Having spent two weeks eating cream teas, cooked breakfasts and steaks aplenty in England, you might think I’d have been longing for a Schweinebraten or a bowl of creamy spätzle when I returned to Munich. In fact, I was hankering after a big, hearty burrito.
Californian-born Allison and I headed to try out Munich’s own Mission-style burritos in Augustenstr. – at the Burrito Company.
I met up with co-owner Daniel Hoffmann, who now has two burrito joints in Munich. Which is pretty darned impressive, as he’s just twenty-seven years old. Daniel and Mike opened the Burrito Company in Schwabing in July 2013, after extensive and careful planning and research. They’d both worked in California after studying in Hawaii, so knew a thing or two about Californian burritos, but spent months testing out their burritos on hungry friends and family. Their hard work has paid off – a couple of months ago, the pair opened their second branch in the Glockenbachviertel (Baaderstr.), and they’re dishing up hundreds of handmade, classic Californian burritos a day.
The focus is very much on the west coast. Propped against one wall is a surfboard, and Daniel himself wouldn’t look out-of-place riding the Pacific swells. They play laid back, road trip music and they’ve taken inspiration from San Francisco’s Mission taquerias, with rice, coriander, cheese and lashings of sour cream stuffed into meat or veggie burritos. It’s an authentic Californian burrito, and they’re about to start using pinto beans – to add to the authenticity.
The menu is simple – there are four principle items you can order – a burrito, a burrinho (a smaller version), a burrito bowl – without the tortilla wrap, or a Mexican salad.
You pick up a card from the front desk, and tick off what sort of burrito you’re after (beef, chicken or veggie), choose your fillings (spicy or mild salsa, beans, grilled corn, lettuce, cheese and sour cream) and let them know if you want any extras (guacamole, super spicy, extra cheese etc). You hand in your card and a few minutes later, your burrito is ready. It’s fresh, tasty, hearty fast food. And if fresh and fast food sounds like an oxymoron, the Burrito Company’s use of high-quality ingredients guarantees it’s anything but.
To wash it all down, the team have a fridge stocked full of Fritz-Kola lemonades, Tegernsee beers – and the absolute highlight – Crew ales.
Places like the Burrito Company are exactly the sort of places in Munich I love to visit. Young, passionate people making delicious burritos using the very best ingredients, where good service is a given and details matter. The burritos are superb, and with the amount of effort they’ve put in to making it work, I do hope the Burrito Company’s success continues to grow.
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