Welcome to L.A. TACO’s Birria Week! Birria in Los Angeles is limitless, with some birrierías open for close to 50 years. Even though there’s a heated debate between birria de res and chivo. AT L.A. TACO, we celebrate both, and the folks doing new things altogether. We’ll be exploring the many ways to find and eat birria in L.A. all week long, so make sure to check back every day this week.
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In Los Angeles, birria in the form of a taco, is a relatively new thing. Before beef became the norm, if you’re talking about birria in L.A., it was made with chivo.
That meant a comforting bowl of steamy consomé with bones jutting out, as if they’re trying to escape the bowl. Birria de chivo is what they eat in Jalisco, where my mom is from, and it’s a beautiful thing, transforming a gamey protein through the alchemy of adobo.
In my childhood, birria was served on styrofoam plates with a side of rice and beans or in a bowl of consomé. The only birria tacos that existed were the ones you made yourself with tortillas. Birria is often a communal experience, whether it’s a large format protein with a side of tortillas, or served on disposable plates at a family gathering. Birria is the great unifier. These birrierías have existed for many decades, destroying hangovers and unifying the people of L.A. for years to come.