Birria Tatemada at Birrieria Zaragoza & Birrieria La Barca

Mike Sula has an excellent piece on Birrieria Zaragoza in this week's Reader. I've been to Zaragoza four times now and (obviously) think very highly of the place. As Mike describes in the article, they specialize in birria tatemada, the roasted style characteristic of La Barca, Jalisco. La Barca is just east of Ocotlan, another town well known for their way with goat.

Birrieria Zaragoza, on a stretch of S Pulaski with more than its fair share of great eating, occupies a building once home to a Sinaloan chicken specialist.



The menu is simple: birria by the pound, in tacos, or by the plate.



A typical weekday plate consists of a pile of shredded goat just moistened with consome.



The goat has excellent flavor and some nice crisp edges, very different from the spent soup meat ladled out by many lesser birrierias. Accompaniments are few but worthy. The tomato-based consome is subtly spiced and blessedly low on salt. A thin chile de arbol based salsa (with a hint of chocolate) can be used to heat things up, or simply crumble on a few toasted chiles. Sometimes a freshly made tomato salsa is available. Excellent tortillas are made in house (on weekends you can watch as they're cooked to order behind the counter). Drinks include Mexican Coke, Pepsi and Squirt.

Weekends are the best time to visit as whole goats are cooked and all parts of the animal are available.



This Saturday plate holds a rib (top; unbelievably delicious), some chewier flank (left) as well as some shredded shoulder (right). At least that's what I believe it was. My poor knowledge of goat anatomy and dismal ordering skills haven't allowed me to ask for the "love handles" or other choice morsels. Actually, that shouldn't stop anyone. Birrieria Zaragoza is one of the most welcoming, unintimidating Mexican restaurants imaginable.

Birrieria La Barca can be found toward the western edge of the 26th Street business district.



Like Zaragoza, they specialize in birria tatemada, employing a two-step protocol of stovetop steaming followed by oven roasting. Their approach to birria is somewhat different however. Where Zaragoza emphasizes subtlety and restraint, La Barca has a more exuberant style, their consome singing with spice and chile. We ordered without the benefit of menus; only later did I realize there was the option of birria con machito (a side of offal for an extra $1.50).





The meat has the wonderful crust characteristic of birria tatemada. The superb accompaniments deserve comment. The table salsa has the viscosity of a tomatillo salsa but is enlivened with plenty of dried red chiles (arbol?) and sesame seeds. Great stuff. Marinated jicama and knob onions were teriffic but I thought the salad of nopales would have been better with less cooking time. As good as the tortillas are at Zaragoza, I think La Barca's may be better—more irregular and with a wonderful pliable texture. They sent over an order of tacos dorados that highlighted these stellar tortillas.



La Barca has many of the usual beverages but it would be a shame to pass up the tepache and tejuino. Their version of tepache—a fermented pineapple beverage—is a little tamer than some others and might be a good introduction.



It's served with a small bowl of baking soda you can add to generate a little carbonation. The tejuino—a fermented masa and piloncillo drink—is perhaps a bit more challenging. Before serving, it's combined with a bracing mix of lime juice and rock salt. I thought I hated tejuino until I tried this version.

These are my two favorite birrierias at the moment, playing in a different league than some others I used to visit. Despite underlying similarities, they're different enough that it makes little sense to rank them. Try 'em both.

Birrieria Zaragoza
4852 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago
773-523-3700

Birrieria La Barca
4304 W 26th St
Chicago
773-522-1450

Thanks Peter.

There's also some Birrieria Zaragoza video here.

Thanks for the excellent post and pics! My wife and I had visited Birriria Zaragoza back in February, and loved it. And you got to love Juan's Chicago accent! His wife, Norma was very informative when we asked about how they "came to be". Can't wait to return for another visit! Also, before the Sinaloa Chicken place, it was a little ma and pa diner for 25 years or more, with a simple light bulb marquee sign that said "EAT".

La Barca looks like a place we have to try thanks to your descriptions and photos.

