the wads of extra tortilla in there that turns a round shape into a cylinder?
posted by amtho at 2:22 PM on May 21, 2022
For one they use huuuuge tortillas and tortilla steamers/stretchers.
The guys *grilling* the tortillas used for burritos at places like Cancun in the Mission, SF, have entered the conversation.
(Also their burritos come out as almost perfect cylinders when wrapped by one of the old guys.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:22 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
The guys *grilling* the tortillas used for burritos at places like Cancun in the Mission, SF, have entered the conversation.
(Also their burritos come out as almost perfect cylinders when wrapped by one of the old guys.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:22 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
Why not just put it on a plate and eat it with a fork and knife ?
first you spread red chili sauce and sprinkle cheese all over it, melt it, and then you can eat it with a fork and knife
it's called a wet burrito and came from grand rapids michigan
posted by pyramid termite at 3:07 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
first you spread red chili sauce and sprinkle cheese all over it, melt it, and then you can eat it with a fork and knife
it's called a wet burrito and came from grand rapids michigan
posted by pyramid termite at 3:07 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
I think Beltline Bar brought it to Michigan, but I don't think they invented putting enchilada sauce on a burrito.
posted by LionIndex at 3:15 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by LionIndex at 3:15 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
More flamebait: The Cube Rule to end all arguments of starch taxonomy.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:20 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by zengargoyle at 3:20 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
I am full from the Mexican meal I had for lunch today, but now I want a burrito...
posted by supermedusa at 3:40 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 3:40 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
...also, I do have to say that burritos should, by all rights, be lightly grilled after assembly, so that the outermost layers of the tortilla crisp up ever so slightly while retaining their inner structure. Crispy yet durable and well-sealed.
Practically every burrito I ever bought in Chicago was done this way, and now that I'm in the Bay Area I've come close to madness trying to find a place that'll do it for me.
posted by aramaic at 3:44 PM on May 21, 2022
Practically every burrito I ever bought in Chicago was done this way, and now that I'm in the Bay Area I've come close to madness trying to find a place that'll do it for me.
posted by aramaic at 3:44 PM on May 21, 2022
The stretchiness imparted by wheat gluten would be absolutely essential for large, thin, wrappable tortillas, right?
So burritos which required them would be post-Conquest at least, and would have to count as fusion food.
posted by jamjam at 3:44 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
So burritos which required them would be post-Conquest at least, and would have to count as fusion food.
posted by jamjam at 3:44 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
To wade into this debate... outside of the Mission District, I've found the best burritos are in agricultural areas like Sonoma County, Dixon, Vacaville, and the best tacos are in areas in which the workers could be served by a taco truck, ie, urban areas.
I don't know SoCal very well but back when I lived in Riverside in the 1990s, it was surprisingly hard to find good Mexican food. I have no idea why since it seemed half Mexican.
Highway 99 around Salinas, Stockton, etc is amaaazing for autenico though. You can pick which specific city of Mexico's cuisine you want to sample and when you get there, you'll probably have to google half the items because you won't ever have heard of them. It. Is. Amazing. (But don't bother with the burritos, in my opinion. Mission-style or go home.)
posted by small_ruminant at 3:46 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
I don't know SoCal very well but back when I lived in Riverside in the 1990s, it was surprisingly hard to find good Mexican food. I have no idea why since it seemed half Mexican.
Highway 99 around Salinas, Stockton, etc is amaaazing for autenico though. You can pick which specific city of Mexico's cuisine you want to sample and when you get there, you'll probably have to google half the items because you won't ever have heard of them. It. Is. Amazing. (But don't bother with the burritos, in my opinion. Mission-style or go home.)
posted by small_ruminant at 3:46 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
I hope they use this for the stickers on fruit because honestly I eat those half the time anyway
posted by raccoon409 at 3:47 PM on May 21, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by raccoon409 at 3:47 PM on May 21, 2022 [12 favorites]
I hope they use this for the stickers on fruit because honestly I eat those half the time anyway
Same. This would be a great use for this stuff.
posted by small_ruminant at 3:48 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Same. This would be a great use for this stuff.
posted by small_ruminant at 3:48 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yeah, this is one of the hallmarks of a really good and pro burrito, specifically the Mission style super burrito, which is often just called a California burrito outside of California, and it's something that chain places like Chipotle just don't get right.
