These are strange days for San Francisco burritos.
On the one hand, it is the best of times: San Francisco-style burritos are more popular than ever before. Quant-geeks rate them. Big chains mass-produce them. Yet with this culinary clout comes the inevitable copycats who seek to offer San Francisco-style burritos on far-distant shores — often with mixed results. Now, in one such effort to capture the spirit of the San Francisco burrito far away from the actual tierra that provides its substance, Bernal Heights has become a casualty.
Or rather, “Dernal Heights.”
The photo you see above was taken at the newest outlet of the burgeoning Mission Burrito restaurant chain, in Brindleyplace, Birmingham, England:
We can’t say much about the quality of the burritos from Mission Burrito (especially after so much long-distance travel), but we did notice a nontrivial problem with the big map of San Francisco painted on the wall of the new Brindleyplace location. Look just south of the Mission District on the wall map shown in this Brindleyplace store photo-montage, and you’ll see a shape that accurately replicates the outline of our own neighborhood.
But it is labeled “Dernal Heights.”
How. Awkward.
(Note: We stand in solidarity with our urban neighbors to the northeast, who apparently live in “Retrero Hill.”)
In light of this embarrassing faux pas, and even more heinous crimes against burritodom such as this, none other than Burrito Justice, La Lengua’s rebel spokesblogger and carnitas-fueled provocateur, has taken it upon himself to codify a set of standards governing what is and is not a proper burrito:
Despite our best efforts, we are seeing escalating threats, both international and domestic, against the sanctity of burritos. This must cease.
By the powers vested in me by the City and Country of San Francisco, Junipero Serra and Febronio Ontiveros, I hereby declare BURRITO LAW:
Statute 1:
If you pull off all the foil, it is no longer a burrito.Statute 2:
If you touch it with a knife and fork, it is no longer a burritoWe frankly cannot believe these first two statutes are necessary but that is what things have come to, folks. It is indeed an era so dark that our next statue is sadly required. Brace yourselves:
Statute 3:
If you get it outside the Bay Area, it is no longer a burrito.That’s right people, not all cylinders are created equal. We have no choice but to implement appellation d’origine contrôlée de burrito: if it’s not made in a county that touches San Francisco Bay, it’s not a burrito. (OK, fine, Santa Cruz too. Any county that touches a county that touches the Bay. But we get to disqualify any burritos in these secondary counties. Caveat Burritor.)
These are rigid criteria, to be sure. But as the Citizens of Dernalwood, the necessity of such standards is now painfully clear for all to see. Because a durrito from distant lands is not a burrito that can be trusted to get the details right.
PHOTOS: Mission Burrito
Bernalwood 
Retrero Hill and Dernal Heights are the definition of “unreal estate.”
Looks like they got it right on the Cardiff store, but behold the new neighborhood of “Petrero Hill”
San Francisco is full of rebels. In that regard, I will continue to eat my burrito however seems best at the time. I will not follow these ‘rules’ setup by conformists
I have just alerted the Potrero Hill Nextdoor community to this travesty! I expect that by the end of the day, there will be a change.org petition calling for a Mission Burrito Moratorium, or at a minimum an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) requirement for future stores.
Dolores Gourmet Burritos in Berlin was smart — their decor is simply an oversized Muni map. You can never go wrong with a Muni map.
Oh that ridiculous—ney, treasonous!— burrito bracket still burns.
I would refer all newcomers to this, while defunct, entirely accurate burrito news agency.
http://www.burritoeater.com/
Just a little reminder from the universe to not take yourself too seriousish.
I’m much more annoyed that the Castro is excluded.
Would you prefer Eureka Valley? I am happy that Crocker Amazon and Vis Valley are recognized as they always seem to be excluded from San Francisco maps.
I’m confused by your question, GG Shark. I’d prefer that the Castro be mapped at all. I totally agree with you that Crocker and VV are nice to see recognized. Ocean View, too. So many folks seem to think SF ends at 280.
It’s possible the occasional manic street preacher would come & make a scene over the Castro mentch. That we have one of those on Cortland reminds me a bit of the UK.
But ain’t it grand how much SF has to say for itself? Hard to think of a city anywhere in the world that punches above its weight quite to this degree.