I visited Birria Zaragoza with Rene G and El Panzone back in June and was definitely favorably impressed as well. The birria had a really clean flavor that would suit any of the finer Mexican restaurants, as he says with nice bark and not tasting played out as can happen with birria, and the housemade arbol salsa brightly spices it up. We talked with one of the sons, John, for quite a bit (as well as with a woman from Hyde Park who had taken her car in across the street and came over for lunch) and the family's commitment to doing authentic Mexican food at a quality level worthy of any cuisine in town is obvious and well worth supporting. Beat the lines at Mixteco Grill, come down to 48th & Pulaski for some tasty birria.

It's nice to see Birrieria Zaragoza getting more well-deserved attention.

Birrieria La Barca Jalisco is another absolutely top-notch restaurant that really should be better known. In addition to the best (or maybe second best) birria in Chicago they also serve several items that you'll rarely see in these parts.

Above I noted their house made tepache and tejuino, their unusual sesame seed salsa, their pickled jicama.

Moving on toward less common fare, birria can be ordered plain or, for an additional $1.50, con machito. Machito is sort of an offal roll, an intestinal rouladen, the digestive tract of a goat converted from linear to radial form. Fans of guts will love this.



Still more unusual are the tacos de guevera. These consist of catfish roe, cooked with chiles and peas, wrapped in La Barca's spectacular hand made tortillas. These are tasty but not particularly challenging, the roe being surprisingly similar to scrambled chicken eggs.



Even if you don't care about these unusual specialties (but you should), try La Barca for what they do better than almost anyone—birria.

Birrieria La Barca Jalisco
4304 W 26th St
Chicago
773-522-1450
Mon-Sun 9am-6pm

Went again the other day to Birrieria Zaragoza, a place that is on my extreme shortlist of great restaurants to open up in Chicago in quite some time. This fairly bold statement is not based solely on the food alone (although I believe you’d be hard pressed to top it on just that) but because of its total package. This mom-and-pop operation was spawned sometime last year from the prodding of the Zaragoza’s friends and neighbors, who’d attend informal neighborhood gatherings at their home for their homemade attempts at tatemada-style birria prepared in their backyard pit.

The room is a small diner, equipped with counter/stools and roughly 6 or so tables. If you sit at the counter, expect one of them to chat it up about the food because they’re totally obsessed about traditional birria and the pursuit of perfecting this classic Mexican dish.
I’d be highly surprised if you can find birria (with the possible exception of Birriria La Barca on 26th) that approaches the level of excellence found here. This is a true birrieria, serving only birria as a main and nothing else. They do have a very good quesadilla, however, made with their outstanding homemade tortillas and glorious heavily grilled cheese bits on its outside.

Zaragoza’s birria is beautifully roasted in a manner that keeps the integrity and structure of the goat meat intact. Since their roasting oven is right in front of the counter, you can spot and request specific parts from the roasting tray such as the costillos (ribs), pistola (shankbone), or even the Espinazo (spinal cord). Most versions around town merely stew the goat in a large spice pot, with the final result being a largely spent, uniform meat mash with an over-the-top fat slick accompanying the consommé. Traditional tatemada or roasted style birria such as what is found at Birrieria Zaragoza is a far harder style to locate in this country because it’s more labor intensive and time consuming to prepare. This is a clean and subtle birria; unlike most others that usually make you feel like @ss afterwards. Zaragoza uses a consommé made with tomatoes and various spices and contains no meat drippings from the first stage roasting whatsoever; being a completely separate broth. Consequently, you get a highly rendered yet juicy goat and then topped with this clean consommé at the end. The end result is a subtle, moist bowl of birria without the usual goatiness and fat content that turns off most anybody who’s ever tried the dish made in most other places in Chicago.

If you go on weekends (and sometimes even during the week), delicious fresh homemade tortillas are being made right behind the counter.

