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Three corn tortilla tacos with a dark soup on the side and garnished with bright red radish slices in foreground.
Birria from Tortas Morelos.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

21 Spots for Perfectly Braised and Saucy Birria Tacos in NYC

The brick-red stew, often served in tortillas with consomé for dipping, continues to spread across NYC and New Jersey. Here’s the latest update.

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Birria from Tortas Morelos.
| Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

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.

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Las Delicias Mexicanas

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Like the Tacos El Bronco truck in Sunset Park, East Harlem stalwart Las Delicias Mexicanas provides an older idea of birria — served as a stew with corn tortillas long before quesabirria tacos and birria mulitas became all the rage. As an added plus, this birria is made with very flavorful lamb, rather than beef. The brick-red broth is also somewhat oddly bobbing with carrots, which add sweetness. It’s up to you to assemble the birria tacos.

A bowl of red soup with a hand and spoon lifting a morsel of meat.
In East Harlem, birria can be a lamb soup with lots of carrots.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Taqueria 86

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Long may you ponder why a taco storefront on West 94th Street is called Taqueria 86 (it commemorates the year the World Cup was held in Mexico). A full range of tacos is offered, to be washed down with beer in a comfortable, sports-bar setting, but the best tasted was filled with a shredded and chile-laden birria. The braised meat was totally up to par, and cheese and cilantro were generously applied, but the consomé seemed a bit thin and pallid, so you may want to skip the dipping part.

A metal tray with green and white checked paper on it and a pair of tacos.
Birria tacos at newcomer Taqueria 86.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Vida Verde

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Eater critic Ryan Sutton is particularly fond of the beef birria tacos at this Midtown West cocktail lounge, open till the wee hours with a kitchen led by Pueblan-born chef Ignacio Cotzomi. The birria is exceedingly chunky, and according to Sutton, “The brisket itself flaunts an intensely browned and crispy exterior; it exudes an intoxicating bovine aroma that recalls the best suadero tacos or griddled burgers.” A cup of consomé and salsa de arbol are served on the side. 

Three tacos on a ceramic plate with brown chunks of meat.
Birria tacos at Vina Verde.
Ryan Sutton/Eater NY

Chofi Taco

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Chofi Tacos has an unusual trajectory. Founded by Kim-Martin Flammia and Patrick Flammia, it started out as a Smorgasburg stall in Williamsburg. Then it hopped across two rivers to Union City, New Jersey. Located midblock in a residential neighborhood with outdoor seating and two tables inside, the place specializes in birria tacos, though several other fillings — including an intriguing “nortena” of cubed skirt steak — are also available. But the birria tacos themselves are fantastic, lushly stuffed and deeply dipped in juices, with the currently faddish quesabirria taco (or “quesataco”) the best. 

A pair of meat stuffed tacos on a pink plate with red soup on the side.
Tacos taste better on a pink plate.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Birria NYC

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This renamed space in southeastern Astoria (previously Metro Crust Pizza) is one of a collection of Queens pizzerias taken over by Mexican immigrants. Usually, a taco menu is added to the pizzas; in this case, an entire menu of pizzas with Mexican toppings takes center stage. The birria pizza is a thing of beauty with lots of meat on a melting platform of cheese. Yes, the consomé is served alongside at no extra charge, and there’s a bonus cup of guacamole, which is really better for dipping than soup.

A pizza with white cheese and stringy dark red meat, with soup and green guac on the side.
Birria pizza at Birria NYC.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Cielito Astoria

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This newish combination restaurant and cocktail lounge run by restaurateur Alex Arias offers a wonderful menu of specialties — often using the recipes of América Rodriguez — from the state of Sinaloa in northwestern of Mexico, bordering the Gulf of California. Yes, there’s chilorio and aguachiles, but also a great taco version of beef birria. Served with consomé and a fiery orange salsa, these tacos are made on corn tortillas and are oozing with melted cheese.

