Rainy Day Birrias #12 & 35

Positively 59th Street

I've been around the area around Kedzie and California between 59th and 47th many times on the way to the grocery store I frequent. There are many many, many Mexican eateries I've noticed and I'm sure there are many many, many more still in the vicinity. Typically these have been places I've only seen – from the large garish bright yellow building of La Condessa to teeny storefronts barely larger than the windows that display their signs, to sometimes (depending on the time of the day) tamale cart setups. Most of these we haven't sampled for a number of reasons, some good, some not so good. Perhaps the main reason is that out of habit we rarely venture on a grocery run on an empty stomach. That and the fact that the first few experiences were less than ordinary have kept us from more extensive exploration of the area.
Still, it is hard to keep passing by and not wondering, and having wondered, not putting that demon to rest. As I mentioned, there are many places that will catch your eye – some with names familiar – La Quebrada, La Casa de Samuel, some like Las Brisas, with its come hither glow of signs neon, "Tortillas hechos a manos," some like Taqueria Vallarta with screaming giant black letters on a white sign that stretches across the top of the whole building, "TACOS DE CABEZA AL VAPOR."

It was this sign that led us to plan a stop for Taqueria Vallarta (this was a long while ago). The trio of salsas served with the fresh tortilla chips was excellent, but the rest of the food didn't particularly live up to that initial promise. The cabeza tacos were good, some crisp bits, greasy in a good way, but still somewhat ordinary. Consciously or not, these did not compare that well to the ones I had on Maxwell street (even longer ago). The chorizo tacos were also not more than decent. Still the grilled jalapenos and knob onions kindled enough enthusiasm to make us go back, even though brain tacos were de-listed. Our second trip and poor lengua tacos (chopped up into small bits) and lackluster (pork) al pastor has kept us away.

A few months ago, the newly painted side of a building advertising birrieria Lopez caught my eye (pic below). Finally, we made it last night – only to find them closing and out of any food. Weekends are better and they stock more, the very friendly and enthusiastic owner (?) said. I do not know Spanish, except for a few basic words and grunts and the names of edible animals and animal parts, but gathered that at seven in the morning the next day five goats worth of birria would be available.

We left hungry – but knew that in that area there was plenty of backup. Las Brisas then. After finally parking we went in. This is a much larger place – a restaurant proper, with a banquet hall in the rear. The menu is quite extensive and they serve several beers and mixed drinks as well. I suppose we should have ordered the seafood – there were quite a few choices including oysters on the half shell and shrimp cocktail among many others, but ended up getting a plate of cecina 'guerrero' ($9.99) – thinly sliced grilled beef served with refried beans, guacamole (nice - fresh and chunky) and freshly made corn tortillas. The huitlacoche quesadilla was good (my first taste of huitlacoche), a bit sweet from the corn and to me a bit cinnamon-y, but nothing I'd go out of my way for. I don't know if this was ordinary preparation or my response to huitlacoche, of course I'll have to sample it elsewhere to tell. The lengua taco and carne asada taco were non-descript. A2Fay had a big glass of tamarindo (fresh, not bottled jarritos) to drink which she enjoyed although it was too sweet. With the beer I had the total w/ tax was about $21. We left extremely full (so much so that we skipped the grocery run), but decided that we had many more places to eat at before we would return.

This morning, the thoughts of fresh birria* stirred us up. The wet overcast weather only added to the lure. Alright then, birria for breakfast and then the groceries.
We returned along 59th St. to Birrieria Lopez


Inside, BL is a small grocery store with shelves and sliding glass door refrigerator on one side and the kitchen and counter at the back. The menu is limited to cabeza barbacoa de res, lengua, menudo and the house specialty, birria de chivo. (They no longer serve chicken). They do a fair amount of takeout (and catering from their business card) – small plastic tubs with their name were stacked at the back of the kitchen. Behind the counter, I spied an adjoining room with huge vats. That must have been the source of the warm deep comforting smell that greeted us as we entered. When we ordered the birria, we were asked how much by weight* we wanted, but we indicated we wanted a bowl of birria and a couple of cabeza tacos and that we were eating in. A few minutes pass and our order is brought to the table:

Birria de Chivo with cabeza barbacoa de res taco on the right


This was one of the finest broth and meat dishes I have had. The (goat) meat was moist and tender and the broth, light, slightly sour was incredibly flavorful with herbs and fresh onions mixed in. The bowl was served with a stack of warm almost steaming corn tortillas and two squeeze bottles of salsa – one green tomatillo (which we didn't touch) and a red salsa which we were told was very spicy, but was mildly hot (YMMV) with roasted peppers and tomatoes. I tried a bit of the red salsa with the birria but the broth and meat was perfect on its own – we could even have done without the squeeze of lime we added. This is a place I'll go back to again – and next time I want to try the menudo*.

