Recently, the Missus had an appointment in Chula Vista which finished fairly early at 930am. Since we don't get to this area very much these days, we decided to get something to eat. Of course, De Cabeza/El Único came to mind, but the Missus was craving some Menudo. In the days "BC" (before Covid) when we were in this area much more often; the obvious choice would have been Talavera Azul. But, on our last visit, the offerings just didn't seem to be as good as on previous visits. So, I suggested we check out Birrieria Y Menuderia Guadalajara on Broadway. It had been over six years since my previous visits, which had been done solo. So, we headed on over and easily found parking in the small lot.
The woman who seemed to be running the front of house was so very warm and welcoming. When placing our order I asked if the same ownership group was opening the location in City Heights I'd seen a couple of months earlier and was given an affirmative on that!
Of course, the Missus got the Menudo Rojo. And just like on my previous visits we could make out the definite "offaly" fragrance as the bowl made its way to our table.
The Missus loved the rich "thickness" of the broth. Which, She brought up to Her preference in flavor with the provided lime, cilantro, onions, and the fairly picante salsas. The richness of the broth had accents of boviney-offal tones. There were various type of tripe provided; really buttery honeycomb tripe, firm book tripe, and blanket tripe.
The tortillas were much thicker than I recalled, but the maize flavor came thru. I will say this; the tortillas had no problem keeping form after dunking.
And for me….well, it just had to be Birria de Chivo. As with the menudo we could make out the fragrance of the bowl before it hit the table. I do prefer the more traditional birria de chivo to the quite fad-driven de res.
The broth did have a decent gamey flavor, but could have used a bit more richness. I added a good amount of cilantro and onion. The meat provided was on the stringy and chewy side. In fact, the Missus didn't care for this much. I gotta get back out there to find a good bowl of birria de chivo. I'm sure that "FOY" Ivan might have some suggestions.
The Missus did enjoy the menudo and the service was wonderful, so I think we'll need to check out the City Heights location. We might wait until all the crazy road work happening on University is complete though.
Birrieria Y Menuderia Guadalajara
396 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Current Hours:
Daily 8am – 4pm
Birria de chivo is the only way to go, IMHO. Pre-9/11 we used to have a couple of spots in TJ that were reliable sources but these days, I don’t really have a go-to spot. So, I’ll be keeping an eye for chivo-related posts. Happy Almost New Year!
nice
Yeah, I gotta get back on my birria chivo search Kenneth!
The Missus loved the Menudo Kat!
How does their menudo compare to the one from Super Cocina (my favorite since it doesn’t come with hominy, which I dislike in menudo but enjoy in pozole)?
If I recall SC’s version was a bit thinner and not as funky. Of course, I haven’t been to SC in ages….let’s just say that the last two times I’ve eaten there, my body rebelled and I didn’t do posts H! So, I haven’t tried eating there in over a decade.
I enjoy their menudo blanco.
I remember you mentioning that before Junichi! I gotta get the Missus to try that.
I’m a sucker for handmade corn tortillas.
Yes, always much better than the machine made stuff Billy!