Beach Burrito Bliss - by Karen Billing - Del Mar Times

It all started with a tortilla. In 1963, San Diegan Roberto Robledo opened a tortilla factory in San Ysidro just to make ends meet. His sons filled the baskets on their bicycles full of tortillas and sold them door-to-door.

With the success of the tortillas, came the creation of the Roberto's burrito. A carne asada burrito sold for 10 cents at Roberto's first restaurant, opened in 1964.

Today, the Roberto's tradition carries on with several San Diego locations, including the beachgoer's paradise off Carmel Valley Road, owned by Roberto's son, Rolando, and his wife Cecilia. People start feasting on those filling breakfast burritos at 9 a.m. The restaurant stays jam-packed all day long with diners eating out on the porch and views of the beach in the near distance.

Most everyone has sand still stuck between their toes."You can't really beat the spot; it's just right off the beach," said Roberto's customer Jon Douglas of the Carmel Valley restaurant that has been a fixture there for 27 years.

Roberto's now has other restaurants at Encinitas, Leucadia, Solana Beach and Mission Valley, which opened in late spring.