El Porvenir

      El Porvenir in Barrio Logan is, I imagine, a trip back in the evolution of the San Diego burrito. It’s like one of those Paleolithic fishes found deep, deep in the ocean that provides a clue to the origins of wakeful, walking life. The name, intriguingly, means the ”the future.”

      I imagine it’s something like this because El Porvenir’s been making tortillas in Barrio Logan since 1918 and they were one of the largest producers of tortillas—both flour and corn—in San Diego for many years. At some point they began making carnitas and in the late 50s, they put the carnitas into the tortillas, making burritos. All of this according to the old man who still works in this dingy little storefront, who’s grandparents began the whole enterprise way back then.

     This is not to say theirs is the first burrito in San Diego. El Cholo in Los Angeles featured burritos on the menu in the early-1930s, so burritos were around in Southern California well before the late-1950s.
      But the burritos at El Porvenir are different from what you expect to find at any Robertos nowadays and they provide a glimpse back, I imagine, into the murky, primordial waters of the burrito’s beginning.
      They are simple: fresh tortillas, carnitas or chile relleno, lardy beans, and hot sauce. They are folded over themselves more than wrapped, and therefore are very messy. They are not big. I ate a chile relleno and a carnitas when I was there, but was very full when I was done.
      But there are the rudiments: fresh tortillas and a couple of well-prepared ingredients. That is the San Diego burrito through the mists of time, the primordial stew. Long live it.
      The chile rellenos are some of the best I’ve had anywhere. They are not filled with greasy “jack” cheese. The hot sauce is smoky and dusky and flavorful.
      The form has been refined since, but you can see that even from the gate, those makers of the burrito were on to something good.

1786 National Ave.

Yo te conozco, mozco.