El Farolito   

It's 2:45AM on Sunday morning, and the line snakes out the door of El Farolito. Mission locals chat in Spanish with the workers on the burrito assembly line as they wait. Glittery post- clubbers peruse the menu, asking "What's 'sesos'?" "'Sesos' is brains." Just by virtue of its 3AM closing time and Mission location, El Farolito draws a late-night cross section of San Francisco society that's fascinating to watch even if you don't happen to be hungry. Most people, though, come for the food; specifically, the meat: El Farolito wraps up the best carne asada (grilled steak) burrito in town. They also griddle a mean quesadilla suiza (tortilla with cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and meat) that could feed a family of four. The torta, a Mexican sandwich of hollowed-out French bread, beans, lettuce, sour cream and meat, is also very large and very good; try it with the marinated, barbecued al pastor pork. The flesh-heavy menu says it all: This is not the best place for a veggie burrito, unless you're here and it's late at night. Then, like its name (which means "lighthouse"), El Farolito shines like a beacon in the outer Mission.