El Charrito Express

The 23 Best Restaurants In Monterey - Monterey - The Infatuation

"The burritos at El Charrito Express—an offshoot of the first El Charrito in Salinas—may be noticeably smaller than the super-stuffed Mission style, but don’t let that deter you. The burrito fillings, like tender beer-marinated barbacoa with cilantro and onions and crispy chicharrones in a deeply savory molcajete salsa are excellent across the board, and the burritos are wrapped in housemade tortillas that are so good, you’d be more than happy to eat them by themselves (luckily, the restaurant sells them in 10-packs, so you absolutely can do that). The excellent breakfast burritos, available until 10:30am on weekdays (11:30am on weekends) are also worth your time—get the one with huevo con nopales and a coffee. All their burritos are also available in bowl form, but we strongly recommend you go traditional." - allison green, gabi moskowitz