I love this place. Unlike the endless number of soul-less places constantly opening up, this one still has grit—an energy and life to it that almost sucks you through the front door with its warmth and hospitality. With friends and neighbors constantly stopping by, this is obviously a home-away-from-home for many. It has become part of my regular routine to go there on any given Saturday afternoon to enjoy a hearty plate of birria and have some nice chat with the Familia Zaragoza.

A couple of months ago, Mike Sula (check out his piece in the Chicago Reader about Birrieria Zaragoza if you happened to have missed it), ReneG, and I had the pleasure of introducing John T. Edge to Birrieria Zaragoza. Apparently, he enjoyed it as well:

John T. Edge likes it.

Yesterday, I stopped by at Birrieria La Barca Jalisco for some birria para llevar. The broth was exceptional; back home, I slurped it from a bowl, but I'm kind of sorry I didn't just spoon some of it over a tortilla filled with goat, which needed a little liquid (it was chewy). Flavors all around were excellent, and this place outclasses my old fav, Reyes de Ocotlan: better flavors, more complex broth, meat that carries a lot of good goaty smack.

When I was there, the nice lady at the counter asked me if I want one "con hueso" (with bone) and I demurred, though I'm not completely sure what she meant. Was she just asking if I wanted a big bone in my soup? If that's what she was asking, I didn't, but I'm not sure if I understood her intent.

The tortillas I received were fresh griddled flour tortillas, which I thought unusual and good (somewhat more absorbent than corn).

Thanks to Sula, Pigmon and the ever-intrepid ReneG for bringing this place to our attention.

PS. The YouTube link in the above post seems corrupted; I get the message, "The URL contained a malformed video ID."

David Hammond wrote:PS. The YouTube link in the above post seems corrupted; I get the message, "The URL contained a malformed video ID."

I found the YouTube video here.

Great stuff. I love birria and hate it that I haven't had time to make it down there yet. (Been working out of NY for a while -- Yasuda is my friend, so thanks again PIGMON).

The clip of Zaragoza making the birria is terrific. That guy should have his own show. Or he should at least be doing bi-lingual voice work.

David Hammond wrote:When I was there, the nice lady at the counter asked me if I want one "con hueso" (with bone) and I demurred, though I'm not completely sure what she meant. Was she just asking if I wanted a big bone in my soup? If that's what she was asking, I didn't, but I'm not sure if I understood her intent.

Re-watching the video, I'm now pretty sure that the bone I was offered was la pistolitta or other desirable "manly part."

Couple of quick questions as I plan a visit to Zaragoza:

1) Are they open for lunch during the week?
2) When's the best time to go? (day and time)
3) Does the restaurant take credit cards?

chezbrad wrote:Couple of quick questions as I plan a visit to Zaragoza:

1) Are they open for lunch during the week?
2) When's the best time to go? (day and time)
3) Does the restaurant take credit cards?

Chezbrad -

1) Birrieria Zaragoza is open for lunch everyday (except CLOSED TUESDAYS). Their hours are 10am-7 pm Monday-Friday and 8am-4pm at weekends.

2) I historically always preferred to go on weekends to watch the tortilla maker in action. But nowadays, she works everyday. During the week (Mondays, Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays), though, she'll only do her artistry until about 1pm.
If you're thinking about going on the weekend, beware of the early morning birria rush from about 8 or 9am until about 12:30. Often times, the place is bustling to packed with to-go birria orders and sitdowns. Birria is commonly eaten as a first meal on the weekends (along with coffee...Zaragoza serves up the cinnamon-laced Cafe Casero) so it tends to get a bit busy early. Later, beer will the accompaniment. Feel free and bring whatever beer is to your liking as it is a BYOB.

3) They just recently started accepting Visa, Mastercard, and Discover.

Thanks for the info, Pigmon. So you'd say that the weekend, post-12:30 is the best time to go? I want that mix of pieces seen in the photos above, but I want to avoid the fracas.

chezbrad wrote:So you'd say that the weekend, post-12:30 is the best time to go? I want that mix of pieces seen in the photos above, but I want to avoid the fracas.

That's what I'd do, yes.

And don't forget the cerveza.

