History of the humble burrito

I really love burritos.  I love them so much that a couple of years ago I went through a phase eating numerous burritos a week.  There were a few times I even had a couple of burritos a day.  So last week I was having lunch at Benito's Hat and I came across a story about the origin of burritos.

There was once a guy traveling through Mexico who got lost.  After days of travelling without any food he came upon a kind Mexican woman. She offered him a range of Mexican foods such as refried beans, pork carnitas, guacamole and Mexican rice.  As the guy was not used to these foods, he was too scared to try them. So the woman took a big flour tortilla, wrapped up all the ingredients and the guy ate it.  Voila - a burrito!

Obviously this story is fictional - if you are starving, surely you'd eat anything, even if it's a bit new!!   The story did make me wonder where burritos came from.  With a bit of research I found that the real story is almost as sweet.  The burrito originated in northern Mexico, possibly around the early 1900's from a small place called Ciudad Juárez.  There was a young man who sold street food, transporting himself and the food with his little donkey.  He came up with the idea of keeping the food warm by wrapping it in a tortilla and then a napkin.  People came from far and wide to have this 'food from a little donkey', translating in Spanish to burrito.

So with all this talk of burritos, where's the best one in London?  Interesting question - there is even a whole website purely devoted to this subject - http://www.londonburrito.com/ .  While I don't claim to have tried all the burritos places in London, here is a quick a rundown of my current top favorites:

Chilango - My favorite!  I love the guacamole and fresh ingredients.  The vegetables here are especially good - crunchy as they are not overcooked and full of flavour.  The spicy sauce does not disappoint.
Tortilla - With 5 locations around London, it is the most accessible for a quick meal.  They can struggle with consistency, but the majority of my visits have been great.  The large is a good size and make sure to ask for extra sauce if you want it really hot.
Benito's Hat - Although I found that the guacamole is not quite as tasty as the other two, the chicken is really tender and there are a few more filling choices - the fresh coriander was a real treat!  They also have a range of cocktails and drinks, so you can make more of a night of it.