Two tacos with meat inside and cheese underneath the meat.
Quesabirria tacos at Cielito Astoria.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Birria-Landia

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This quintessential New York City birria truck, via brothers José and Jesús Moreno, appeared as if by magic nearly two years ago in Jackson Heights, and a line immediately began to form. The birria harkens to Tijuana instead of Jalisco, but all the bells and whistles are there, including dipped tortillas and a chunky consomé served on the side. Not only are tacos available, but also tostadas and mulitas, the latter especially recommended, depositing the filling between two tortillas and oozing white cheese.

Three mulitas stuffed with beef birria and cheese.
Mulitas (two tortillas + cheese) at our first birria truck.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Chinelos Birria Tacos

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Near the new public library and Gantry State Park in Hunter’s Point, Long Island City, a prodigious collection of food trucks has assembled. Among the hot dogs, chicken teriyaki, and empanadas, one artistically decorated van specializes in birria. In addition to a largely Pueblan menu, Chinelos Birria Tacos offers a very fine example of birria tacos, sold in threes on smallish dipped tortillas, freighted with extra meat. The very chunky consomé is available as a side dish, but must be requested.

Three tacos with meaty red filling in an aluminum carryout container.
Birria tacos, three to an order.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Delicias Galindo Food Truck

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Finally, the birria trucks that have characterized the street dining scene in the other boroughs have motored into Manhattan. The Delicias Galindo van, having previous made Corona its home, has found its way to Chelsea. Just like the other trucks, it sells an assortment of taco fillings, though beef birria and consomé is the highlight. And like the other birria trucks, it adds Pueblan flourishes to what is basically a Tijuana specialty. The birria quesadilla is a case in point, with the juicy meat folded into a giant corn tortilla, the top squiggled with crema, queso seco, and guac that’s normally used on tacos.

A plastic container with a reddish quesadilla nearly obscured by its white and black toppings.
Birria quesadilla at the Delicias Galindo food truck.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Tacos Güey

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Under chef Henry Zamora, who once worked at French Laundry, the menu at Flatiron newcomer Tacos Güey features a birria taco made with chile-braised lamb, rather than beef. Served in pairs, they are made with paper-thin tortillas that are not pre-coated with the birria braising liquid due to fragility, but an austere and highly flavored consomé is served on the side for dipping; you’ll find yourself drinking the rest after you eat the tacos.

A pair of chopped meat tacos covered with chopped onions and cilantro, with a saucer of soup on the side.
Fine dining birria at Tacos Güey.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Borrachito

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This flashy East Village spot, descended from a bar, offers a range of tacos from a colorful blue window on the sidewalk, washed down with cocktails and Mexican sodas served from the same window. It flaunted its birria tacos from the start. They’re made from oxtail rather than the usual chuck roast, and available on corn or flour tortillas. No consomé, though.

A pair of juicy meat tacos, one with a flour tortilla and the other with a yellowish corn tortilla that looks homemade.
Choose either corn or flour tortillas.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Even after the departure of chef Daniela Soto-Innes, Atla keeps innovating. One of its most recent offerings is birria — boneless beef short rib served in a half-pound portion cradled in a banana leaf. Alongside come cilantro, onion, and an orange-colored “salsa roja,” and the beef achieves a level of flavor unusual for that meat, making it taste almost like goat. House-made tortillas must be ordered separately.

A banana leaf filled with chopped red meat.
Atla, where birria comes in a banana leaf.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Birria LES

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This combined effort of Iqbal “Iggy” Ahmed, Emon Ullah, and Raymundo Garcia resulted in one of the first birrieria to serve halal meat. Why not goat? “It’s way too expensive,” Ahmed told me one evening. The birria tacos here are pleasantly soupy, heaped with lots of onion and cilantro, and consomé is available on the side. This place also marks birria’s advent on the Lower East Side.