Around here a Cali burrito just means one with fries in it. Usually they are great but I had a particularly disappointing one a couple of days ago. I completely agree about the poor attempts by the chain places.
and more and they were all 50 cents each
Ha! Have you priced tacos lately? The days of 50c tacos are long gone pretty much everywhere.
more exotic choices like lengue, buche and more
Lengua doesn't seem very exotic, but I had buche for the first time recently and it was really good, much better than my expectation. A++. would buche again.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:13 PM on May 21, 2022
Around here a Cali burrito just means one with fries in it. Usually they are great but I had a particularly disappointing one a couple of days ago. I completely agree about the poor attempts by the chain places.
and more and they were all 50 cents each
Ha! Have you priced tacos lately? The days of 50c tacos are long gone pretty much everywhere.
more exotic choices like lengue, buche and more
Lengua doesn't seem very exotic, but I had buche for the first time recently and it was really good, much better than my expectation. A++. would buche again.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:13 PM on May 21, 2022
This thread is depressing me as a person living in the UK because a.) it is midnight and I do not need a burrito at this hour, and b.) things are better than when I first moved here almost fifteen years ago, but the selection of Mexican food in this country is still pretty dire unless you're right in London (and even then it can be iffy).
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:19 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:19 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
The Cube Rule to end all arguments of starch taxonomy.
Now I cant decide if I want my new username to be "bent toast" or "quesadilla (non-folded)". Or possibly "toast in raw unsliced form".
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:42 PM on May 21, 2022
Now I cant decide if I want my new username to be "bent toast" or "quesadilla (non-folded)". Or possibly "toast in raw unsliced form".
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:42 PM on May 21, 2022
There was a burrito place in Asheville NC (across the street from the French Broad Co-op*) when I lived there that put fried onion rings in some of their burritos, which was an awesome addition as far as I was concerned.
*Not referring derogatorily to a French woman; but rather to the nearby river, which was deemed broad in width and somehow inherently French in nature
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:47 PM on May 21, 2022
*Not referring derogatorily to a French woman; but rather to the nearby river, which was deemed broad in width and somehow inherently French in nature
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:47 PM on May 21, 2022
"is it a bomb or a burrito?"
Both, if it’s made right.
posted by sjswitzer at 5:53 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
Both, if it’s made right.
posted by sjswitzer at 5:53 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
...also, I do have to say that burritos should, by all rights, be lightly grilled after assembly, so that the outermost layers of the tortilla crisp up ever so slightly while retaining their inner structure. Crispy yet durable and well-sealed.
Practically every burrito I ever bought in Chicago was done this way, and now that I'm in the Bay Area I've come close to madness trying to find a place that'll do it for me.
La Taqueria, close to 24th and Mission, has this. Ask for your burrito "dorado" (golden)
posted by aubilenon at 5:54 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Practically every burrito I ever bought in Chicago was done this way, and now that I'm in the Bay Area I've come close to madness trying to find a place that'll do it for me.
La Taqueria, close to 24th and Mission, has this. Ask for your burrito "dorado" (golden)
posted by aubilenon at 5:54 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
At the risk of infuriating loquacious…
This is why I get a bowl when I go to Chipotle.
posted by MtDewd at 6:04 PM on May 21, 2022
This is why I get a bowl when I go to Chipotle.
posted by MtDewd at 6:04 PM on May 21, 2022
WHERE IS THE SCALZI TAKE ON THIS ALREADY
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:16 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:16 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
This is cool and wholesome (unless it's made out of people, then it's not wholesome).
posted by latkes at 8:23 PM on May 21, 2022
posted by latkes at 8:23 PM on May 21, 2022
SALSA VERDE IS PEOPLE
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:58 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:58 PM on May 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
Green chile is life.
posted by hippybear at 9:03 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 9:03 PM on May 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Yeah, what I said. ;)
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:21 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:21 PM on May 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
This has to be applied after-the-fact, because you have to first open the burrito to pour all the Melinda's habanero sauce down into the depths.
posted by credulous at 9:25 PM on May 21, 2022
posted by credulous at 9:25 PM on May 21, 2022
Onion rings actually sound like an ok alternative to french fries, if they're nice and crispy.
The otherwise fine Mexican place near me has chosen to put mushy hash browns in their California burritos, which seems like the worst possible potato-based option.
posted by meowzilla at 9:28 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
The otherwise fine Mexican place near me has chosen to put mushy hash browns in their California burritos, which seems like the worst possible potato-based option.
posted by meowzilla at 9:28 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yeah, eww. I like hash browns, but definitely not in a burrito.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:33 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:33 PM on May 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
This has to be applied after-the-fact, because you have to first open the burrito to pour all the Melinda's habanero sauce down into the depths.
