Spring Break
Arbitrary Argument: All wrapped up!
Which will you decide? The spontaneous wrap or the traditional burrito
Alex McElroy & Ruben Casas
Issue date: 5/16/08 Section: Diversions
Another thing about wraps: According to my studies (poking my half-eaten lunch with a toothpick) as a nutritionist (fun fact: you can become a registered nutritionist by mail order!) encasing food in a wrap eliminates its calories!
You can choose whether or not to believe that last detail, but the other evidence is fool-proof: Wraps are trendy, portable, and they make you look cool when you hold them. They're like cigarettes without the cancer!
Burrito
The burrito, as you and I know it, has got to be one of America's greatest inventions, right up there with the wheel. Wait, did Americans invent the wheel? Well, Anonymous did, and we all know he was American.
Anyway, the burrito, born in San Francisco circa 1960, is great because regardless of what you put in it, it makes a strong statement about the culture that consumes it (for 99 cents if you "think outside the box").
The statement? "If America needs to feel good about eating me, the notoriously plump, full-bodied and full-of-good-things feel-good food in this new age of lite, low-cal, high-protein and otherwise bland engineered foodstuffs by calling me something other than my name - by calling me a wrap - then fine. Just don't neglect me."
Feeling good is what the burrito is all about. Feeling good about eating the burrito is what calling it a "wrap" is all about.
Some might argue that the burrito and the wrap are different because a burrito is typically filled with beans, rice, meat and cheese, while the wrap is filled with traditional sandwich fixins such as lettuce, tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, guacamole, onion, shredded cheese and some sort of dressing. That difference is negligible, however, and the Non-existent Official Burrito Building Guide (NOBBG) confirms it.
Interesting fact: the burrito isn't traditionally a Mexican food, just like fettuccine alfredo and General Tso's chicken aren't either, though certain trendy eateries in the country now offer it. Here, then, is another classic case of culture adoption, culture negation and finally - the apex of this uniquely American phenomenon - culture renaming. These are the steps of American Cultural Feel-goodness. Just as with all good psychological and developmental processes, we're all mostly still in denial.
A burrito, by definition, is a wheat flour tortilla filled with whatever filling you feel like putting in it. Heck, by this definition you can make yourself a peanut butter and jelly burrito if you want.
The food technology we've adopted as the tortilla does not discriminate; eaters who feel guilty about what they put in their mouths do. But if calling it a wrap makes you feel better - like how ordering a double cheeseburger with bacon, a large order of fries and two apple pies is justified by the health-conscious choice to wash it down with a Diet Coke - then who is the burrito to stop you?
Alex McElroy & Ruben Casas
diversions@dailybarometer.com
You can choose whether or not to believe that last detail, but the other evidence is fool-proof: Wraps are trendy, portable, and they make you look cool when you hold them. They're like cigarettes without the cancer!
Burrito
The burrito, as you and I know it, has got to be one of America's greatest inventions, right up there with the wheel. Wait, did Americans invent the wheel? Well, Anonymous did, and we all know he was American.
Anyway, the burrito, born in San Francisco circa 1960, is great because regardless of what you put in it, it makes a strong statement about the culture that consumes it (for 99 cents if you "think outside the box").
The statement? "If America needs to feel good about eating me, the notoriously plump, full-bodied and full-of-good-things feel-good food in this new age of lite, low-cal, high-protein and otherwise bland engineered foodstuffs by calling me something other than my name - by calling me a wrap - then fine. Just don't neglect me."
Feeling good is what the burrito is all about. Feeling good about eating the burrito is what calling it a "wrap" is all about.
Some might argue that the burrito and the wrap are different because a burrito is typically filled with beans, rice, meat and cheese, while the wrap is filled with traditional sandwich fixins such as lettuce, tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, guacamole, onion, shredded cheese and some sort of dressing. That difference is negligible, however, and the Non-existent Official Burrito Building Guide (NOBBG) confirms it.
Interesting fact: the burrito isn't traditionally a Mexican food, just like fettuccine alfredo and General Tso's chicken aren't either, though certain trendy eateries in the country now offer it. Here, then, is another classic case of culture adoption, culture negation and finally - the apex of this uniquely American phenomenon - culture renaming. These are the steps of American Cultural Feel-goodness. Just as with all good psychological and developmental processes, we're all mostly still in denial.
A burrito, by definition, is a wheat flour tortilla filled with whatever filling you feel like putting in it. Heck, by this definition you can make yourself a peanut butter and jelly burrito if you want.
The food technology we've adopted as the tortilla does not discriminate; eaters who feel guilty about what they put in their mouths do. But if calling it a wrap makes you feel better - like how ordering a double cheeseburger with bacon, a large order of fries and two apple pies is justified by the health-conscious choice to wash it down with a Diet Coke - then who is the burrito to stop you?
Alex McElroy & Ruben Casas
diversions@dailybarometer.com
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