A soupy taco with a cup of soup on the side.
Birria LES — where the beef is halal.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

La Brujeria

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La Brujeria (“the witchery) is an amazing taqueria in the back of a Jersey City gas station. It opened a year ago, owned by Mexico City native Roberto Islas, who is also the chef. It was the first place in the metropolitan area to make birria out of lamb rather than beef (though we’re still waiting for real goat birria to appear). The consomé is one of the darkest and richest in town, though the tortillas are not dipped. The shredded meat is intensely flavorful, and gas prices are cheap, too, in case you want to fill up.

Three tacos in a styrofoam container with red soup on the side illumined by an open car window.
Witchcraft at La Brujeria.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Birria-Landia Williamsburg

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A second truck parked under the BQE at Metropolitan in Williamsburg has doubled the reach of our first birria truck. This truck is twice as big and getting your birria should require less of a wait, yet lines still form. Unlike the first truck, it pulls up earlier at 2 p.m., which makes it easier to avoid a long wait. Look for a further location in the Bronx. The consomé are these trucks is the best in town, even though one has to purchase it separately.

A line of people stands in front of a wide taco truck
Williamsburg’s Birria-Landia appears midafternoon.
James Park/Eater NY

Peter's Crunchy Red Tacos

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Appearing just above the Jefferson stop on the L in Bushwick, Peter’s sleek black truck added a couple of flourishes to the birria taco scene. Like Birria-Landia, it too concentrated on beef birria alone, offered as tacos and four further configurations, though the last two sometimes sell out early: quesabirria tacos, mulitas, tortas, and nachos. Additionally, the antojitos are crisped on the griddle before serving, hence the designation “crunchy tacos.” The truck is named for proprietor Peter Luna, whose parents own taquerias in Brooklyn and Queens.

A close-up showing one quarter of a single mulita, with meat visible on the edge.
These mulitas are crunchy.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Nene’s Deli Taqueria at Eric Mini Market

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This bodega is the current home of Nene’s Deli Taqueria, once located a half mile north in a much tinier space. It’s the project of Andrés Tonatiuh Galindo Maria, a classically trained chef who has now turned his attention to birria. Working on a tiny griddle mid-bodega, he turns out tacos, burritos, mulitas, quesadillas, tortas, empanadas, and sopes. If you want birria ramen, Galindo Maria will reach up to one of the shelves, pluck down a package of Mexican-made ramen, and cook you up a bowl.

A pair of mulita halves with guacamole and meat visible between two tortillas.
Nene’s is currently at Eric Mini Market.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

La Lupe Cantina

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Let’s say you want to eat birria in a bistro setting, served on a non-floppy plate and washed down with a beer or even a margarita. La Lupe may be your place. A narrow back courtyard provides outdoor seating, and the birria is thoughtfully made and stuffed opulently into small tortillas. No consomé comes alongside, but the chile and beefy flavors are spot on, the guac a welcome addition, and the radish matchsticks a festive touch. The joint is owned by Karla Muniz, who operated Mexican restaurants in Ecuador before moving to the United States.

Two red saucy tacos with meat on a white china plate.
Want your birria tacos on a ceramic plate?
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Tacos El Bronco

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This legendary taco truck first pulled up across the street from Sunset Park’s Jackie Gleason Bus Depot in 2007. Owned by Mariano Tapia, it spawned a fleet of taco trucks and a full-blown restaurant just down the hill on Fourth Avenue. In addition to low-cost tacos served into the wee hours, it also makes a mean birria, chunky with beef and offered in a paper cup. Recently, the fabled truck started making birria tacos, too.

A white paper cup of chunky beef stew with a spoon stuck in it.
Birria as a stew with tortillas on the side.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Tortas Morelos

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Yes, the tortas at this small establishment on the northern reaches of Bay Ridge run by Juan Velasco and Blanca Gonzalez are superb, and there’s even a credible pambazo, a street staple sandwich featuring bread dipped in chile sauce. But the birria tacos are the equal of everything else, with the consomé enjoying the distinction of being some of the thickest in town, making dipping easier and the soup itself more fortifying.