You what. Nonononono...one mustn't disturb the wrap, it's disrespectful to the taqueria! If the burrito doesn't come the way you like, you add your extra stuff per bite. Unwrap a couple inches of foil, take a bite, add hot sauce, take a bite, add hot sauce, take a bite, unwrap some more foil...rinse and repeat. So it is written, so let it be done!
posted by rhizome at 11:40 PM on May 21, 2022 [11 favorites]
You what. Nonononono...one mustn't disturb the wrap, it's disrespectful to the taqueria! If the burrito doesn't come the way you like, you add your extra stuff per bite. Unwrap a couple inches of foil, take a bite, add hot sauce, take a bite, add hot sauce, take a bite, unwrap some more foil...rinse and repeat. So it is written, so let it be done!
posted by rhizome at 11:40 PM on May 21, 2022 [11 favorites]
From my location in bumfuck, Sweden I am now lightly weeping over the memory of those delicious San Francisco style burritos that I once enjoyed so often. There is a burrito place in San Rafael, under the freeway and close to a major street, that also has super tasty burritos.
This town supposedly has a taco place. If I go there and order something, I will probably end up in tears of disappointment. Then again, as I have noted here before, a lot of Swedes make burritos at home but call them tacos. So who knows what the hell that café is serving. Luckily, I may make it back to the Bay Area this fall. If so, eating Mission burritos will definitely be on my to-do list. Thanks for the reminder, 0P!
posted by Bella Donna at 7:25 AM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
This town supposedly has a taco place. If I go there and order something, I will probably end up in tears of disappointment. Then again, as I have noted here before, a lot of Swedes make burritos at home but call them tacos. So who knows what the hell that café is serving. Luckily, I may make it back to the Bay Area this fall. If so, eating Mission burritos will definitely be on my to-do list. Thanks for the reminder, 0P!
posted by Bella Donna at 7:25 AM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
I appreciate the recommendations for specific establishments and burrito styles.
That said: did people not read the quote about the inspiration? this team designed burrito tape to solve a problem for one white woman having trouble wrapping her burritos at home and people here are going off on how these women are disrespecting professional burrito making.
The physics of solving the problem are an interesting engineering problem. Framing it around burritos means the project design can be tested on something cheap and fast to make with low administrative approval needed.
Here is what these women designed: a food-safe, flavorless, dyed tape that holds and exerts tension while flexing with a thin, stretchy, layer of gluten pulled over a bundle of moving ingredients of varying consistencies and states--liquid to solid) and changing shapes and texture. Off the top of my head, a list of potential applications for a tape like this:
●Medical tape for bandaging face, neck, scalp and hands
●Occupational therapy (e.g.,independent feeding/utensil support)
●Tape to use in simulators for medical/emergency/veterinary trainings.
●Tape that doesn't require foreign body surgery if your dog chews it off and eats it.
●Tape for neonates and pediatrics.
●Tape for mucous membranes and adjacent skin (mouth/lips, perineum/anus/genitals, eyelids).
●Protect an erosion/ulcer in the esophagus temporarily.
●Tape for field studies that avoids adding plastic to the environment and may be less disruptive to microbiomes.
●Temporary seals and tapes for parts of pharma manufacturing, handling or compounding without including particular allergens.
●Certain labeling issues I have in the lab.
This is all off the top of my head, and outside of food applications, so there is a far longer list.
n.b. This tape is not plastic. You are not likely to get plastic ingestable food tape past the FDA. It's probably some sort of starch/gum/gel/gelatin based product derived from plant/algae/lichen/fungi/animal gelatin. I have a few guesses. Food-safe tapes are interesting and useful to me. And multiple forms of food tape are good, actually. Not every starch or gum is going to work in all situations with all food textures.
posted by Laetiporus at 8:02 AM on May 22, 2022 [17 favorites]
That said: did people not read the quote about the inspiration? this team designed burrito tape to solve a problem for one white woman having trouble wrapping her burritos at home and people here are going off on how these women are disrespecting professional burrito making.
The physics of solving the problem are an interesting engineering problem. Framing it around burritos means the project design can be tested on something cheap and fast to make with low administrative approval needed.
Here is what these women designed: a food-safe, flavorless, dyed tape that holds and exerts tension while flexing with a thin, stretchy, layer of gluten pulled over a bundle of moving ingredients of varying consistencies and states--liquid to solid) and changing shapes and texture. Off the top of my head, a list of potential applications for a tape like this:
●Medical tape for bandaging face, neck, scalp and hands
●Occupational therapy (e.g.,independent feeding/utensil support)
●Tape to use in simulators for medical/emergency/veterinary trainings.
