Cofax Coffee Chorizo Burrito

Burrito Los Angeles

Despite what FiveThirtyEight pundits claim, many L.A. burritos are far superior to San Francisco’s sloppy, over-sized Mission burritos. A new entry in the burrito pantheon resides at Cofax Coffee, a Fairfax coffee bar from Jason Bernstein and James Starr, which simultaneously honors legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax while serving a serious burrito.

The Dodger theme is clear in the name, and also the color scheme, where Dodger blue graces the awning. Inside, Dodger bobbleheads and Stumptown coffee bags accent white subway tile, blonde wood counters and benches. Most people were burrito-ing during my visit.

Chef Noah Galuten, who also works at sister establishments Bludso’s Bar & Que, The Golden State and Prime Pizza, developed the Chorizo Burrito ($6.50), which is pleasantly compact. A supple griddled flour tortilla contains a smoky potato and tomatillo hash, which bathes in wood smoke at Bludso’s before joining chorizo, onions and peppers in a fine stir fry. Scrambled egg, pico de gallo and crunchy crushed tortilla chips complete the savory picture. Avocado can also join the party if you invest an extra buck. Either way, the burrito comes foil-wrapped, then wrapped again in canary yellow paper, along with a couple containers of house-made salsa. Salsa verde, which is on the tangier side, touts smoked tomatillos, garlic, and charred serrano chiles. A spicier Salsa rojo combines the collective talents of pan-fried chile de arbol, garlic, and charred tomatoes. Both salsas were on the thin side, which would have bothered me more in a taco. In a burrito, the salsa just seeps into the flavorful core.

Another enthusiastic burrito eater, who was sitting by me on the bench, asked, “Is this not the best thing you’ve ever eaten?” As I told him, “Not exactly, but it is a very good burrito.”

Address: 440 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036
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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

I gave these guys another shot based on your daps, and I’m so glad I did because I love, love, loved my chorizo breakfast burrito with avocado.

The textural contrast of the chips was much more pronounced this time, probably because I ate my burrito there instead of taking it to go. The potatoes also tasted smokier and I used the salsa verde this time instead of the roja.

Anyway, much love to the excellent chorizo breakfast burrito at Tacos Por Favor, but Cofax’s creation may very well be the best breakfast burrito I’ve had in LA after all.

Bigmouth, Glad to hear you gave Cofax another chance, and enjoyed their burrito so much. I’ve got a dineLA burrito story coming out soon. Keep an eye out and let me know what you think.

This is one time I gotta strenuously disagree with you, Josh.

LA burritos are pretty underwhelming imo. We have great authentic Mexican, great tacos, and great tortas, but we just aren’t a burrito town. Certainly by comparison to SF, SD, Chi, etc. In fact, I’ve had burritos in Boston that are better than most of the burritos I’ve had in LA.

The Cofax chorizo burrito is very tasty but it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. I think I’d rather have a plain old chorizo breakfast burrito from Tacos Por Favor.

PS: What are some of your favorite LA burritos?

Bigmouth, Sure, it’s possible to get good burritos anywhere, but the San Francisco style just doesn’t work for me. Maybe I have a good impression of L.A. burritos because I’ve tried so many compared to other cities? I’m actually working on a burrito story for dineLA at the moment which will hopefully help to change your mind. I’ve had some great ones, and will add Tacos Por Favor to my to-try list. Thanks.

Awesome — I look forward to it! TPF’s burritos generally aren’t anything to write home about, but the chorizo breakfast burrito is quite tasty with their salsa roja. My go-to burrito is the chicken border burrito (spicy) at Eduardo’s Border Grill on Westwood.

Bigmouth. Thanks for the Eduardo’s tip. I drive by that strip mall all the time, but have never been.

PS: I’m particularly interested if you have any recs for great chicken burritos (whether grilled or stewed). One of the things that bums me out about LA taquerias is chicken always seems like a dry, unmarinated afterthought. I would kill for a place like Taqueria San Jose or Papalote, which marinates its chicken like al pastor.

Just recently discovered these. They are awesome!

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