Three corn tortilla tacos with a dark soup on the side and garnished with bright red radish slices in foreground.
The birria tacos come in threes at Tortas Morelos.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

El Gallo Taqueria

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This modernistic Gravesend taco spot offers a good shredded birria in a pair of corn tortillas, Puebla fashion. The meat is full of flavor and the balance of chiles ideal, though a little milder than you might like. There’s no consomé, alas, or otherwise you could make the tacos soupier — still, if you prefer to not make a mess as you eat, this is a great place to get birria. A handful of other tacos, pozole, and tortas fill out the menu of this welcoming institution, which now boasts two other branches, in Nolita and on the Upper West Side.

A pair of double tortilla birria tacos with a glimpse of the striated meat underneath chopped cilantro and onions.
Birria at the original El Gallo Taqueria in Gravesend.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Las Delicias Mexicanas

Like the Tacos El Bronco truck in Sunset Park, East Harlem stalwart Las Delicias Mexicanas provides an older idea of birria — served as a stew with corn tortillas long before quesabirria tacos and birria mulitas became all the rage. As an added plus, this birria is made with very flavorful lamb, rather than beef. The brick-red broth is also somewhat oddly bobbing with carrots, which add sweetness. It’s up to you to assemble the birria tacos.

A bowl of red soup with a hand and spoon lifting a morsel of meat.
In East Harlem, birria can be a lamb soup with lots of carrots.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Taqueria 86

Long may you ponder why a taco storefront on West 94th Street is called Taqueria 86 (it commemorates the year the World Cup was held in Mexico). A full range of tacos is offered, to be washed down with beer in a comfortable, sports-bar setting, but the best tasted was filled with a shredded and chile-laden birria. The braised meat was totally up to par, and cheese and cilantro were generously applied, but the consomé seemed a bit thin and pallid, so you may want to skip the dipping part.

A metal tray with green and white checked paper on it and a pair of tacos.
Birria tacos at newcomer Taqueria 86.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Vida Verde

Eater critic Ryan Sutton is particularly fond of the beef birria tacos at this Midtown West cocktail lounge, open till the wee hours with a kitchen led by Pueblan-born chef Ignacio Cotzomi. The birria is exceedingly chunky, and according to Sutton, “The brisket itself flaunts an intensely browned and crispy exterior; it exudes an intoxicating bovine aroma that recalls the best suadero tacos or griddled burgers.” A cup of consomé and salsa de arbol are served on the side. 

Three tacos on a ceramic plate with brown chunks of meat.
Birria tacos at Vina Verde.
Ryan Sutton/Eater NY

Chofi Taco

Chofi Tacos has an unusual trajectory. Founded by Kim-Martin Flammia and Patrick Flammia, it started out as a Smorgasburg stall in Williamsburg. Then it hopped across two rivers to Union City, New Jersey. Located midblock in a residential neighborhood with outdoor seating and two tables inside, the place specializes in birria tacos, though several other fillings — including an intriguing “nortena” of cubed skirt steak — are also available. But the birria tacos themselves are fantastic, lushly stuffed and deeply dipped in juices, with the currently faddish quesabirria taco (or “quesataco”) the best. 

A pair of meat stuffed tacos on a pink plate with red soup on the side.
Tacos taste better on a pink plate.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Birria NYC

This renamed space in southeastern Astoria (previously Metro Crust Pizza) is one of a collection of Queens pizzerias taken over by Mexican immigrants. Usually, a taco menu is added to the pizzas; in this case, an entire menu of pizzas with Mexican toppings takes center stage. The birria pizza is a thing of beauty with lots of meat on a melting platform of cheese. Yes, the consomé is served alongside at no extra charge, and there’s a bonus cup of guacamole, which is really better for dipping than soup.