●Tape that doesn't require foreign body surgery if your dog chews it off and eats it.
●Tape for neonates and pediatrics.
●Tape for mucous membranes and adjacent skin (mouth/lips, perineum/anus/genitals, eyelids).
●Protect an erosion/ulcer in the esophagus temporarily.
●Tape for field studies that avoids adding plastic to the environment and may be less disruptive to microbiomes.
●Temporary seals and tapes for parts of pharma manufacturing, handling or compounding without including particular allergens.
●Certain labeling issues I have in the lab.
This is all off the top of my head, and outside of food applications, so there is a far longer list.
n.b. This tape is not plastic. You are not likely to get plastic ingestable food tape past the FDA. It's probably some sort of starch/gum/gel/gelatin based product derived from plant/algae/lichen/fungi/animal gelatin. I have a few guesses. Food-safe tapes are interesting and useful to me. And multiple forms of food tape are good, actually. Not every starch or gum is going to work in all situations with all food textures.
posted by Laetiporus at 8:02 AM on May 22, 2022 [17 favorites]
I forgot to mention the range of temperature stability must cover at least 32-180 degrees F or greater (no idea about freezing or beyond). Which is another factor here.
posted by Laetiporus at 8:08 AM on May 22, 2022
posted by Laetiporus at 8:08 AM on May 22, 2022
I don’t understand, is this tape engineered only for burritos? Because I don’t eat many of those (none in fact) but sandwich wraps disintegrate fairly quickly so maybe an edible tinfoil substitute would be, ya know, useful.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:19 AM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:19 AM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've accepted that I will never be able to wrap a burrito to my satisfaction so I just make everything into a quesadilla. Breakfast quesadilla is an excellent place for hash browns by the way.
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:22 AM on May 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:22 AM on May 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
Besides dissing tools a amateur might use these are also things that can help people with disabilities. I imagine implenting a perfect burrito wrap is difficult if you suffer from parkisons or only have one hand. Or are avoiding carbs and want to wrap your burrito analogue in lettuce.
posted by Mitheral at 10:09 AM on May 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 10:09 AM on May 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
spamandkimchi- I am intrigued by your ideas, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter
posted by the liquid oxygen at 10:11 AM on May 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by the liquid oxygen at 10:11 AM on May 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
Here to name-check loquacious and nod in assent. I once lived around the corner from a Taqueria Cancun knockoff, on Mission near 30th, and regularly got $2.75 burritos. My bro and I called them food logs
posted by Jubal Kessler at 4:15 PM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Jubal Kessler at 4:15 PM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Why wouldn't you just use a strip of nori?
For one thing, nori wouldn't really work well as tape. Secondly, its flavor doesn't necessarily blend well with a (Tex-Mex) burrito.
posted by zardoz at 4:37 PM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
For one thing, nori wouldn't really work well as tape. Secondly, its flavor doesn't necessarily blend well with a (Tex-Mex) burrito.
posted by zardoz at 4:37 PM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Nori would work well when your burrito is chicken curry with rice and carrots and potatoes, better yet if it'd a day old. Though maybe not so much with BBQ pulled pork and onions. Almost anything works. All hail bachelor chow!
posted by zengargoyle at 9:34 PM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by zengargoyle at 9:34 PM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't have got the lettuce if I knew it wouldn't fitposted by ASCII Costanza head at 10:07 PM on May 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wouldn't have got the cheese if I knew it wouldn't fit
Wouldn't have got the peppers if I knew they wouldn't fit
I wouldn't have got, half of it
Like, I'm okay with small mistakes
If you've got no more chicken, I'll take pork
But I'll blow my dad before I eat a burrito with a fork
> And I've never had a "Mission" or "California" burrito outside of SF or bay area that gets this right, ever.
If you know of a place in the Bay Area, but outside SF proper (particularly South Bay) that can make a burrito as good as the ones in the Mission, please spill!
Well there's a Pancho Villa at the San Mateo train station which qualifies but that's as far south as I've gotten one.
As much as I like Los Metates in Belmont it has somehow already lost something by lack of proximity.
posted by vacapinta at 12:07 AM on May 23, 2022
As much as I like Los Metates in Belmont it has somehow already lost something by lack of proximity.
posted by vacapinta at 12:07 AM on May 23, 2022
This burrito you've described in such detail... it's surely full of beans?
