There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for a good breakfast burrito. There’s something to be said for the compactness of the thing, the close-quarters mixing of so many wonderful tastes and textures—and I’d be able to tell you what that thing is, if at the relevant moment my mouth weren’t full of breakfast burrito.
I can tell you that Francisco Alvarez, executive chef of Downtown’s Madero Street Tacos and its in-house sibling El Gallo, makes outstanding California-style breakfast burritos, packed with everything from grilled chicken to bacon to chilaquiles—glorious handheld morning feasts priced from $8 to $15 and worth every penny. I can also tell you that Alvarez has now rolled out Texas-style breakfast tacos … and that they, too, are praiseworthy.
Served on lightly grilled 4.5-inch flour tortillas and paired with house-made chips and your choice of smoky red or tangy green salsa, El Gallo’s breakfast tacos come in threes and start with a baseline of pillowy, fresh-scrambled eggs mixed with gouda cheese ($10), which is buttery and chewy and perfect. If you want something a little more robust, add sautéed and seasoned red potatoes ($11), potatoes and applewood-smoked bacon ($12) or potatoes and a generous helping of Mexican poblano chorizo ($12). Or, you can do as I do, and request one of each of the latter three ($13), and scarf them down at the counter while they’re warm and fresh.
The most beautiful thing about El Gallo’s breakfast tacos is that they offer similar pleasures to their breakfast burritos, but in more manageable proportions. A breakfast burrito is a hefty commitment, and once you bite in, you’ve got to see it through. Their breakfast tacos are probably the same amount of food, but you somehow feel better about plowing through them, and plow through them you will. And, seriously, you’ve got to try one of each. So worth it.
El Gallo Breakfast Burritos 616 E. Carson Ave. #140, 725-204-6969. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
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