2019 James Beard Semifinalist in the category of Outstanding Service.

Sula has a fantastic piece at medium.com that chronicles a trip he made with Juan and Jonathan last summer to Juan's hometown of La Barca . . .

at medium.com, Mike Sula wrote:I basked in this warmth in its ancestral home last summer, walking with Juan from his old house in La Barca to the mercado, a stroll that would’ve taken a fraction of the time if he didn’t stop and chat with nearly everyone he encountered. From Ambrosio at the corner store and the shoeshine guy in the zocalo, to the birrerios that operate on the perimeter of the market, they all knew him as a kid; his dad was a well-known professional boxer and baseball player. “I couldn’t get away with anything,” he says.

But it’s inside the market where Juan, as an adult apprentice, learned his trade. Like Birreria Zaragoza, Birreria Miguel is a family operation, led by 64-year-old Miguel Segura, who stables his goats in a pen behind the killing floor adjacent to his home.

We arrived there one afternoon to observe the process, which included building the Encino oak wood fires in conical clay ovens, butchering goats, salting the meat, rubbing it with brick-red mole, and wrapping it in maguey leaves. The chivo was stacked in the oven, sealed with a thick, layer of wet, gray earth. The next morning, the meat was taken out of the oven, wrapped in butcher paper, and trucked to the mercado.

I Effing Love This Restaurant: Birrieria Zaragoza in Chicago

=R=

I stopped by Zaragoza and was gifted a quesabirria taco. I ate it in the car in about 30 seconds. As expected, it was fantastic. In addition, I got two to go which came with all of the traditional Zaragoza accompaniments (including consomme) and I had them for breakfast yesterday. What could be better than their birria, just made tortilla and cheese grilled for a bit?

Going to have to return for more asap.

deesher wrote:I stopped by Zaragoza and was gifted a quesabirria taco.

Quesabirria are the Chickenman of tacos! "He's everywhere! He's everywhere!"

That said, its time to fire up the AMC Pacer and head over to Zaragoza.

G Wiv wrote:

deesher wrote:I stopped by Zaragoza and was gifted a quesabirria taco.

Quesabirria are the Chickenman of tacos! "He's everywhere! He's everywhere!"

That said, its time to fire up the AMC Pacer and head over to Zaragoza.

Gary,

You know I'm always driven by FOMO on the latest food trends. Really glad to have learned of this one!

deesher wrote:I stopped by Zaragoza and was gifted a quesabirria taco. I ate it in the car in about 30 seconds. As expected, it was fantastic. In addition, I got two to go which came with all of the traditional Zaragoza accompaniments (including consomme) and I had them for breakfast yesterday. What could be better than their birria, just made tortilla and cheese grilled for a bit?

Going to have to return for more asap.

Are these basically like their quesadillas with birria (absolutely nothing wrong with that!) or are they dunking them in the red grease and crisping them up on the griddle?

I've been wondering if our birria royalty would get in this game.

Jefe wrote:Are these basically like their quesadillas with birria (absolutely nothing wrong with that!) or are they dunking them in the red grease and crisping them up on the griddle?

I've been wondering if our birria royalty would get in this game.

Since this was my first and only time eating this delicacy, I may not be the best person to answer this question but here goes. On the menu, it's called a quesadilla with birria. That being said, it had a sufficient enough amount of extra fat to make me think that there was some added lubricant, although I'm not exactly sure what you mean by red grease. Suffice it to say that I would be very happy with a couple of these sandwiched in between having a few alcoholic beverages and going to bed.

On the way out, John insisted that I take an order that was not mine. In the bag were two "quesadillas with birria" and all of the traditional Zaragoza fixings (onion, cilantro, lime, chile arbol, house made chile arbol salsa, and consomme). I griddled them for breakfast the next morning and found the consomme (used as a dipping vehicle) to be a welcome addition. I'm not sure if it's standard or was ordered on the side because as I mentioned, this was not my order.

deesher wrote:

Jefe wrote:Are these basically like their quesadillas with birria (absolutely nothing wrong with that!) or are they dunking them in the red grease and crisping them up on the griddle?

I've been wondering if our birria royalty would get in this game.

I Since this was my first and only time eating this delicacy, I may not be the best person to answer this question but here goes. On the menu, it's called a quesadilla with birria. That being said, it had a sufficient enough amount of extra fat to make me think that there was some added lubricant, although I'm not exactly sure what you mean by red grease. Suffice it to say that I would be very happy with a couple of these sandwiched in between having a few alcoholic beverages and going to bed.

