Customers line up early at Birrieria Barajas in East Compton for plato birria de chivo con pistola, a bowl of spicy, fall-off-the-bone goat meat bathed in consomé.
(Andrea D’Agosto / For The Times)
8 favorite birria and barbacoa tacos to try from the 101 Best Tacos guide
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You’ll find a taco truck, puesto or taqueria on just about every corner in L.A. The ability to grab a variety of tacos — mariscos, al pastor, carne asada, veggie and creative, non-traditional options — at the drop of a dime can disguise the reality: Taqueros and taqueras spend days preparing and cooking down meats and making salsas before the folded bites are eventually handed over in fresh tortillas to hungry patrons.
Get to know Los Angeles through the tacos that bring it to life. From restaurants to trucks to carts and more, here’s 101 of the city’s best.
Lines form at birria and barbacoa stands as the sun rises, but cooks set up hours beforehand, patiently roasting meat and stirring pots of rich consomé. In Arleta, one fourth-generation taquero raises his own lamb on a strict diet of alfalfa and cracked corn, then spit-roasts it in a pit to achieve maximum flavor and tenderness.
From smoky Jalisco-style goat birria to Tijuana-inspired birria de res and Hidalgo-influenced lamb barbacoa, here are eight of our favorite birria and barbacoa tacos from the 101 Best Tacos guide.
Showing Places
(Oscar Mendoza / For The Times)
Birria queso taco at Saucy Chick Goat Mafia
East Pasadena Goat birria Dine In $
Juan Garcia and his family have origins in Jalisco, the birthplace of birria. There, making the long-simmered dish with goat is all but law. Garcia interprets a recipe tracing back to his great-great-grandfather: It involves steaming the meat first before it melds over low heat with spices that include dried and smoked chiles, ginger, chocolate, cinnamon, garlic, black pepper and often, juice from the oranges of one of his uncle’s trees. It stands out as extraordinary even in a town rife with birria. As a taco, the chopped mix of ropy-slick textures bonds to a corn tortilla via melted Monterey Jack. The presence of cheese manages to amplify the birria’s smokier, brighter tones, so by all means indulge. Find Garcia’s masterwork in two locations: on Sundays as a vendor at Smorgasburg L.A., and Tuesday through Saturday at the Pasadena restaurant that serves both the specialties of Goat Mafia and the Indian-Mexican mashups of fellow Smorgasburg regulars Saucy Chick Rotisserie.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Taco plato at Birria El Jaliciense
Boyle Heights Goat birria Puesto $
You’ll probably smell the succulent roast goat from blocks away before Birria El Jaliciense slides into view. The Ramirez family’s Saturday-only sidewalk operation started out serving tacos and platos made from one goat each week, and due to popularity, scaled up to three. Family members roast the meat for seven to eight hours, scenting it with a rub of garlic, onion, black pepper, cloves and other spices. Their consomé combines the chivo pan drippings with tomato, garlic and onion, and simmers away in a large pot during service. The family begins preparing at 5 a.m. the day before, and arrives in Boyle Heights early on Saturday mornings to fire up the oven where the morsels of goat gain a golden hue and crispy edges. There are tacos dorados, queso tacos and soft, straightforward tacos filled with the juicy, tender goat in light sauce, and they’re all worth ordering. But the best way to taste the robust, lightly gamey flavor of the meat is plato style, where various cuts — such as ribs or shredded meat — come with a side of warm tortillas to assemble your own tacos. The most popular plate is the No. 1, the surtida en plato with consomé, which is Jalisco-style chivo in an ode to patriarch Hector Ramirez’s hometown. Hector and his family begin selling around 8 a.m. and continue until the chivo is all gone. Come early and hungry.
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(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
Goat birria tacos at El Parian Restaurant
Pico-Union Goat birria Dine In $
The Pico-Union neighborhood that houses El Parian has changed immensely since The Times’ late restaurant critic Jonathan Gold first reviewed the restaurant in 1990. El Parian might even appear shuttered at first glance, with wrought-iron box cages over its street-facing windows and door. But enter through the parking lot and you’ll find a preserved interior with the same decor that Gold described: a colorful painted map of Mexico along one wall, brick-tile flooring and rows of refrigerators stocked with Mexican beer.
