Tired of the same old Chipotle burritos and bowls? Looking to branch out from carne asada tacos with lettuce, cheese, and pico de gallo? Look no further than birria tacos. A product of the Tijuana-style dish birria de res, birria tacos offer a Mexican classic in a street-style American version!

The traditional birria de res dish contains slow-cooked beef, chicken, or goat marinated in dried chiles, vinegar, garlic, herbs, and spices. The meat is then cooked in a broth made with chicken or beef stock, cumin, dried oregano, spicy chile peppers, and other vegetables. In 2016, numerous food trucks in Los Angeles took this dish and spun it into birria tacos or “quesabirria”.

Birria tacos can be thought of as a ménage à trois between a taco, quesadilla, and birria de res. The idea is this: the same juicy, delicious stewed meat (commonly brisket or beef) of birria de res, stuffed in-between a fried corn tortilla, with melted oaxaca or chihuahua cheese, and a side broth for dipping. Onions, cilantro, and lime juice can be added as toppings (for acidity which complements the deep, rich broth). Grabbing a greasy, fried tortilla with savory meat, gooey cheese, and spicy flavors and dipping it in the rich birria de res-inspired broth is a wonderful guilty-pleasure that we must all indulge in.

Much of quesabirria’s diffusion across North American can be attributed to one man: Teddy Vasquez, and his taco truck – Teddy’s Red Tacos. Vasquez was the first to serve the quesabirria tacos with a birria de res-style broth for dipping. It was an instant hit. My first exposure to birria tacos came from a YouTube video about Vasquez which highlights his business and story: “The Birria Taco King of LA” from the channel Munchies. Vasquez has worked tirelessly to make a name for himself and birria tacos. Thanks to his efforts, birria tacos have even made their way to the Main Line; Rosa Mexicano in Suburban Square offers their own spin “Birria Quesatacos”.