A pizza with white cheese and stringy dark red meat, with soup and green guac on the side.
Birria pizza at Birria NYC.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Cielito Astoria

This newish combination restaurant and cocktail lounge run by restaurateur Alex Arias offers a wonderful menu of specialties — often using the recipes of América Rodriguez — from the state of Sinaloa in northwestern of Mexico, bordering the Gulf of California. Yes, there’s chilorio and aguachiles, but also a great taco version of beef birria. Served with consomé and a fiery orange salsa, these tacos are made on corn tortillas and are oozing with melted cheese.

Two tacos with meat inside and cheese underneath the meat.
Quesabirria tacos at Cielito Astoria.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Birria-Landia

This quintessential New York City birria truck, via brothers José and Jesús Moreno, appeared as if by magic nearly two years ago in Jackson Heights, and a line immediately began to form. The birria harkens to Tijuana instead of Jalisco, but all the bells and whistles are there, including dipped tortillas and a chunky consomé served on the side. Not only are tacos available, but also tostadas and mulitas, the latter especially recommended, depositing the filling between two tortillas and oozing white cheese.

Three mulitas stuffed with beef birria and cheese.
Mulitas (two tortillas + cheese) at our first birria truck.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Chinelos Birria Tacos

Near the new public library and Gantry State Park in Hunter’s Point, Long Island City, a prodigious collection of food trucks has assembled. Among the hot dogs, chicken teriyaki, and empanadas, one artistically decorated van specializes in birria. In addition to a largely Pueblan menu, Chinelos Birria Tacos offers a very fine example of birria tacos, sold in threes on smallish dipped tortillas, freighted with extra meat. The very chunky consomé is available as a side dish, but must be requested.

Three tacos with meaty red filling in an aluminum carryout container.
Birria tacos, three to an order.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Delicias Galindo Food Truck

Finally, the birria trucks that have characterized the street dining scene in the other boroughs have motored into Manhattan. The Delicias Galindo van, having previous made Corona its home, has found its way to Chelsea. Just like the other trucks, it sells an assortment of taco fillings, though beef birria and consomé is the highlight. And like the other birria trucks, it adds Pueblan flourishes to what is basically a Tijuana specialty. The birria quesadilla is a case in point, with the juicy meat folded into a giant corn tortilla, the top squiggled with crema, queso seco, and guac that’s normally used on tacos.

A plastic container with a reddish quesadilla nearly obscured by its white and black toppings.
Birria quesadilla at the Delicias Galindo food truck.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Tacos Güey

Under chef Henry Zamora, who once worked at French Laundry, the menu at Flatiron newcomer Tacos Güey features a birria taco made with chile-braised lamb, rather than beef. Served in pairs, they are made with paper-thin tortillas that are not pre-coated with the birria braising liquid due to fragility, but an austere and highly flavored consomé is served on the side for dipping; you’ll find yourself drinking the rest after you eat the tacos.

A pair of chopped meat tacos covered with chopped onions and cilantro, with a saucer of soup on the side.
Fine dining birria at Tacos Güey.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Borrachito

This flashy East Village spot, descended from a bar, offers a range of tacos from a colorful blue window on the sidewalk, washed down with cocktails and Mexican sodas served from the same window. It flaunted its birria tacos from the start. They’re made from oxtail rather than the usual chuck roast, and available on corn or flour tortillas. No consomé, though.

A pair of juicy meat tacos, one with a flour tortilla and the other with a yellowish corn tortilla that looks homemade.
Choose either corn or flour tortillas.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Atla

Even after the departure of chef Daniela Soto-Innes, Atla keeps innovating. One of its most recent offerings is birria — boneless beef short rib served in a half-pound portion cradled in a banana leaf. Alongside come cilantro, onion, and an orange-colored “salsa roja,” and the beef achieves a level of flavor unusual for that meat, making it taste almost like goat. House-made tortillas must be ordered separately.

