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Xulo chef-owner Michael de la Torre (left) and Heather Pitts (right) make burritos in Berkeley. Xulo now pops up every Saturday\u00a0out of\u00a0Morell\u2019s Bread.<\/p>\n
Kristen Murakoshi\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
In the Bay Area, where the rice-bloated super burrito <\/a>reigns supreme, artisan flour tortilla maker Michael de la Torre of popup Xulo wants to bring attention to the thinner, homestyle burritos found along the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n For the first time, his burritos are now available on a regular basis at Morrell\u2019s Bread in Berkeley on Saturdays from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. People are lining up for burritos enveloped in Sonoran-style flour tortillas<\/a> made at a commissary kitchen just steps away. Xulo is known for those tortillas, a rarity in the Bay Area, and eclectic, California-inflected burritos, such as ones filled with turmeric-infused carnitas ($16) or huitlacoche, an edible corn fungus, with shiitake mushrooms and black beans ($16). Bean-and-cheese burritos ($13) are a permanent fixture, but the insides may feature creamy Mayocoba beans with cheddar one week and firm black beans with mozzarella the next.<\/p>\n De la Torre channels the slender burritos, often filled with just one or two ingredients, that he grew up eating in his native Coachella Valley.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been raised on a type of burrito that you can\u2019t find up here. It\u2019s filled with a protein or a vegetable and some salsa in there, not a ton of rice and cream and all the Mission-style stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n De la Torre learned to make tortillas from his grandmother, who was raised in Sonora, the northwest Mexican state where they\u2019re often made with fine wheat flour, sea salt, water and lard. He began making his own versions in 2019, using wheat from Petaluma\u2019s Central Milling and incorporating duck fat or coconut oil, and eventually sold them at popups at East Bay wine bars and local grocery stores like Berkeley Bowl and Tahona Mercado in San Francisco. Lately, he has stuck to olive oil tortillas in an effort to simplify his operation. At the core of the process is a 40-year-old Fortuna Automat dough rounder, which de La Torre affectionately named \u201cLa\u00a0Fortunita,\u201d that batches out balls of dough that get pressed into\u00a0Xulo\u2019s lithe, almost translucent tortillas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Julia Moss eats a huitlacoche burrito at the Xulo popup in Berkeley.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kristen Murakoshi\/For the S.F. Chronicle Xulo, known for Sonoran-style tortillas, is now selling\u00a0burritos and hot sauces at a weekly Berkeley popup.<\/p>\n Kristen Murakoshi\/For the S.F. Chronicle Xulo sells bottled salsas along with to-go burritos and packs of tortillas.<\/p>\n Kristen Murakoshi\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n At the Saturday popups, customers can buy Xulo tortillas in either a 12-inch size\u00a0\u2014 de la Torre\u2019s choice for burritos\u00a0\u2014 or six inches, as well as bottles of fermented red or green salsas with preserved lemon. Pre-rolled frozen burritos are also on offer, but sell out quickly.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n While his burritos are perfectly tasty eaten right away, de la Torre insists people let them sit before eating them. The resting period is a common move among burrito vendors in Southern California and Mexican border cities like Mexicali and Tijuana, who carry their wares in coolers to keep them warm and allow the ingredients to come together.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIf you let those flavors marry and settle it\u2019s probably going to taste better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Nostalgia aside, the popup at\u00a0Morrell\u2019s has no seating, save a concrete ledge outside where customers from neighboring businesses often perch with pastries or coffee. De la Torre recommends taking burritos to-go on a hike, to the park or to savor at home. (The burritos will last five to seven days in the fridge and for a few months in the freezer, according to Xulo.) Xulo\u2019s popup model is geared toward efficiency and takeout, with de la Torre and his staff constantly assembling a few of each burrito before wrapping them in wax paper, which can be heated in the microwave, unlike the Mission-style\u2019s preferred aluminum foil. Burritos rest in a warming tray, though they do not sit long before staff hand them off to a steady stream of customers.<\/p>\n Xulo is part of a crop of exciting new businesses at Berkeley Kitchens, a red brick building home to commissary kitchens and food vendors. Recent arrivals include Caf\u00e9 Bolita<\/a>, at the former Standard Fare space<\/a>, which offers Mexican dishes with fresh-milled masa. Milk Cloud Bakery<\/a> will soon be slinging Japanese milk bread sandwiches and Basque cheesecakes inside La Noisette Sweets space after the French bakery closes in April<\/a>. Morrell\u2019s Bread also hosts Chinese American pastry shop Year of the Snake<\/a> on Sundays.<\/p>\n Customers wait in line at the Xulo popup at Morell\u2019s Bread in Berkeley.<\/p>\n Kristen Murakoshi\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n Currently, de la Torre is happy with the weekly popups, and has no plans to open his own restaurant.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to bang out a quick service, give people delicious food and then have a life afterwards,\u201d said de la Torre, who is a father of two. On Saturday, he sold out in just over two hours.<\/p>\n Xulo. 2701 Eighth St., #114, Berkeley. Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m., or sell out. instagram.com\/okayxulo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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