I had passed Birrieria Enriquez several times while driving east on University. It's right past the Georgia Street Bridge, where Philly Grill used to be. I'd been wanting some birria and really didn't want to head down South, so I decided to give the place a try. It was a bit of an effort trying to find parking, but I knew that based on previous visits to businesses in the location.
After being blessed with finding parking on Landis and Mississippi I walked on over.
The interior is a bright white with a simple counter; there's one outdoor table.
The sign says "Sonoran style birria", so I knew it was going to be birria de res all the way. There was one gentleman working, you order at the counter and he sets to work. I ordered and had a seat at the counter at the window.
Soon enough my order was ready. I was also provided a fairly picante red salsa for what I got. Which was a Birria Taco, a Cabeza Taco, and of course some Consomme. The tacos were fairly loaded with meat.
The Consomme smelled and tasted wonderful; it was much richer than I'm used to and actually had birria in it!
A squeeze of lime just balanced things out. Man, a bit of spice, some beefiness, smokiness, this might be the best consomme I've had in a while! It was definitely the highlight of the meal for me.
As for the tacos, as I mentioned, they were pretty "stuffed".
My favorite of the two I ordered was the Cabeza. It was tender, beefy, with a side of "funk". Nicely seasoned and cooked, so very juicy. A squirt of lime to cut the richness, cilantro and onion to add pungency, and it was darn good. The tortillas were fine; they were doubled with some queso in between to hold it together.
The tortillas for the birria taco had been doused in consomme before placing on the comal which contributed to the flavor and texture. The beef smoky, with a nice amount of pungent-acidic-beefy tones, good cumin-spice. It was a bit chewier and stringy, but the flavor was nice. It sure beats the hipster-faddish versions that now proliferate San Diego.
I enjoyed this meal; especially that consomme.
As I was finishing my meal and young lady came in and ordered 6 fish tacos? At a birria shop? I guess she saw the look on my face, smiled and said "the fish tacos here are the bomb, better than the food trucks around here." Hmmm…… Well, that gave me a good reason to return.
And of course I ordered the consomme. Not feeling too hungry, I just decided to try the fish taco. I again had a seat on the counter by the window, but I took notice of the small dining area at the side of the restaurant.
This time I was provided with three different salsas.
I figured that the two creamy ones were for the fish tacos.
Speaking of the fish taco.
The piece of battered and fried fish was quite large. But the batter was soggy and the flesh of the pescado was slimy-fishy-muddy, not my favorite flavors and textures when it comes to fish. Not even the lime and the salsas….I preferred the verde (green), which had a bit more acidity and herbaceousness, but I really didn't enjoy this.
As for the consomme….well, it was just as good this time around.
Well, teach me to order a Taco de Pescado at a birria place, right?
As for Birrieria Enriquez, well, I'll definitely return for the consomme and the cabeza. They also have Sonoran style Menudo, but were out on both of my visits. I'll keep trying to get that for the Missus. And with that one outdoor table….who knows, maybe I'll bring JJ along!
Birrieria Enriquez
2041 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Tues – Thurs 10am – 8pm
Fri – Sun 9am – 9pm
Closed on Monday
This was quite the bowl! There was shimeji mushroom, quail eggs, fish balls (not my favorite thing), some ground pork, a couple of slices of char siu-ish pork, fairly tender shrimp (not deveined), and two, really tasty fried crab.
The skin hadn't been fried crisp and were rubbery. The "tomyum" was a a packaged powder that was overly salty. The wings were moist and tender, but the drumettes really dry and tough.
I like the folks working here, there is quite a variety of dishes on the menu so I will definitely return. They have some Com Tom dishes so I'll probably drag the Missus along. They have outdoor tables, so maybe JJ might join us. I know my friend "CY" said we'll grab lunch here in a couple of weeks. With Saigon Corner and 
Granted, there was a lot more veggies to shrimp than I recall. But the nice crunch, variety of flavors, with a dip in the wasabi and ginger enhanced Tsuyu, alternated with the perfectly cooked slightly stretchy soba was just what the doctor ordered on this day.
I prefer my cheesesteak to have thinly sliced beef, not chopped too finely like this was. One could not complain about the portion size nor price. Looks like a great neighborhood place to take the family for some slices and maybe enjoy the art, but perhaps not for a cheesesteak. Looks like I'll be headed to Evans or Wise Ox soon…..boy do I miss 
Soon enough my lomo saltado arrived. Quite a bit of onions and papas frita in this. The rice was fairly dry and chewy, but edible, and seemed to have been seasoned a bit.
The presentation was lovely; though the boiled egg was overcooked. The chicken was fairly bland, stringy, and there was a bit too much mayo. The potatoes were nicely done though.
Loved the crust of the empanadas. Even though it wasn't slightly flakey, it had a nice crunchy texture. I didn't care much for the dusting of sugar as I think it detracted from the overall flavor. Like I mentioned earlier, the sauce did well with the pastry, deflecting some of the sweetness and helping with the texture of the beef which was pretty chewy.
This was a lot less stuffed than the version at The Peruvian Spot. It had a drizzle of Mama G's sauce which did a pretty nice job of adding a creamy, mild spice to things. The ratio of camote and salsa criolla to meat was quite balanced.
The young lady working asked me if I wanted to try the spicy versions of Mama G's sauces and brought some over when I said yes. The verde was quite nice, not overly spicy to me. I added a tad more to the sandwich and used it to dip the very dry and limp fries.
It was too delicate; a bit over baked, the laminated exterior just falling off. You know what was going to happen when I actually bit into it, right? A certain song by the Rolling Stones came to mind:
First thing I noticed was how "clear" the broth was. Second thing was how the basil was starting to brown. Well, at least there was some ngo gai, a rarity these days it seems. I enjoy the more intense the peppery-cilantro-ish-slightly bitter flavor it provides. Even this leaf was starting to go south as well; I could use most of it. 
As for the broth…can you say MSG water? With a dose of that sweetness that has been pervading pho in San Diego over the last decade or so. The soup was quite thirst inducing; or perhaps I'm just more sensitive to the stuff as I get older?
There was a good amount of meat in this "small bowl". So perhaps that's the calling card?
The soup, while being a bit overly defatted had some beefiness, mild anise-oniony tones, while it still had that "San Diego" sweet flavor. It wasn't overly salty. This was better than I recall having on previous visits.
The proteins, while not as well prepared as "da cow" were fine, though there was no tendon to be found! The flank and brisket were cut a bit on thicker side, but the beefiness came through. The tripe was a bit more "hard" than crunchy.