The restaurant opened in 1968, and its signature dish is still Jalisco-style goat birria, available by the pound. It comes bobbing in a bowl of ruddy consomé with handmade tortillas, chopped white onion and cilantro sprigs on the side. The goat is earthy, only slightly gamey and so tender that it practically dissolves in your mouth. The tortillas are thick and chewy enough to stand up to a generous serving of the birria. The consomé packs enough flavor to drink on its own. I preferred topping my tacos with the chunky red salsa served with complimentary tortilla chips over the bottled option that arrived with my plate.
The restaurant opened in 1968, and its signature dish is still Jalisco-style goat birria, available by the pound. It comes bobbing in a bowl of ruddy consomé with handmade tortillas, chopped white onion and cilantro sprigs on the side. The goat is earthy, only slightly gamey and so tender that it practically dissolves in your mouth. The tortillas are thick and chewy enough to stand up to a generous serving of the birria. The consomé packs enough flavor to drink on its own. I preferred topping my tacos with the chunky red salsa served with complimentary tortilla chips over the bottled option that arrived with my plate.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
Goat birria quesataco at Tacos Y Birria La Unica
Mid-City Goat birria Food Truck $
I would never turn down a beef birria taco from the Tacos y Birria la Unica truck, but for that distinct, pure animal funk, there’s only goat. The meat is stewed until the strands are limp, then nestled into a crisp, bubbly shell cushioned with a glob of melted cheese. The accompanying Styrofoam cup of consomé is tinged with cinnamon and clove and cluttered with stray bits of goat. A squirt of the red salsa powers through the richness of the added cheese. There is only one way to describe the state I find myself in mid-goat birria quesataco with my chin glistening with consomé and my mouth full of crunch, meat juice and cheese. Feral. When you leave, there should be a faint orange rim around your mouth and a graveyard of red-stained napkins to pile into the trash bin. The truck in Mid-City is preferred for personal geographic reasons, but the one that parks in Boyle Heights is just as stellar.
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(Daniel Hernandez / Los Angeles Times)
Birria de res taco at Teddy’s Red Tacos
Venice Beef birria Dine In $
One of the most compelling taquero origin stories in L.A. is that of Teddy Vazquez’s role in helping establish the city’s current obsession with Tijuana-style birria de res. Vazquez, who picked up the style while working in TJ, famously started out by hiding his birria in his car trunk while driving a ride-share, allowing the cinnamon-y scent of the dish to waft toward his passengers. One thing led to another, and by 2018, Teddy’s Red Tacos was born as a truck parked on the phantom train tracks of Slauson Avenue. That truck has remained as Teddy’s expanded into a network of 10 locations. The rapid growth has resulted in inconsistent quality at some of the spots. But in Venice, Teddy’s birria and his consomé-dipped “red” tortillas feel almost re-articulated. Reacquaint yourself here, where locals are proud of their Teddy’s, and lines are long on weekends. A few tacos and an agua fresca on the patio are a perfect cap to a Venice beach day.
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(Andrea D’Agosto / For The Times)
Lamb barbacoa taco at Barbacoa Ramirez
Arleta Lamb Puesto $
Lamb, when slow-roasted in a pit in the ground, sparks an animalistic instinct in the carnivore’s soul. One bite of glistening meat wrapped in earthy corn tortilla evokes the taste of a morning at the rancho in the highlands of Mexico. This experience is plentiful with Barbacoa Ramirez, set up under a tarp on weekend mornings near the Arleta DMV. Look for the taqueros wearing shirts reflecting the Ramirez family’s roots to the town of Atotonilco El Grande, Hidalgo. These tacos, with freshly hand-made tortillas, are a prize of craftsmanship and possibly the finest barbacoa to be found in Southern California. Why? It’s in the unyielding devotion of Gonzalo Ramirez, a fourth-generation master in the Hidalgo style who raises and butchers his own lambs in the Central Valley, feeding them only alfalfa and cracked corn. Enjoy the barbacoa also as a hearty consomé, as pancita, or ask for a taco of moronga, lamb blood sausage unlike any I’ve ever tasted, seasoned with loads of oregano, chiles and onion by an Hidalguense sheep farmer in L.A. An unexpected masterpiece.
