If there’s one thing that we know here in Southern California, it’s that there are many ways to do a breakfast burrito. OK, we know a lot more than that. But the Los Angeles region knows burritos, and that includes the unbridled glory of the breakfast burrito.
Sure, the authenticity of breakfast burritos is questionable. But a quick online search reveals that they first appeared in the ‘70s in New Mexico and caught on fast. Burritos are such a neat and tidy, fully enclosed method of eating anything that it only makes sense to put breakfast, and just about every other meal, into one.
At La Flama, there are a few wonderfully tempting breakfast burritos to choose from. There’s the Classic Ham Burrito (eggs scrambled with ham, cheddar cheese, avocado, and hash brown), or the Bacon Burrito (scrambled eggs and bacon, with cheddar cheese, hash brown, and sour cream).
But we went with the Mexican Burrito, which contains eggs scrambled with diced tomatoes, onion, jalapeño peppers, avocado, refried black beans, and cheddar cheese.
That all means that there’s no meat in the Mexican breakfast burrito. No hash brown either. We did order a side order of hash brown for the sake of extra carb, and they were fine. They are the hash brown patties, rather than classic diner shredded potato. But they do the job, especially when drizzled with the super-spicy and smoky hot sauce that they include.
But it’s all about the burrito, which is superb. It’s very large, and could easily be eaten in two sittings if you’re not extremely hungry. But having said that, it’s hard to put it down once you get started.
The ingredients work so well together, it feels like it must be magic. The eggs are scrambled with the fresh, juicy and diced tomatoes, then mixed with the onions, peppers and cheese. The cheddar cheese in particular is full of flavor and brings a creamy richness to the entire burrito. There’s a lot of flavor in there, but the pairing of the cheese and onion takes it up another level.
The beans are the protein glue, tying the whole thing together. This is refried black beans, rather than pinto, so there’s a deeper flavor that won’t get lost amongst the rest of everything. The jalapeño peppers bring a much needed bite, and that aforementioned hot sauce can amp the spice up if needed.
The dish comes with fresh tortilla chips, and it’ll all leave your tongue buzzing in the best possible way.
La Flama is located at 10717 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles 90034. Call 310-876-1211 or visit carnicerialaflama.getbento.com.