Chefs Are Vying for Crunchwrap Supremacy

They're making them bigger, better, and spicier than Taco Bell ever could.

- MATTHEW SEDACCA

WHEN THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE Eugene Cleghorn opened his first full Mission-style burrito shop, Super Burrito (multiple locations; superburritonyc.com), in the Rockaways in 2020, he began running specials to help attract business during the slower winter months. Dozens of customers soon peppered his Instagram account with requests for a Crunchwrap Supreme dupe. “I really didn’t want to do a Taco Bell thing,” he says. “I’m trying to make this food that's very precious to who I am.” Cleghorn ignored and deleted the pleading messages for eight months before caving. “I was like, You know what? Give the people what they want.” When Super Burrito debuted its now-famous Dankwrap, the kitchen was slammed. It was the day’s best seller, and tickets rang in until closing. “We all kind of had a deer-in-the-headlights look because we were in this shit all day,” Cleghorn recalls. “There’s, like, a magic quality to this dish that attracts a lot of eyeballs and garners a ton of excitement.”