A banana leaf filled with chopped red meat.
Atla, where birria comes in a banana leaf.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Birria LES

This combined effort of Iqbal “Iggy” Ahmed, Emon Ullah, and Raymundo Garcia resulted in one of the first birrieria to serve halal meat. Why not goat? “It’s way too expensive,” Ahmed told me one evening. The birria tacos here are pleasantly soupy, heaped with lots of onion and cilantro, and consomé is available on the side. This place also marks birria’s advent on the Lower East Side.

A soupy taco with a cup of soup on the side.
Birria LES — where the beef is halal.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

La Brujeria

La Brujeria (“the witchery) is an amazing taqueria in the back of a Jersey City gas station. It opened a year ago, owned by Mexico City native Roberto Islas, who is also the chef. It was the first place in the metropolitan area to make birria out of lamb rather than beef (though we’re still waiting for real goat birria to appear). The consomé is one of the darkest and richest in town, though the tortillas are not dipped. The shredded meat is intensely flavorful, and gas prices are cheap, too, in case you want to fill up.

Three tacos in a styrofoam container with red soup on the side illumined by an open car window.
Witchcraft at La Brujeria.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Birria-Landia Williamsburg

A second truck parked under the BQE at Metropolitan in Williamsburg has doubled the reach of our first birria truck. This truck is twice as big and getting your birria should require less of a wait, yet lines still form. Unlike the first truck, it pulls up earlier at 2 p.m., which makes it easier to avoid a long wait. Look for a further location in the Bronx. The consomé are these trucks is the best in town, even though one has to purchase it separately.

A line of people stands in front of a wide taco truck
Williamsburg’s Birria-Landia appears midafternoon.
James Park/Eater NY

Related Maps

Peter's Crunchy Red Tacos

Appearing just above the Jefferson stop on the L in Bushwick, Peter’s sleek black truck added a couple of flourishes to the birria taco scene. Like Birria-Landia, it too concentrated on beef birria alone, offered as tacos and four further configurations, though the last two sometimes sell out early: quesabirria tacos, mulitas, tortas, and nachos. Additionally, the antojitos are crisped on the griddle before serving, hence the designation “crunchy tacos.” The truck is named for proprietor Peter Luna, whose parents own taquerias in Brooklyn and Queens.

A close-up showing one quarter of a single mulita, with meat visible on the edge.
These mulitas are crunchy.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Nene’s Deli Taqueria at Eric Mini Market

This bodega is the current home of Nene’s Deli Taqueria, once located a half mile north in a much tinier space. It’s the project of Andrés Tonatiuh Galindo Maria, a classically trained chef who has now turned his attention to birria. Working on a tiny griddle mid-bodega, he turns out tacos, burritos, mulitas, quesadillas, tortas, empanadas, and sopes. If you want birria ramen, Galindo Maria will reach up to one of the shelves, pluck down a package of Mexican-made ramen, and cook you up a bowl.

A pair of mulita halves with guacamole and meat visible between two tortillas.
Nene’s is currently at Eric Mini Market.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

La Lupe Cantina

Let’s say you want to eat birria in a bistro setting, served on a non-floppy plate and washed down with a beer or even a margarita. La Lupe may be your place. A narrow back courtyard provides outdoor seating, and the birria is thoughtfully made and stuffed opulently into small tortillas. No consomé comes alongside, but the chile and beefy flavors are spot on, the guac a welcome addition, and the radish matchsticks a festive touch. The joint is owned by Karla Muniz, who operated Mexican restaurants in Ecuador before moving to the United States.

Two red saucy tacos with meat on a white china plate.
Want your birria tacos on a ceramic plate?
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Tacos El Bronco

This legendary taco truck first pulled up across the street from Sunset Park’s Jackie Gleason Bus Depot in 2007. Owned by Mariano Tapia, it spawned a fleet of taco trucks and a full-blown restaurant just down the hill on Fourth Avenue. In addition to low-cost tacos served into the wee hours, it also makes a mean birria, chunky with beef and offered in a paper cup. Recently, the fabled truck started making birria tacos, too.