artdirector@sfreporter.com
Before we begin, let it be known to all readers that your feelings on El Chile Toreado’s breakfast burrito have been duly noted. Furthermore, I tried real hard to get one, only to learn that everybody’s favorite Early Street food truck (or stand or whatever you’d call the thing from which Toreado serves) really adheres to that street name and stops breakfast burrito-ing at 10 am. I know, I know—I know what you’re thinking (something rude, no doubt, about how that’s not even that early), but I’m a nighttime guy, and on some days, asking me to be someplace before 10 am is tantamount to me admonishing a morning person for not being down to clown at 2:30 am when I’m most active.
Anyway, the point is that everyone loves a place that serves breakfast all day, and while I would never begin to trash a restaurant for serving how it wanted, I’d just point out that if anyone from El Chile Toreado comes across this piece, please know that I love your spot mightily and recommend it all the time—I just wish I could get a breakfast burrito for lunch.
But I digress (and otherwise promise I will work out how to get to that burrito) because I regrouped and found some other excellent options for breakfast burritos in Santa Fe this week, so let’s dig in, huh?
Sunrise Family Restaurant
1851 St. Michael’s Drive, (505)-820-0643; Breakfast and Lunch Every Day
A sign by the front cash register advises patrons that Sunrise Family Restaurant’s breakfst burrito was named the “Best Breakfast Burrito in the Santa Fe area for 2020 as voted on by local business communities.” This information feels vague, but just know that it’s not really far off the mark, even if naming a single best burrito isn’t possible.
The woman who answered the phone and took the order was kind and pleasant and, honestly, sounded pretty pumped that someone was searching for a breakfast burrito; she didn’t use any kind of tone when the offer of meat was declined or when I requested red chile on the side, and she sounded really cool and collected when she said “It’ll probably only be, like, 10 minutes.” Deciding to test this theory, I bolted to the car and arrived 10 minutes later on the dot to find my burrito waiting, and the thrill continued all the way back to my -office, whereupon I learned that the burrito’s construction must have been recent as it was still piping hot with the cheese melty and looking perfect.
Sunrise Family Restaurant offers up three choices for sides: house potatoes (think cubes), beans or hash browns. Naively, I assumed these would be in-burrito items, so I ordered mine with hash browns because, and hear me now, every restaurant that does breakfast burritos: the crunch of hash browns in a burrito has no rival or even equal. Admittedly, learning the potatoes came on the side felt sad at first, but having the power to choose my own egg-to-potato ratio was actually a game-changer. We’ve all had that burrito that is basically potatoes in a tortilla (looking at you, Burrito Spot), but Sunrise’s version came with so many fluffy eggs, the rest of my day was spent with enough protein-fueled energy to not feel like I’d fall asleep at my standing desk.
The chile was excellent, too, though its viscosity felt a little thinner than I generally like. A thick red is one of the purest joys of being a New Mexican, but whereas flavor can often trump texture (though both are important, mind you), this red came in clutch with its aromatic medley of seasoning. We want to know our red has cumin, but never do we want that to overpower the situation; whoever’s in the kitchen at Sunrise Family Restaurant knows what to do, and that includes the eggs, which, as I mentioned before, were delightfully fluffy, but held together well enough that they never fell out of the tortilla.
At $7.95, the burrito’s a steal, too, especially considering the mountain of hash browns with just the right amount of gooey cheddar on top. Let this forever be a reminder that sometimes the most unassuming restaurants (Sunrise is, for lack of a better term, not the most design-forward and spotless place you’ll ever eat) have the greatest secrets to uncover. The verdict in the end? Oh, this one’s going on the regular rotation.
Fusion Tacos
5984 Airport Road, (505) 501-3677; Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Monday-Saturday; Breakfast and Lunch Sunday)
I can practically feel you thinking “Pshshsht! Breakfast burrito from a -celebrated taco truck? What’re you doing, bro?”
I’ll tell you what I’m doing, friendo—I’m looking for breakfast burritos. And yes, everyone loves Fusion Tacos. To wit, not only has everyone I’ve ever met who ate there been straight up FAWNING since day one, the folks at the Santa Fe Brewing Co. invited Fusion to saddle on up to the brewery’s flagship location just outside town and provide the food menu for the rest of 2021.
Back on the burrito score, we’re living in a town that seems to scream breakfast burrito on every corner, and my line of thought was something like “Well, if they kill it with tacos, maybe they’ll kill it with a breakfast burrito, too.” And so they did.
Now, I can’t tell you that I liked it more than Sunrise Family Restaurant’s, nor can I tell you that I’m going to add a trip down Airport Road to my regular burrito-ing itinerary. I can, however, point out a few excellent things about Fusion Tacos’ take on the eggy goodness. First off, that flour tortilla? Brilliant. So often one can tragically come up against a bland and lifeless store-bought tortilla. Not so at Fusion Tacos, where not only did it cradle my beloved eggs, potato and cheese like some kind of magical food-based blanket, it tasted just like the tortillas of my childhood from legendary Los Angeles tacqueria Burrito Express. Additionally, the eggs taste just like Mom used to make, which leads me to believe there’s a slight bit of milk or cream splashed in those little scramblies. Either way, the egg/potato ratio favored egg, and despite the long trek from the Southside back to my Midtown office, the cheese stayed melty.
This was also a red-on-the-side order, and Fusion Taco’s chile is a complete win. Thick in the right places and earthy in the best way, I’m comfortable calling it a triumph. On top of that, they’re only charging $5—yet another victory in my quest to never eat oatmeal or dry toast or anything that’s boring for breakfast.
I’ll be back for more tacos, too, and I’ve even heard you can get a kick-ass piece of fish at Fusion.
Food trucks, your time is now.
READ MORE: So You’re Looking For a Breakfast Burrito [Vol. 1] [Vol. 2] [Vol. 3] [Vol. 4] [Vol. 5] [Vol. 6]
