Since the first Taco Task Force mission turned out to be so successful, we reconvened on January 3, 2010. Bill Esparza (Street Gourmet L.A.), Matthew Kang (Mattatouille), Javier Cabral (The Glutster) and Cathy Danh (gas•tron•o•my), her fiancé Vernon and I crisscrossed Los Angeles to determine the best birria taco in L.A.
There were certain factors we were interested in assessing at each stop, including the quality of the goat meat, the condiments/tortilla, the quality of the cooking and the overall flavor. This time, we voted to dispense with the oh-so-vague “authenticity” category, since Esparza and Cabral are the only members of the task force with extensive Mexican travel experience. Instead, we relied on some context courtesy of Mr. Esparza:
“We are doing goat birria from the heart of Mexico, Jalisco and Zacatecas. This birria is a dry chile adobo usually with ancho, guajillo, and cascabel; cumin, peppercorns, and cloves as a principal spicings; broiled tomatoes are used in the sauce.
The whole goat is usually roasted slowly in an oven, the drippings are blended with tomatoes to make a sauce that is added to the goat prior to serving. Chopped white onion and cilantro are added at the table and tacos made with fresh tortillas.
Authenticity-should be oven roasted, sauce prepared from drippings, served with oregano and chopped onions and homemade tortillas. Unlike baja fish tacos, the norm here are tortillas hecho a mano.”
Here’s my rundown, with interspersed scoresheets featuring Jo for Joshua, B for Bill, Ja for Javier, C for Cathy and her fiancé Vernon and M for Matthew. We rated each category using a 5 point scale.
1. Birrieria Chalio
3580 East 1st Street, Los Angeles, 323 268 5349
Grade of Key Ingredient: Jo 3.5, B 3.5, Ja 4, CV 3.5, M 3 AVERAGE 3.5/5
Condiment/Tortilla: Jo 3.5, B 3.5, Ja 4, CV 3, M 3 AVERAGE 3.4/5
Overall Flavor: Jo 3, B 3, Ja 4, CV 3, M 3.5 AVERAGE 3.3/5
Cooking: Jo 3.5, B 3, Ja 4, CV 3, M 3.5 AVERAGE 3.4/5
OVERALL BIRRIERIA CHALIO TACO SCORE: 3.4/5
2. Birrieria Guadalajara
1128 South Atlantic Boulevard, Los Angeles, 323 268 8885
Grade of Key Ingredient: Jo 1, B 1.5, Ja 1, CV 1.5, M 1.5 AVERAGE 1.3/5
Condiment/Tortilla: Jo 2, B 1, Ja 1.5, CV 0.5, M 1.5 AVERAGE 1.3/5
Overall Flavor: Jo 1, B 1, Ja 1, CV 1, M 1 AVERAGE 1/5
Cooking: Jo 0.5, B 1.5, Ja 1, CV 0.5, M 2 AVERAGE 1.1/5
OVERALL BIRRIERIA GUADALAJARA TACO SCORE: 1.175/5
3. Tepeque [CLOSED]
3249 East Gage Avenue, Huntington Park, 323 588 8350
Grade of Key Ingredient: Jo 4.5, B 4.5, Ja 4, CV 5, M 4.5 AVERAGE 4.5/5
Condiment/Tortilla: Jo 4.5, B 4, Ja 4, CV 4, M 4 AVERAGE 4.1/5
Overall Flavor: Jo 4, B 4, Ja 4, CV 5, M 4.5 AVERAGE 4.3/5
Cooking: Jo 4.5, B 5, Ja 4, CV 5, M 5 AVERAGE 4.7/5
OVERALL TEPEQUE TACO SCORE: 4.4/5
Blog Comments
Oscar Cisneros
November 28, 2012 at 11:59 AM
Thanks for putting together the list. My grandfather Manuel Cisneros started El Parian in 1963 and I literally grew up in the birreria so of course I am biased. Nothing beats the consome con tortillas. Actually i use to order a half order of carnitas with my birria and let the carnitas soak in the consome and that was the bomb.
I would order costillas(ribs) and espinazo(spinal cord) and remove the meat from the bones, place it in a tortilla slab some salsa, onion and cilantro and and dip it in the consome… nothing better than that….just some tips from someone who has birria ingrained in their DNA…
I would also recommend my uncles birrieria in Pomona…El Cabrito…It is really, really good….2055 South Reservoir Street Pomona, CA 91766 (909) 464-8091
Joshua Lurie
November 28, 2012 at 2:26 PM
Oscar,
Thanks a lot for your insights, and the El Cabrito recommendation. Salud.
Gadget news
July 9, 2010 at 10:32 AM
yummy foods..however sad to see the goat..
Joshua Lurie
July 9, 2010 at 10:36 AM
People aren’t always comfortable seeing the source of their food, or to even admit that meat comes from animals. Out of sight, out of mind, but not always.
Brian Garvin
June 8, 2010 at 12:10 AM
I love eating food like this. I live in Oceanside CA. and eat at Diegos a lot. They have the big crunchy Taco’s with real shredded beef. I don’t think I could ever go a week without eating there at least once.
LA’s Other Food Marathoners «
May 25, 2010 at 11:52 AM
[…] Food GPS, Mattatouille and Crew on the Birria Taco Task Force […]
nursing schools
April 12, 2010 at 5:59 PM
found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
strretgourmetla
February 8, 2010 at 10:42 AM
Bricia can handle like 10 stops in one day. Alright glutster, get on the potato tacos, I’ve got the barbacoa booted up and ready to go, no unknown quantities this time. And, a new find.
Teenage Glutster
February 4, 2010 at 1:38 PM
Not before we do potato tacos first 🙂
KCRW also wants in actually. As always, thanks for being the first to write and inspiring the rest of us to get on it!
see you around.
Joshua Lurie
February 4, 2010 at 1:41 PM
Potato tacos vs. Barbacoa? No contest, but we did discuss potato. How’s your scout going, Glutster?
Bricia
February 3, 2010 at 4:13 PM
seriously, this is great… I posted it on my FB ; ) — you know, us normal people, that’s what we have.. Facebook (Foodmarathon’s words)
I’m so in for barbacoa
Bricia
February 3, 2010 at 3:55 PM
I mean to say… “I want IN on the next taco task force”
Joshua Lurie
February 3, 2010 at 3:59 PM
Bricia,
Thanks for the feedback. You’re in for barbacoa.
Bricia
February 3, 2010 at 3:54 PM
By far, one of the best posts I’ve seen. I want it on the next taco task force..
Hobson's Choice
February 3, 2010 at 2:32 PM
I love Tepeque. I hope this post helps get them more attention. And I have never tried the goat at Flor del Rio. I will have to get out there as soon as possible. Thanks for the tip.
Joshua Lurie
February 3, 2010 at 3:29 PM
Hobson,
Glad to hear you’ve already discovered the wonders of Tepeque. Flor del Rio is also well worth a visit.