Intentions, intentions, intentions...

So three months later I finally got down to Zaragoza--lots of self-kicking thereafter for not getting here sooner. As noted above, the work the owner and his family are doing really zones in on what makes Mexican cuisine so great: clean, bright, and unctuous flavors. This was swoon-worthy stuff.

Myself and the gf went after the (presumed) lunch rush and received, to put it mildly, doting service: constantly replenished fresh tortillas, some extra pistolas, and a dessert sample from newly-opened Pastel down the street. I'm looking forward to going back by myself and sitting at the counter.

The menu has changed a bit: plates are a dollar more, and they've added salsa molcjate ($3) and quesadillas ($2) to the list. The quesadilla is fine--presumably an apology for non-meat eaters--but utterly irrelevant unless you must have more hand-made tortilla goodness.

They're going to be on Hungry Hound in February.

Thanks, Peter. This is a great find.

Anyone know of the Birria joint a few blocks west of Cemitas Puebla on North? I noticed it on Friday and have been thinking of stopping in for my first go at birria.

Ghazi,

I would suggest that you try one of the two Birrerias in this link. You'll be assured of a very fine meal. I have dined at Zarragoza at least five times and I can assure that you will not be disappointed. Additionally, the bakery just down the street (Pastel) has cookies (especially Mexican wedding cookies) to kill for. Doug.

Been on a birria tear lately (Mon=Birria Estila Jalisco, Tue=Reyes de Ocotlan) and I was thinking of hitting up Zaragoza tomorrow. As I think it would it would be a minor tragedy not to enjoy this dish with beer, I was hoping someone could recomend a nearby purveyor of ales. Google reveals nothing closer than a mile -- can anyone do better? (Rene?)

Beer and birria; they even sound alike. Obviously a match made in heaven...

You want to pick up some beers?

You're in luck.

I give you Archer Liquors, the best beer selection that I know of on the South Side, and they even carry some brews I can't find at Sam's or Binny's. It's about two miles from Zaragoza and worth driving for.

Archer Liquors
5996 S. Archer
Chicago, IL 60638
(773) 582-4767

If two miles is too far for you there's the Jewel that's up on 53rd/54th and Pulaski. They carry your usual selection of Jewel beers. You'll find Goose Island, Sierra Nevada, and a few other worthwhile offerings there. (I live about three blocks away from Zaragoza, so I know the neighborhood pretty well.) Cermak Produce on 52nd and Pulaski will also carry beers, but the selection isn't as good as the Jewel. Just around the corner, if you go towards Cicero, you'll run into Gilmart on Archer and Karlov, which will have a few Polish beers along with the usual suspects, if you're feeling like Polish suds. Gilmart should be the closest place to pick up beers and is a short walk from Zaragoza.

titus wong wrote:Been on a birria tear lately (Mon=Birria Estila Jalisco, Tue=Reyes de Ocotlan) and I was thinking of hitting up Zaragoza tomorrow. As I think it would it would be a minor tragedy not to enjoy this dish with beer, I was hoping someone could recomend a nearby purveyor of ales. Google reveals nothing closer than a mile -- can anyone do better? (Rene?)

Beer and birria; they even sound alike. Obviously a match made in heaven...

And tasty Tototlan on Saturday. Talk about getting your goat.

From a perspective of current visits, Titus will be the board expert by the end of this week. I look forward to the report.

Binko: I'm saved! In the nick of time as well. Thank you kind sir .

Santander wrote:From a perspective of current visits, Titus will be the board expert by the end of this week.

Well I owe it to you guys who really know how to feed an obsession (ahem) .

GO TITUS!

I'll be a few weeks behind you*, but I'm gonna start venturing into the dark underworld of birria myself soon. Can't wait to hear about your findings.


*Stupid job. Gets in the way of everything . Really busy for the next few weeks.

