At 9:56 a.m. on November 19th, 2024, Los Angeles pupusería Los Molcajetes invented their “Salvi Breakfast Burrito.” It was a planned and half-happy accident, but the city of L.A. and the world are both better for it.
This innovation on the famed breakfast burritos, of purported New Mexican origins, was built with distinctly Salvadoran ingredients. Instead of hashbrowns, it has yuca frita. Instead of bacon, sausage, or ham, it is filled with chicharrón, chorizo Salvadoreño, and bacon.
What remains of the familiar is a flour tortilla, bacon, eggs, and Monterey Jack cheese. The final Salvi touch is an added curtido, the lightly pickled cabbage blend that cuts through the burrito's savory richness. It is the latest win in a city of champions.
It’s very fitting that Los Molcajetes, a Koreatown-based Salvadoran restaurant with a Mexican name, created this breakfast burrito. The original owners bought the restaurant in 1979. It was a sound business idea to keep the signage as is. In the process, founders Dona Maria Luisa and Juan Gonzalez have created a legacy now helmed by their grandchildren, owners Daniel Gold and Lorena Guzman Gold.