Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

It really depends on what you're looking for in a burrito. Do you like ones whose innards are very moist (Gordo's,) or do you want your burrito grilled after it's been filled (Cancun)? Do you like your meat to be marinaded before grilling (Papalote) or do you prefer the meats sans marinade before grilling (Pancho Villa)? Do you like your carnitas crispy (Tres Hermanos) or a little chewier (Zapata)? Do you need lots of bean options (whole, refried, black, or pinto) or are you fine with just pinto? I think you should try a whole bunch from different places and just start refining your burrito vision. My platonic ideal is a special carne asada or pollo asado from El Toro with black beans, hot salsa and sliced avocado.

Black and white bean salad with lime, corn and jalapeño

The celeri remoulade is a great idea! Clotilde's grated carrot and beet salad is also super French.

C) Los Angeles

sashapave: when I lived in SF I drank yamamotoyama genmaicha. I found it at markets on Clement, and also on Irving (west of 19th Ave.) Eden Organics also has a variety of genmaicha (Whole Foods, Andronico's.) If loose-leaf is more your bag, Adagio's genmaicha is not bad and they sell samples online so you don't have to commit to a lot.

I clean up as I go along so that I'm not stuck with a sink full of dirty dishes after the meal.

I was vegan until the day I could no longer resist the siren song of a poulet rôti in a Paris restaurant. It's been one slippery (and delicious!) slope back to being an omnivore.

It's a toss-up between bittersweet chocolate pots de crème, or Pierre Hermé's chocolate sablés.

When I was a kid, it was oj and warm pastries from Dianda's in San Francisco (pre-Tartine days, obviously.) Now that I'm a grownup, it's a cappuccino with toasted panettone.

Either!

I'm not giving a kitchen appliance as a gift this year, but last year I asked for, and received, a KitchenAid stand mixer. Even though it wasn't the type of present my mother likes to give, I use it at least 3 to 4 times a week, and I love it to pieces. Every time I bake something, I sing her praises, and that's more than I can say about the ugly sweaters, ugly jewelry, and bad dvds cluttering up the Guilt closet...

New York!