On the way out, John insisted that I take an order that was not mine. In the bag were two "quesadillas with birria" and all of the traditional Zaragoza fixings (onion, cilantro, lime, chile arbol, house made chile arbol salsa, and consomme). I griddled them for breakfast the next morning and found the consomme (used as a dipping vehicle) to be a welcome addition. I'm not sure if it's standard or was ordered on the side because as I mentioned, this was not my order.

The birria tacos which are trending right now are dipped in the rendered, chili-dyed fat from the surface of birria braising liquid, then tossed on the griddle.

Knowing a little bit about the Zaragoza's tatemada process, I've been wondering if chilies are added during the braise, since the meat is slathered in chili paste post-braise, pre-roast. I'm sure there's plenty of rendered fat from the braising liquid to dip a taco in, just not sure if their process would produce the signature red hue of the quesabirria trend.

Were the tacos red/orange?
In any case I'm sure they were delicious.

On my visit to Zaragoza earlier this month, John mentioned that he might like to open for dinner one night a week and asked me if I had any interest. I immediately made plans with three friends and headed there on Monday evening for dinner at 7:00. I had a brief discussion with John about what we wanted and since this was something of an audition for a weekly dinner for him, I thought it best to leave it in his hands and told him we would be happy to eat whatever he'd like to serve. Our only stipulation was that we wanted to sit outside in the back of the restaurant as I've been avoiding eating indoors at restaurants for some reason.




We showed up at 7:00 and opened up a bottle of champagne to get the evening started on something of a celebratory note. After a few minutes, Goatboyintl (Jonathan) came out of the kitchen with a beautiful house made tostada topped with shrimp, tomatillo, cilantro, lime, salsa macha (olive oil, chile and nuts) and avocado. It was a perfect way to start the evening and was a very nice complement to a 2019 Hofgut Falkenstein spatlese.








After we finished and the plates were cleared, a side plate showed up with limes, Mexican oregano and chile arbol. A short while after that, a bowl of plain tostadas (to be crumbled into the pozole) was placed in the center of the table. The main course followed, which comprised a bowl of pozole rojo with stock made from roasted chicken necks and smoked pork neck bones. Aside from the traditional hominy, the pozole had a carnitas style pork rib, some Zaragoza birria and a confit pigs foot. The stock was excellent, the meats nicely cooked and the hominy very tender. I'd gladly order it anywhere if I could find it on the menu. The 2003 Hirtzberger Honivogl gruner was a nice pairing.



Dessert was a Flan Oaxaqueno from cultured Oaxacan creamy custard topped with burnt cinnamon caramel. It was a bit more savory the most flan which I appreciated as I'm not really a consumer of any kind of dessert. I had a few bites, pushed it away and one of my friends immediately finished my leftovers.




Following dinner, we were given an impromptu concert with John Zaragoza playing bass with a friend of his on guitar. It was a beautiful way to end the evening and a night I will always remember.

I should probably have some form of disclaimer here as I love all things Zaragoza and might seem a little bit biased in my impressions, but this was easily one of the top nights that I have had since the start of this ridiculous pandemic thing. On an average day at Zaragoza, the hospitality is outstanding. When you are alone in the restaurant, it's unbeatable.

As I mentioned above, the impetus for this meal was John's desire to open for dinner one night a week. He told us that he'd like to do it every Monday. The bad news is that two of my friends reserved the next three Mondays. If you have any interest, I suggest that you contact the restaurant directly at zaragozarestauarant@gmail.com and check as to availability.

In case there was any confusion, we brought all of the wines mentioned above. I also have some pictures which I am unable to post on my own which I would be happy to send to someone who might be able to assist me.

Thanks to Mr. Suburban for picture assistance.

deesher wrote:On my visit to Zaragoza earlier this month, John mentioned that he might like to open for dinner one night a week and asked me if I had any interest. I immediately made plans with three friends and headed there on Monday evening for dinner at 7:00. I had a brief discussion with John about what we wanted and since this was something of an audition for a weekly dinner for him, I thought it best to leave it in his hands and told him we would be happy to eat whatever he'd like to serve. Our only stipulation was that we wanted to sit outside in the back of the restaurant as I've been avoiding eating indoors at restaurants for some reason.

We showed up at 7:00 and opened up a bottle of champagne to get the evening started on something of a celebratory note. After a few minutes, Goatboyintl (Jonathan) came out of the kitchen with a beautiful house made tostada topped with shrimp, tomatillo, cilantro, lime, salsa macha (olive oil, chile and nuts) and avocado. It was a perfect way to start the evening and was a very nice complement to a 2019 Hofgut Falkenstein spatlese.

