La Palma Mexicatessen
La Palma makes its own nixtamal daily: dry corn cooked with lime and water, then ground wet into masa. The shop opened in 1953 and it sells that masa on to kitchens around the Bay. Order at the back and your burrito comes on a tortilla they just made.
Why go
The place is a grocery, a deli and a taqueria at once. The counter runs carnitas, chicharrón, chile verde, chile colorado and pollo en salsa ranchera. Shelves at the front carry tortilla presses, tamale pots and molcajetes, so you can leave with the equipment as well as the dinner.
La Palma makes its salsas, guacamole, tortillas and chips on site the same day. The shop opens six days a week and says it never runs out.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the chicharrón burrito, which Eater's burrito map names as the one to take here.3
- Order: the super with roasted chicken, its other pick.
- Order: the potato breakfast burrito, which Paolo Bicchieri picks out in his guide to the city's burrito styles.4
What locals & experts say
- Matt Tillquist, on Eater SF's Mission map:
Just as 24th Street defines the mission, La Palma defines 24th Street.
2 - Eater SF's burrito map calls this
where to find the freshest tortillas in the game
.3
Good to know
- Getting in: counter service, no bookings.
- Where: 2884 24th Street, in the Mission.
Verdict
should-visit — Get there before the counter shuts in the late afternoon. If you cook, buy masa on your way out.