Atlixco’s Mexican Grill
425 M St., SW
Breakfast burrito fans know to head to Miguel Angel Palacios’s stand at the SW Farmers Market on Saturdays. A flattop grill produces made-to-order burritos stuffed with combinations like chorizo, eggs, tater tots, rice, beans, onions, cilantro, gooey cheeses, and salsa verde, or there’s a veggie version with spinach and mushrooms. Match it with Zeke’s Coffee for a weekend wakeup.
Bandit Taco
1946 New Hampshire Ave., NW; 4629 41st St., NW; 1601 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg
There’s no hold-up for tasty breakfast burritos at Bandit’s fast-casual taquerias. Griddled tortillas are filled with a nice mix of ingredients—chorizo, egg, cheese, sour cream, and pico de gallo—that won’t put you back to bed.
Baker’s Daughter
675 I St., NW; 1402 Okie St NE
Houston-style “breakfast tacos”—which are more like small burritos, or large taquitos—are on the menu at Gravitas chef Matt Baker’s casual cafes in downtown DC and Ivy City, which open daily at 8 AM with all-day breakfast. Are they technically burritos? No, but we’re not arguing with a warm tortilla stuffed with eggs, salsa, cheese, and chorizo, or a veggie option with potato and caramelized onion.
Big Bear Cafe
1700 First St., NW
This breakfast burrito is for the person who always asks if the eggs are local (and yes, they are). The Bloomingdale cafe serves breakfast six days a week and dishes up a delicious three-egg burrito in an organic/kosher tortilla with roasted vegetables, homemade chorizo, and aged Shelburne Farms cheddar from Vermont (cows are grass-fed and hormone free, natch). Add avocado if you can stomach the carbon footprint.
El Piquin
Multiple market locations
Maryland-based Mexican restaurant/catering company El Piquin sets up its griddles at DC-area farmers markets on weekends, including Eastern Market on Saturdays and Sundays (9 AM to 3 PM) and the Arlington Courthouse market on Saturdays (9 AM to noon). The toasty wraps have earned a loyal following, stuffed with eggs, beans, cheese, pico, salsa verde, and a choice of veggies or proteins like chorizo or bacon.
Little Red Fox
5035 Connecticut Ave., NW
Tangy housemade hot sauce and local Moctec flour tortillas make the breakfast burritos at this locavore Forest Hills cafe stand out—not to mention fillings like scrambled eggs, sharp cheddar, corn, black beans, and potatoes. There’s also a vegan version with smoked tofu and avocado.
La Mexicana Bakery & Taqueria
2907 Arlington Dr., Alexandria
You may be tempted to fill up on sweets in the display cases of this Mexican bakery, but the savory menu of tacos, tortas, soups, and burritos isn’t to be missed. The husband-and-wife team behind the place draw from their Mexican heritage and time in California for the CA brunch burrito stuffed with carne asada, eggs, pico de gallo, crispy fries, refried beans, melted cheese, and sour cream (customizations are available).
Lucky Buns
2000 18th St., NW; 1309 Fifth St., NE
Chef Alex McCoy’s burger bar recently launched a new weekend brunch menu that thinks outside the bun. Two burritos—one meaty, one veggie—will cure your hunger and/or hangover with a combination of eggs, crispy potatoes, three cheeses (cheddar, creamy queso, and cotija), fresh salsa, jalapeno crema, charred peppers and onions, and your choice of carne asada, Thai sausage, bacon, or Impossible meat patties. Go ahead and add avocado and fried jalapenos because at this point, why not.
Meats & Foods
247 Florida Ave., NW
Drop by the Shaw sausage shop on Saturdays when breakfast burritos are available until sold out. The combination of egg, potato, salsa, and your choice of breakfast meats or veggie sausage is a winner, says food editor/#1 fan Jessica Sidman. “It’s pretty basic but in perfect harmony. Obviously sausage is the way to go—and pickled jalapenos, that’s definitely a must.”
Pica Taco
Multiple DC-area locations
Select branches of this local Mexican chain start the morning with breakfast burritos that can be customized with avocado, various meats, and veggies. Big appetites can ask for a burrito supreme smothered in cheese and ranchero sauce.
Surfside at the Wharf
33 District Sq., SW
Craving a very early morning burrito—say 12:30 AM after a concert at the Anthem? The new Wharf location of this local Cal-Mex mini chain dishes up a breakfast burrito at all hours stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon, crispy hash browns, refried beans, and rice (until 1 AM).
Tortilla Cafe
210 Seventh St., SE
The Canales family’s Mexican-Salvadoran restaurant near Eastern Market opens daily between 8 and 9 AM with wallet-friendly breakfast burritos like the $4 classic or a $5 version with refried beans and spicy Mexican sausage.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