After we finished and the plates were cleared, a side plate showed up with limes, Mexican oregano and chile arbol. A short while after that, a bowl of plain tostadas (to be crumbled into the pozole) was placed in the center of the table. The main course followed, which comprised a bowl of pozole rojo with stock made from roasted chicken necks and smoked pork neck bones. Aside from the traditional hominy, the pozole had a carnitas style pork rib, some Zaragoza birria and a confit pigs foot. The stock was excellent, the meats nicely cooked and the hominy very tender. I'd gladly order it anywhere if I could find it on the menu. The 2003 Hirtzberger Honivogl gruner was a nice pairing.

Dessert was a Flan Oaxaqueno from cultured Oaxacan creamy custard topped with burnt cinnamon caramel. It was a bit more savory the most flan which I appreciated as I'm not really a consumer of any kind of dessert. I had a few bites, pushed it away and one of my friends immediately finished my leftovers.

Following dinner, we were given an impromptu concert with John Zaragoza playing bass with a friend of his on guitar. It was a beautiful way to end the evening and a night I will always remember.

I should probably have some form of disclaimer here as I love all things Zaragoza and might seem a little bit biased in my impressions, but this was easily one of the top nights that I have had since the start of this ridiculous pandemic thing. On an average day at Zaragoza, the hospitality is outstanding. When you are alone in the restaurant, it's unbeatable.

As I mentioned above, the impetus for this meal was John's desire to open for dinner one night a week. He told us that he'd like to do it every Monday. The bad news is that two of my friends reserved the next three Mondays. If you have any interest, I suggest that you contact the restaurant directly at zaragozarestauarant@gmail.com and check as to availability.

In case there was any confusion, we brought all of the wines mentioned above. I also have some pictures which I am unable to post on my own which I would be happty to send to someone who might be able to assist me.

Not surprisingly, this sounds lovely. Please, email me your pictures and I'll send you back links you can embed in your post.

Thanks!

=R=

Attention all north siders: get thee to Uptown tomorrow or next weekend. Zaragoza is in the midst of multi-week weekend-only pop-up at 4800 N. Broadway (NW corner of Lawrence and Broadway in the space (formerly?) occupied by Broadway Grill & Chicken). Open from 9:00 AM until sold out. Tomorrow and next weekend are your final chances. It's every bit as good as on Pulaski.

I was told they're considering adding it as a permanent location and that it's more likely than not it happens. I think people flooding the place tomorrow and next weekend can only help move the needle.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Attention all north siders: get thee to Uptown tomorrow or next weekend. Zaragoza is in the midst of multi-week weekend-only pop-up at 4800 N. Broadway (NW corner of Lawrence and Broadway in the space (formerly?) occupied by Broadway Grill & Chicken). Open from 9:00 AM until sold out. Tomorrow and next weekend are your final chances. It's every bit as good as on Pulaski.

I was told they're considering adding it as a permanent location and that it's more likely than not it happens. I think people flooding the place tomorrow and next weekend can only help move the needle.

It was doing robust business around noon today. They had some staffing issues so wait times were long. The patriarch himself was doing a bit of everything. He seemed to indicate it was likely they'd be going another month at least. Heads up - if you sit at the countertop along the windows facing Lawrence on a sunny day, it gets VERY hot. I was too busy stuffing goat in my face to take off a layer.

Thanks for the tip. I stuffed the family in the car and headed there. The food was exquisite. My Mexican in-laws agree. Go!

+1 on the broadway popup tip

The BZ website now says the end date for the popup TBD.

It's officially official. Zaragoza is coming back to Uptown on Saturday and this time it's permanent.

4800 N. Broadway

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:It's officially official. Zaragoza is coming back to Uptown on Saturday and this time it's permanent.

4800 N. Broadway

Fantastic news! Thank you for posting it for all us social media-averse curmudgeons.

=R=

big time score

Will be very stressful trying to choose between this and In On for my rare forays.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:It's officially official. Zaragoza is coming back to Uptown on Saturday and this time it's permanent.

4800 N. Broadway

Hooray! My husband and I were just talking about the pop-up and how we wished we had gone more. Now we can!

Had a tasty, post-Green Mill meal at the Uptown location last night at around 7pm. Food was delicious and service was extremely cordial but a word of caution: this location may not be quite up to speed yet. There was a ~30-minute wait for food. More than 1 soft drink was 86'd long before close, which was 10pm. Most notably, our Platos Grandes seemed pretty light. I thought maybe it was just me (though, I've never before finished a plato grande at BZ in the past) but as we left, there was a hand-written sign taped on the front the door: "Sold Out". So, it seems that perhaps, as they were running out, they may have stretched it a bit too far to get our food served. Or maybe not.

These guys are pros and I have no doubt they'll get it there eventually but it may not be there just yet.

=R=

Jeremy Allen White spotted at BZ recently. (Sorry, tried to do an image but no luck, hope this works).