
“The Mississippi pot roast and provolone just worked for me,” he says. I like the contrast of the crispy tortilla and the sauciness as you dip and eat.” He builds his Birria Tacos using Mississippi pot roast, along with provolone cheese and green onions, while retaining the side of consommé. At Next Door, a casual comfort-food restaurant in Boulder, Colo., Michael Bertozzi, director of culinary of parent company The Kitchen Restaurant Group, muses about its appeal: “Birria tacos are like a Mexican French dip.
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It’s impossible to overstate the breakout potential for birria, with an adaptability quotient that is signficant, allowing chefs free rein to explore and experiment with ingredient combinations and flavor mash-ups. Wrapped in crispy flour tortillas and topped with radishes and Oaxacan cheese, he serves them with guacamole, esquites and rice and beans. And Pilo’s Street Tacos, a fast casual with three locations in Miami, features crispy corn tortillas with Chihuahua cheese and beef short rib cooked in a rich Mexican adobo sauce and served with a side of beef caldo.Įxecutive Chef Jordan Harvey at Hearth and Hill menus Short Rib Birria Tacos. Little Miner Taco, a food truck and counter-service restaurant with locations in Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Md., enjoys success with its Birria de Res Quesotacos, three corn tortillas filled with slow-braised beef, salsa roja and Jack cheese, accompanied by the ubiquitous beef consommé. Jordan Harvey, executive chef, wraps tender beef short rib in crispy flour tortillas, finishing with fresh radish and Oaxacan cheese. At Mas Amor Cantina in Hickory, N.C., an Imagine One Hospitality concept that offers up modern Tex-Mex cuisine, Michael Hoeneisen, executive chef, offers a slow-cooked smoked birria (featuring a mix of chuck, short rib and sirloin) with onion, lime and a white cheese blend packed into a fried tortilla and served with a side of savory birria “au jus.” Short Rib Birria Tacos are on the menu at Hearth and Hill, a modern American restaurant in Park City, Utah. Birria delivers its fans the familiar comfort of these elemental components and flavor profiles in an exciting new-to-them format.Ĭlassic examples abound, the rising number of menu mentions serving as another signal of the breadth of opportunity just waiting to be tapped. Served with a side of consommé for dipping, the resulting build embodies so much of what consumers love about Mexican cuisine: meat, heat, cheese, sauce and tortillas. The quesabirria, the go-to format that sees shredded meat and cheese stuffed inside a tortilla that is griddled to deliver a textural experience that is at once crispy and chewy. Of course, there would be no social media chatter without birria’s incredible craveability. It has the all-powerful social media factor to thank for this feat, with its craveability easily conveyed through photos and reels. The speed at which birria has entered the vocabulary of the American consumer is nothing short of head-spinning. Start with its meteoric rise in popularity. It just may lay claim as the hero of this trend.

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Menu innovation around Mexican comfort food is on full display with the bellwether of this movement: birria, that long-simmered, richly flavored, chile-infused stew typically made with goat, although beef (birria de res) is the popular choice here. Birria by Chef Anaya leverages the craveability of this Mexican stew, moving it into a number of formats, including the popular QuesaTaco and Birria Ramen. Three stand out in particular, making inroads onto progressive menus and showcasing big opportunity for signature takes: the quesadilla, the taquito and birria. The volume of iconic dishes that fall under the umbrella of Mexican comfort is impressive, giving operators a broad playing field for innovation in all parts of the menu, from breakfast to dessert. that they have become part of the American lexicon of food.”

“These approachable formats are just so well established now in the U.S. “Mexican food continues to be one of the most interesting cuisines in the United States,” says Michael Parlapiano, strategy director with The Culinary Edge. This trend runs parallel, drawing from the same country’s rich culinary heritage, but zeroing in on homey comfort and raising it to new heights with inventive twists and flavor-forward iterations. Of course, the world of Mexican cuisine is exquisitely complex, with chefs here digging into its many regions and flavor nuances, then adapting those discoveries onto their menus. And although comfort can be found in the arms of most global cuisines, Mexican fare offers the softest place to land for many consumers. Comfort food continues to call to American diners, yet they’re looking to foodservice for more flavor, more fun, more revelation.