The cabeza taco was in one word, perfect. Soft, soft, melt in the mouth beefiness nestled in a soft corn tortilla. A2Fay described it as marrow like. If she had let me have more than a couple of bites, I would offer a better and more mellifluous description. As it was, I ended up with a greater proportion of the birria with no complaints. After this mornings cabeza taco, the Maxwell street ones are a rapidly eroding memory***.

While I do see myself eating out in this area more, I doubt I'll end up sampling too many places. Birrieria Lopez is where I'll end up****.

* Birrieria Reyes de Ocotlán remains high on the list of places I have yet to visit. I cannot therefore offer a comparison of the birria. I do know that I enjoyed the birria and it made as much of an impression on me as the menudo at NuevoLeon

** Takeout: The birria is $6.99/lb – that's for the meat and comes with a 16 oz cup of the broth. Cabeza is similarly priced and lengua (IIRC) is $7.99

***I should note that this cabeza taco was different from the MaxSt. Ones, in that there were no crispy burnt bits – this version containing essentially steamed meat

****Note to self (and others): call first, especially on weekday evenings to make sure they aren't sold out.



Taqueria Vallarta
2757 W. 59th,
Chicago
(773) 776-9030

Las Brisas del Mar
3207 W. 51st St.
Chicago
(773) 434-5040
cc accepted

Birrieria Lopez
2705 W. 59th St.
Chicago, IL 60629
(773 476-9026

My man, that is the best looking bowl of birria I have seen. Thanks for the heads up.

Speaking of newer (to us, at least) Mexican and Central American, I noticed that Lawrenece near Kedzie now has a rather sterile looking pupuseria and a newish Mexican place that really, really wants you to know they specialize in authentic al pastor based on the signage. Anyone know anything about these?

Wish I had more details, but you know how overwhelming that neighborhood is. A million ethnicities and a million storefronts changing as you blink.

sazerac,

What an excellent breakfast you portray! I guess when you're lost in the rain near Lopez, it's the thing to have.

Please pardon my ignorance, but are those potatoes floating in your birria?

Hammond

I guess the dampness put a lot of us in the mood for birria yesterday .

A few weeks ago, I was commenting with Ed Fisher about un-explored Mexican on Cermak in Cicero/Berwyn. Yesterday at lunch, I resolved to try a new one. While I previously noted so many places that seemed to appeal, yesterday I could barely find one. Finally, the charmingly named El Cabrito called out to me just West of Central in Cicero (or a block away from Klas in LTH language).

I got the house speciality, birria con consome. It was a very meaty chunk of goat, not a scary fatty version that my wife detests. Someone I know has consummed 20 versions of a something like birria and can tell the nuances of these bowls. I just do not eat/drink enough birria to tell you where this ranks in the pantheon beyond saying I enjoyed it very much.

sazerac wrote:Birrieria Lopez

Sazerac,

Terrific looking bowl of birria, truly the breakfast of champions!

While Birrieria Reyes de Ocotlán remains the best birria I've had in quite a while, Birriera Lopez is certainly going to be my next bowl.

Vital, I finally ate at Birrieria Jalisco, from our long ago Western-A-Thon scouting mission. Quite good, though not up to Birrieria Reyes de Ocotlán standards.

Birrieria Jalisco (1.18.06)


We should have eaten at Birriera Jalisco when we had a chance, as they seem to have changed owners.

Birriera Jalisco (2.26.03)


Enjoy,
Gary

Birrieria Jalisco
2462 W 47th St
Chicago, IL 60632
773-254-6203

David Hammond wrote: What an excellent breakfast you portray! I guess when you're lost in the rain near Lopez, it's the thing to have.

Please pardon my ignorance, but are those potatoes floating in your birria?

It was a damn fine breakfast indeed! It's the thing to have even if you are not lost, it's not raining and you aren't (yet) near Lopez.

The floating bits are onions and at the near (right) side of the bowl are small bits of fat. The ones visible were about the only bits of fat (understandably they all float), so that the birria wasn't overly 'fatty'. What bits of fat were there, were delicioso (I wouldn't have minded a bit more)!

G Wiv wrote:Birrieria Jalisco (1.18.06)

Gary,
A2Fay commends whoever it is in your picture on their patience, lime-in-hand cocked and ready for the birria! (She can relate)

Everybody must get birria-ed!

Birrieria Estilo Jalisco has moved to the Lyndale/Western intersection, roughly across the street from Think Cafe and Honey One, making this stretch of Western quite the food destination.

The Birrieria moved to 2045 to 2230 N. Western over the holidays. They moved the same orange plastic benches and tables from the old location. They still don't speak much English, but were friendlier than at their old location (where they used to look at us like we were crazy).

At the old location, all we could figure out is that they had two things: tacos and platos of birria. Now they have a menu (one menu, by the cash register) which lists a few more offerings.

Birria Taco 1.50
Cabeza Taco 1.50
Lengua Taco 2.00

Plato Grande 7.00
Plato Chico 6.00
1 lb Maczia 12.00
1 lb Chivo 9.00

Whole Goat (serves 40) 200.00
Half Goat (serves 20) 100.00

We are looking forward to trying the full list including the whole goat.