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(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
Quesataco rojo at Tamales Elena Y Antojitos
Watts Barbacoa Food Truck $
As the name suggests, many head to this family-run food truck for husk-wrapped tamales packed with red pork, spicy green chicken, cheese and jalapeño, with sweet options such as pineapple and strawberry on the weekends. But don’t miss out on tacos, prepared with the same level of care and expertise. After opening the city’s only restaurant dedicated to Afro Mexican culinary traditions that trace back to La Costa Chica in Guerrero state, chef-owner Maria Elena Lorenzo has since downsized to a truck that parks in Watts. The quesatacos feature fried and folded corn tortillas stuffed with shredded beef barbacoa that drips consomé, gooey cheese, chopped cilantro and raw white onion — squeeze a wedge of lime on top for a bite that bounces among crunchy, fatty, rich and acidic. The street tacos are similarly addictive, with the usual carne asada and pollo offered alongside cuts of delicate cachete and nubbly cabeza. Tied baggies of salsa are provided alongside chile, limes and rounds of cucumber, but make sure you add a cup of thick, rust-hued consomé that bobs with bright cilantro leaves and diced onions for dipping before every bite. And if you’re stopping by during the summer when pescadillas — deep-fried fish tacos — are on the menu, add a couple to your order.
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(Andrea D’Agosto / For The Times)
Birria de chivo taco at Birrieria Barajas
East Compton Goat birria Puesto $
Robert Barajas Jr. wakes up every morning at 2 a.m. to start making birria horneada — “ovened,” he says. “We used to make it in the ground, now we use conventional ovens in order to have that crispy taste.” It is never simmered, adds Barajas. His father started the business several years ago, serving birria de chivo much the way the family has been making it for three generations in Tecalitlán, Jalisco. Birrieria Barajas opened first as a puesto on Compton Boulevard and then launched a truck across the street, parked in front of Eddie’s Liquor every day but Monday, beginning at 6:30 a.m.
“When we started we wouldn’t even sell half a goat,” Barajas says. “By word of mouth and faith we started to get going week by week. There are a lot of people that make birria. But it has to be goat, and it’s supposed to have your special mole, a kind of rub, your own recipe. Maybe that’s why we have good clientele, because we make the rub, everything, every day.”
The most popular order is the plato birria de chivo con pistola, a bowl of the spicy, fall-off-the-bone goat meat bathed in consomé that comes with a shank and tortillas, onions, cilantro, radishes, chiles and lime wedges for composing your own tacos. Of course there are regular tacos, and there are tacos dorados, folded and fried, with cheese if you want quesabirria. Every order comes with a complimentary small fried bean taco, and the beans are a recipe from Barajas’ grandmother, who died earlier this year. “My grandmother told my dad to ‘give customers a nice gesture,’” Barajas says. And once a month Barajas Sr. still prepares montalayo, a fried ball of goat stomach with sausage-like tripe stuffing; order it chopped into a taco.
“When we started we wouldn’t even sell half a goat,” Barajas says. “By word of mouth and faith we started to get going week by week. There are a lot of people that make birria. But it has to be goat, and it’s supposed to have your special mole, a kind of rub, your own recipe. Maybe that’s why we have good clientele, because we make the rub, everything, every day.”
The most popular order is the plato birria de chivo con pistola, a bowl of the spicy, fall-off-the-bone goat meat bathed in consomé that comes with a shank and tortillas, onions, cilantro, radishes, chiles and lime wedges for composing your own tacos. Of course there are regular tacos, and there are tacos dorados, folded and fried, with cheese if you want quesabirria. Every order comes with a complimentary small fried bean taco, and the beans are a recipe from Barajas’ grandmother, who died earlier this year. “My grandmother told my dad to ‘give customers a nice gesture,’” Barajas says. And once a month Barajas Sr. still prepares montalayo, a fried ball of goat stomach with sausage-like tripe stuffing; order it chopped into a taco.
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