Hasta de Winnie

Burritos, and my wish for them

They’re really best when they’re simple.

I hate what white America has done to Burritos. The bland flavorless massive “wraps” being filled to the point of bursting by all manner of bullshit. That’s the greatest offense done by white America to burritos, the disregard for tortillas. The tortilla is the most important part of the burrito, a freshly made, soft but durable, warm tortilla is what elevates a burrito from a food of convenience to a food that you crave and long for.

In many of the burrito places found in Juarez the cheapest burrito for sale is a “Burrito de Winnie”. It’s a guisado made of winnie, franks, hotdogs, whatever you wanna call them sauteed in onions, tomato, chile and tomato sauce. The winnies over on the Mexican side of the border are usually RED, as opposed to pink here on this side. So seeing the guisado de winnies next to the rest really makes it stand out, almost animated, a Studio Ghibli version of food. It’s also usually the cheapest burrito because winnies themselves are cheap. I know that the use of hot dogs as the protein in all kinds of food is not unique to Juarez, but this application at the very least is prevalent there. I hadn’t had one in years. Went from finding them at every burrito place, to never seeing them anywhere.

The regionality of food really stands out when you move far away from home. I’m often shocked/annoyed by people who say things like “There’s no real Mexican food restaurants in Dallas” when what they really mean is “There’s no INSERT REGION OF MEXICO HERE food restaurants that I grew up eating in Dallas”. The same holds true for any city in the USA, the point being people who say that sound incredibly stupid and haven’t really taken a time to be curious. Juarez/El Paso style food has it’s own uniqueness that I miss including but not limited to, Menudo having both hominy and meat and eaten with bread instead of tortilla, Colita de Pavo tortas, and of course simple elegant burritos where the flour tortillas is perfect. I often find myself craving a Juarez style burrito, hasta uno de winnie

This weekend I revisited Doña Maria in Dallas which proudly states on the side of the corner of the industrial building that houses it, “ESTILO CD JUAREZ CHIHUAHUA”

When I walked in I was in fact back in the border. I could just tell from the people that were eating there, and cooking there. It was all confirmed when I saw Burritos on the menu and the sign said “LOOK AT MEATS BELOW” and the red guisado with little round shapes screamed out at me. I had to have a burrito de winnie. It was perfect. The guisado was the perfect level of spicy and umami that I hadn’t had in forever, the beans that I Was asked if I wanted in the burrito hit me with that wholeness but the star was the tortilla. Juarez style flour tortillas are soft, barely fluffy but not quite pillowy. They’re buttery and have a bite but are never tough. Served warm, there’s few things in the world better.

Now this is a burrito.

The only thing that wasn’t quite like home is that this was not cheap enough to just “throw in” as an extra to my order but even then I didn’t mind.

I have a strange wish for the Juarez style burrito.

I dream of a world in which this simple, elegant, minimalist food can be treated in the way sushi is treated. I would love for there to be a place that exists where the burrero is able to highlight how beautiful and important the tortilla making process is. How the guisados that go in the tortilla are purposely made to shine when enveloped in that floury goodness. It may look simple, and it is, but the key exists in the mastery of the execution and respect of the ingredients. The hands that make these tortillas are as skilled and experienced as any sushi chef. These tortillas are as worthy of the reverence that any omakase is given.

I wish you all could taste a Juarez style burrito at least once, hasta uno de winnie.