Sandwiches vs. burritos

Jason Segel dissed burritos on Twitter back in 2011. “Sandwiches are better than burritos,” he tweeted. He got a bunch of backlash—deservedly so, in my opinion—and had to quit using Twitter for a while. On Tuesday night, he discussed the issue on the Late Show With David Letterman and tried to back up his point by sharing his (rather impressive) list of five favorite sandwiches. Watch the video here (Warning: Letterman goes off a weird tangent praising Taco Bell), then continue reading analysis after the jump:


While I agree that Segel’s right about some burritos being in danger of becoming wraps, he’s wrong about burrito diversity. Just ask ¡Ask a Mexican! columnist Gustavo Arellano. Last month in a blog post for OC Weekly (of which he’s editor) he broke down 15 different styles of burritos available in the United States (14, if you don’t want to count the wrap). Arellano, who’s also a member of FiveThirtyEight’s America’s Best Burrito competition selection committee, told the competition’s “burrito correspondent” Anna Maria Barry-Jester last month that “the level of diversity of burritos is mind-blowing.”

Speaking of the America’s Best Burrito competition, thanks entirely to scheduling, Sacramento eatery Chando’s Tacos has fared pretty well so far. Technically, it’s outlasted 36 other burrito places that have already been eliminated on the way from cutting from 64 burrito-selling establishments down to the “knockout” round of 16—all while just waiting in the wings. In World Cup terms, it’s survived merely by not yet having played its group stage game.

Full disclosure: I just finished eating a sandwich before writing this blog post.

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