Birria El Jalisciense

Birria tatemada (roasted goat birria) is a Jalisco tradition that’s hard to come by outside of Guadalajara and its surrounding towns. However, the Ramirez family brought this cooking method to LA’s eastside with their weekend and cash-only operation. Come bright and early at 8am on Saturday mornings for freshly chopped goat meat that is steaming hot with a crispy bark exterior.

Located at Olympic Blvd. and Spence St., El Jalisciense has a two-stage cooking process that’s responsible for its birria’s silky smooth meat and wonderfully charred skin. The consommé here is also more tomato-heavy, which is typical of the region, and you can enjoy it with either fresh tortillas or as a taco dorado. I love this spot because it’s birria in its truest form: enjoyed outside in the early morning with the smell of roasted meat giving half-asleep birria fans an excuse to be up at such an ungodly hour. They only stay open until they run out, so come get it while it’s hot.

photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto

Food Rundown

photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto

Tacos Dorados

These crispy tacos are so simple, so wildly delicious, and so 100% worth waking up at 7am for. The gently fried corn tortillas and charred bits of goat birria add a ton of texture to each bite, and the tomatoey broth that gets ladled on top provides just the right amount of heat and moisture to form the perfect bite.

photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto

Birria Tatemada

The combination of oven-roasting and steaming leaves you with fall-off-the-bone tender goat meat with some deliciously smoky bark on the outside. The thin consommé helps turn everything into a rich, spicy, and tomato-flavored stew that’s perfect for scooping up with warm tortillas.