It’s been more than two years since the Birria-Landia van pulled up on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights and began fashioning its coarse-textured, chile-braised beef tacos, served with a consomé made from the braising liquid. In Jalisco, where birria originated, goat meat is most common, but in Queens, Birria-Landia and other spots tend to follow in the foosteps of Tijuana, where the meat is often beef. In Los Angeles, America’s epicenter of birria, both beef and goat are common.
When Eater New York’s most recent birria map was published last June, the phenomenon had leapt from Jackson Heights to Bushwick, Long Island City, New Jersey, and a few other places, but a number of things have happened since then. Birria has become common in many Manhattan neighborhoods, while continuing its march across Brooklyn and Queens; halal versions have appeared (though no kosher ones as far as I know); and birria has popped up in other forms, such as on pizza, in ramen, and heaped on rice or other grains in bowls in the style of today’s fast-casual restaurants.
Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.
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