Put it on a plate, son. You'll enjoy it more.
posted by flabdablet at 6:06 AM on May 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
Put it on a plate, son. You'll enjoy it more.
posted by flabdablet at 6:06 AM on May 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
I like hash browns, but definitely not in a burrito.
Unless it's a breakfast burrito!
posted by banshee at 8:17 AM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Unless it's a breakfast burrito!
posted by banshee at 8:17 AM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Not a huge fan of those either (just a personal thing, nothing inherently bad about them).
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:44 AM on May 23, 2022
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:44 AM on May 23, 2022
They already have edible paper, which tastes terrible - it's only for looks. So edible tape isn't that much of a stretch. I make lots of meals that could use some tape to hold them together.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:50 AM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:50 AM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
At least this thread settles what's for dinner tonight!
posted by Space Kitty at 1:56 PM on May 23, 2022
posted by Space Kitty at 1:56 PM on May 23, 2022
At least this thread settles what's for dinner tonight!
Edible paper? Again???
posted by aubilenon at 1:57 PM on May 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
Edible paper? Again???
posted by aubilenon at 1:57 PM on May 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
For one thing, nori wouldn't really work well as tape. Secondly, its flavor doesn't necessarily blend well with a (Tex-Mex) burrito.
You'd think and I would too, but there's a decent and reputable sushi and noodle place near me that has invented some kind of delightful abomination that is essentially a nigiri bite featuring house made miniature crunchy corn taco shells filled with rice, tuna, something spicy-hot and (I think) furikake seasoning and they're astonishingly, bewilderingly good and addictive.
On paper it all sounds like a really bad idea. Even on sight they're strange to look at. I had some friends visit during the pandemic and they picked up a big assortment platter and when I first saw those little taco shells mixed in with the maki and nigiri and I remember exclaiming WHAT ARE THOOOOOSE and laughing at them and their unbearably cute little taco shells.
What they were was fucking amazing. I don't even like crunchy fried Americanized taco shells, and if anything I'm totally anti crunchy taco shells.
But, no, these are likely the best crunchy taco shells that exist anywhere on the planet because (I think) they're made to order and fried in their tempura fryer. The texture and flavor combination of warm, fresh, salty miniature taco shells and good sweet sushi rice topped with ahi chunks and then the heat of a little wasabi and chili with the umami from furikake all added up into something totally unique and amazing.
I could eat like thirty of those delicious and stupidly cute little things.
Anyway, I could totally see sprinkling furikake on a Frito Pie or something Tex-Mex.
posted by loquacious at 6:45 PM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
You'd think and I would too, but there's a decent and reputable sushi and noodle place near me that has invented some kind of delightful abomination that is essentially a nigiri bite featuring house made miniature crunchy corn taco shells filled with rice, tuna, something spicy-hot and (I think) furikake seasoning and they're astonishingly, bewilderingly good and addictive.
On paper it all sounds like a really bad idea. Even on sight they're strange to look at. I had some friends visit during the pandemic and they picked up a big assortment platter and when I first saw those little taco shells mixed in with the maki and nigiri and I remember exclaiming WHAT ARE THOOOOOSE and laughing at them and their unbearably cute little taco shells.
What they were was fucking amazing. I don't even like crunchy fried Americanized taco shells, and if anything I'm totally anti crunchy taco shells.
But, no, these are likely the best crunchy taco shells that exist anywhere on the planet because (I think) they're made to order and fried in their tempura fryer. The texture and flavor combination of warm, fresh, salty miniature taco shells and good sweet sushi rice topped with ahi chunks and then the heat of a little wasabi and chili with the umami from furikake all added up into something totally unique and amazing.
I could eat like thirty of those delicious and stupidly cute little things.
Anyway, I could totally see sprinkling furikake on a Frito Pie or something Tex-Mex.
posted by loquacious at 6:45 PM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Edible paper? Again???
You'll get what you get and you won't get upset.
posted by flabdablet at 5:42 AM on May 24, 2022
You'll get what you get and you won't get upset.
posted by flabdablet at 5:42 AM on May 24, 2022
Edible paper? Again???
*stares at error message on microwave display*
"PC Load Letter? What the fuck does that mean?"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:15 AM on May 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
*stares at error message on microwave display*
"PC Load Letter? What the fuck does that mean?"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:15 AM on May 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
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posted by Thorzdad at 10:25 AM on May 21, 2022 [13 favorites]