Manuel's El Tepeyac

• Cuisine(s): Mexican
  Hours: Sun,Mon,Wed,Thu 6am-9:45pm, Tue 6am-6pm, Fri-Sat 6am-11pm
  Price: $
• Payment Types: MasterCard, Visa
  Features: Delivery, Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout
  Serving: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch
• Alcohol: None
  Reservations: Accepted, Not Necessary
  Parking: Street

Description

The burrito is a symbol of abundance, the humble taco transformed into a plump, overstuffed creation. At El Tepeyac, the legendary East L.A. stand whose name has practically become synonymous with the burrito, few people ever manage to finish the enormous constructions, some of which approach the size of lap dogs (except a lap dog has more vitamins), and it is rare to see a part of four leave the restaurant without at least one parcel of leftovers. The Manuel's Special, or Hollenbeck, named after the local East L.A. police division, is more or less an old-line Mexican restaurant's entire menu wrapped into a tortilla the size of a pillowcase -- rice, beans, stewed meat, guacamole and lakes of melted taco cheese. Buy one and feed your family for a week. The Oscar is a purist's burrito, all pork and green-chile sauce. I am extremely fond of the Okie burrito, which is more or less a Hollenbeck finished off like an enchilada; the intense, spicy, chorizo-and-egg burrito; and the salty machaca burrito made with onions, eggs and sautéed shreds of beef.