Thanks to this thread, we had a lovely dinner at Birrieria La Barca this Saturday. It was nearly empty at 6:00. We had one plate of the meat, and one bowl of consomme, which has very little meat. It made a great combo and was enough for 2. The fresh flour tortillas are a highlight, and they'll basically give you as many as you need. Tragically, we left several uneaten. As others have noted, both the table salsa and the pickled jicama and onions are quite nice. They also had some dried chilies one the table, but they looked a bit risky for me.

To top it all off, they gave us each a complimentary cup of warm alote, which made an excellent dessert. This was my first taste of this lovely elixar. We think they used some oatmeal in their version, but can't be sure.

From there, we went to the Jazz Showcase, and the distance between the two venues was much greater than the mileage. Both, however, are part of what makes Chicago so fulfilling.

Jonah

Jonah wrote: a complimentary cup of warm alote

Great report. The Nahuatl terminology is confusingly similar when transliterated:

elote = corn off the cob (usually fresh kernels). Regular tamales are usually made with dried, limed cornmeal (masa), but tamales de elote are made with fresh corn kernels (they're starchier in Mexico, so they bind), with or without additional masa. Elotes are colloquially fresh corn cobs or kernels dressed in lime, mayo, butter, hot red pepper (powdered or sauce) and cheese.

atole = hot cornmeal-based drink, flavored with herbs, essences, seeds (chocolate or coffee), or fleshy fruit. The two most commonly served atoles in the US are atole de guayaba (guava fruit and or/flower) and champurrado, which is atole de chocolate, flavored with cocoa, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

I'm guessing you had atole de guayaba for dessert, but if it was chocolate (champurrado), I'm doubly interested, since it's hard to find a great champurrado up here, even at tamale places I trust.

Santander wrote:I'm guessing you had atole de guayaba for dessert, but if it was chocolate (champurrado), I'm doubly interested, since it's hard to find a great champurrado up here, even at tamale places I trust.

The tamale lady stationed outsid of Chicago Meat on weekends makes a decent cup of champurrado.

Depends where one looks. Try the fabled maroon van(s) on the weekend. They often have 4-6 different atoles. Prune seems popular.

Maroon (periwinkle and other colored) vans sell tacos de canasta, huarache-like masa picadas, and lots of atoles:

Weekends at aprox 2250 N on Milwaukee Ave, across from Marianao

Thanks for the recs! I've never hit the maroon vans. I had a mango atol in Mexico last year (which I think is an unusual amalgam) and prune sounds like it would work perfectly. I'm addicted to champurrado, though, which nothing can dethrone.

I made a little trip out to Zaragoza with PIGMON a couple of weeks ago, and wow, it was really good. I had previously thought I liked birria, but hadn't realized what a difference tatemada makes. Roasted goat FTW. Not to mention the bottomless supply of tortillas hechas a mano. They just kept slipping fresh ones into our tortilla holder while we were eating. Awesome.

The proprietor was telling us that they have an off-menu birria quesadilla which would probably be delicious, but then again, I might rather save the stomach space for more meat.

We also made an (apparently obligatory) stop at Pastel bakery. Cookies aren't what I prefer to get from little bakeries (I like more pastry-like things) but theirs are nice, and it's a very cute shop.

Go. Eat. Enjoy.

LTH,

First visit and pretty much every positive thing said in this thread is accurate and then some. Clear clean flavored goat flesh enhanced by a lovely light char developed by post steaming roasting with a generous slather of ancho base mole. Light broth, handmade tortillas, fresh cut onions/cilantro, roasted dried peppers, cut lime, punchy chili sauce and multi layered roasted tomato salsa as supporting cast.

Zaragoza



Roasted Tomato Salsa



Hand made tortillas



My lunch mate Pigmon is a regular and they included offal with our birria in consomme and an incredibly delicious side plate of bones and bits. The ancho based char on the lamb rib is amongst the best bites I've had in years.

Birria Tatemada




Birria is terrific, but the key in the lock is the sincere friendliness of the Zaragoza family, on a busy Sunday morning 95% of the customers were greeted by name.

Tony, Juan, Jonathan, Andie



Very much looking forward to a return visit.

Enjoy,
Gary