For tonight I ordered with our usual birria tacos and also a plato grande.
(not our usual, but I had a cold and really wanted the broth).



The tacos are a nice portion of meat. But now that I have tried the plato I can never go back to the taco. The birria was very goaty, in a nice rich broth. (A grande is about a quart in a takeout container.) There was a bit more fat on this meat than in other people's descriptions which is fine with me. I should have garnished it with the cilantro and onions before I took the pic and it probably would have looked better -- oh well, it is all gone now! It also came with a stack of torillas.

We are looking forward to the cabeza tacos and will report if they are steamed or crunchy.

We are never sure of the hours or days that the birrieria will be open.
It was open tonight (Tuesday) at 5:30. Not sure if it will be open Mondays, but if you find yourself in front of Honey One on a Monday when it is closed, look across the street and see if the light is on here.

We had lunch at Birrieria Estilo Jalisco today. They now have little menu cards on the tables but still no hours posted. The young waitress didn't speak much English but was quite friendly. They did not have either the horchata or jamaica shown on the menu.

My wife and I each had the plato chico, which was a nice size for us at lunch. She slipped almost half her goat into one of the plastic bags she always carries when we go on one of our varied shopping trips. I believe that some vegetable soup laced with goat is in our near future.

sazerac,
I had the pleasure of lunching at Birrieria Lopez today and I found it just as you described it: rich with bits of fat, slightly sour, pungent with fresh cilantro, and an overall well balanced broth. It went well with the tortillas (from Tortilleria Atotonilco, my favorite store-bought tortillas) and a barbacoa taco.

The proprietors were friendly and helpful. Nice place. Nice bowl of goat. Nice reccomendation. Thanks.



Best,
Michael

Sazerac:

We (A, L y yo) also stopped by Birrieria Lopez and I agree that their version is quite tasty, as was the lengua. For me, however, the real highlight of the meal was the barbacoa (beef cheek) taco which was to my taste quite delicious. And the Lopez family was indeed most friendly. If I'm in the neighbourhood, I will definitely stop by again, especially for more of that barbacoa.

EC: Was that you sitting over by the cashier's post with a couple of empty bowls in front of you? Qué mundo pequeño!



Antonius

Antonius wrote:EC: Was that you sitting over by the cashier's post with a couple of empty bowls in front of you?

Creo que sí. Tenía muy hambre.

Best,
Michael

EC, A, the Saturday chill would have been perfect for birria - I was almost tempted to head thataways. Next time I'm there I intend to try the menudo as well as more of the tacos. Last time I only got a couple of small bites out of one.

If you are headed South on Kedzie towards BL, you'll pass Pete's Fresh Market (47th and Kedzie; also another at 57th/Kedzie – the former is newer, more organized and stocks better stuff IMO) – which is my preferred supermarket. As soon as you walk in, you'll be assaulted by the aromas from the pastries and breads (see why I don't go there on an empty stomach). They have a decent hot foods section – the barbacoa is decent (chivo sometimes) and the salsa verde de res (I think that's what it's called – essentially beef strips in a green tomatillo sauce) when they have it is very good. The meat section has been carrying goat for over six months now and they also make their own chorizo (I haven't tried it yet).
They carry the full range of El Yucateco sauces – I should try the jalapeño – I've really enjoyed the kutbil-ik de.

Update on Birrieria Estilo Jalisco at the Lyndale/Western intersection:
we tried both the goat head and tongue tacos.

Both were very tasty. The head was gamey and moist. A bit stronger tasting than usual goat tacos. Very nice, but not the crunchy variety if that's what you are looking for.

The tongue tasted more obviously like an organ meat, soft spongey texture. I liked the taste but for some reason the "tongue eating tongue" homonculous got into my head (all problems were mental) and I had to hand off the rest of my half to griffin. I usually have no trouble with adventurous meats.

On this same day we had sampled La Pasadita's Carne Asada taco at one of the 3 outposts on the corner of Ashland and Division. We chose the old garage-like building on the east side of Ashland, where they grill the steaks first, then chop, which ensures a nice mix of seared outer and juicy inner parts of the steak. This was great, and cost 1.85.

Also on the same day we tried the Taco de Lomo at Arturos -- which was pricier at 2.50. It appears on a panel of the menu we don't usually look at (its under specialities instead of tacos). They cook the meat in pieces which leads to crunchy (but less juicy) steak. The tenderloin is a nicer cut of meat, so probably the reason for the higher price. Grilled onions are a nice addition. Head to head, I preferred the La Pasadita Carne Asada as a steak taco.

We also got the Al Pastor taco at Arturos. Very tasty and crunchy and could fulfill a gyro craving for me. I can't attempt to compare across the Estilo Jalisco goat heat, Arturo's al pastor and (East) Pasadita's carne asada. All were strong examples of their form.

Still not sure of the hours at Estilo Jalisco. They were closed Wed around 5:30 when I drove by, but open yesterday (Friday) mid-day.