Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Freebirds World Burrito

Considering that it's a pretty major chain, the arrival of Freebirds World Burrito in Hillcrest shouldn't make that much of a splash in San Diego where one is seldom more than fifteen minutes from a world-class burrito.

However, Freebirds bears mentioning for two main reasons: 1) It seems busy enough that it won't be shuttering itself next week, and 2) the restaurant specializes in Mission-style burritos.

As far as burrito culture is concerned, San Diego is actually somewhat the exception rather than the rule compared to most US cities. The San Francisco Mission-style dominates taquerias in basically every corner of the US except for San Diego.

Freebirds--originally a NorCal and Texas based chain--makes a better than average version of this kind of burrito and it's likely that they will find a foothold with transplants to San Diego from places near and far, people to whom the Mission-style burrito tastes more like home than a California Burrito ever could.

Sharply dressed and somewhat overeager to be your best friend, Freebirds staff of young hipsters steam tortillas (available in white, wheat, spinach, and cayenne pepper) and then custom build burritos to customer specifications along a culinary assembly line.

Steak, chicken, or carnitas. What kind of rice? Cheese? What kind of beans? Guacamole and sour cream? Lettuce and pico de gallo? After enduring the barrage of questions, the fully customized burrito gets wrapped tightly in aluminum foil and it's ready to eat.

Simply peel down the wrapper as the meal goes on. Prices are a little steep starting at $5 for a teeny-tiny veggie burrito and climbing to almost $14 for the seven pound, steak-filled Super Monster, but the big burritos are truly massive .

Ensconced in the borderline Dixie-fried, rock & roll atmosphere of Freebirds, these burritos may seem pretty unorthodox to the faithful San Diegan, but this stylistic difference is certainly worth exploring when it's done right.

Maybe it's a little weird to mash together carnitas, refried beans, lettuce, pico, and sour cream; it's certainly even weirder to smother the entire concoction in sweet, tangy barbecue sauce afterwards (Freebirds has a barbecue sauce pump shaped like a Harley-Davidson).

But it's definitely worth a shot. Plus, if you're from Boston, Austin, Athens, or Atlanta, this is probably going to tug on your heartstrings a little.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween

Considering that it's a pretty major chain, the arrival of Freebirds World Burrito in Hillcrest shouldn't make that much of a splash in San Diego where one is seldom more than fifteen minutes from a world-class burrito.

However, Freebirds bears mentioning for two main reasons: 1) It seems busy enough that it won't be shuttering itself next week, and 2) the restaurant specializes in Mission-style burritos.

As far as burrito culture is concerned, San Diego is actually somewhat the exception rather than the rule compared to most US cities. The San Francisco Mission-style dominates taquerias in basically every corner of the US except for San Diego.

Freebirds--originally a NorCal and Texas based chain--makes a better than average version of this kind of burrito and it's likely that they will find a foothold with transplants to San Diego from places near and far, people to whom the Mission-style burrito tastes more like home than a California Burrito ever could.

Sharply dressed and somewhat overeager to be your best friend, Freebirds staff of young hipsters steam tortillas (available in white, wheat, spinach, and cayenne pepper) and then custom build burritos to customer specifications along a culinary assembly line.

Steak, chicken, or carnitas. What kind of rice? Cheese? What kind of beans? Guacamole and sour cream? Lettuce and pico de gallo? After enduring the barrage of questions, the fully customized burrito gets wrapped tightly in aluminum foil and it's ready to eat.

Simply peel down the wrapper as the meal goes on. Prices are a little steep starting at $5 for a teeny-tiny veggie burrito and climbing to almost $14 for the seven pound, steak-filled Super Monster, but the big burritos are truly massive .

Ensconced in the borderline Dixie-fried, rock & roll atmosphere of Freebirds, these burritos may seem pretty unorthodox to the faithful San Diegan, but this stylistic difference is certainly worth exploring when it's done right.

Maybe it's a little weird to mash together carnitas, refried beans, lettuce, pico, and sour cream; it's certainly even weirder to smother the entire concoction in sweet, tangy barbecue sauce afterwards (Freebirds has a barbecue sauce pump shaped like a Harley-Davidson).

But it's definitely worth a shot. Plus, if you're from Boston, Austin, Athens, or Atlanta, this is probably going to tug on your heartstrings a little.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

La Fachada: Dirt Cheap Barrio Tacos

Next Article

Eating Aboard the Trolley?

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader