Birrieria Aguinaga

So, a while back I lost a work related bet with one of my sales guys. The wager was a taqueria lunch of the loser's choosing. So, thanks to a recent DMN article about the popularity of the taquerias around town, I chose Birrieria Aguinaga. This joint was recognized for its Goat (Birria) tacos, so we figured we'd give it a shot.

We arrived at the location on NW Hwy shortly after 11:30, and the place/parking lot/neighborhood was empty. This isn't normal for this side of town, but I can only assume we were early. When on the way home from work, and around dinner time the parking lot is always packed.

My meal started with delicious chips and salsa -- They were not superb, but pretty tasty. I ordered two Birria tacos, one Carnitas and one Al Pastor. All on flour tortillas (with the cilantro and onion on the side). I know I'm non traditional, but I prefer the flour tortilla, and want to make sure I'm not over cilantro'd. The plate of taco's came with some DELICIOUS pickled onions. The flour tortillas were clearly homemade and fresh.

The Birria taco is delicious -- it's vaguely smoky, greasy and tender, much like good barbacoa. This was my first experience with birria, but I'll be back for more, it was perfect just with a squeeze of lime and a few of the pickled onions.

My carnitas was also a fine specimen. I treated this more traditionally and loaded the tortilla down with cilantro, lime and onions, and added the house green salsa. The carnitas was tender, with just the right amount of crispy on the edge.

The Al Pastor left something to be desired. It was clearly Pork, not the traditional lamb, but I'm ok with that. It didn't have the usual slight sweetness one associates with al pastor. I loaded it up with lime juice and pickled onions and enjoyed it none the less.

I can assure you I'll be back for a fine goat taco, but have many more locations to scout out for my favorite carnitas in the NW Dallas area. We're now making bi-weekly trips to different taquerias, so I'll continue to update.
--Brad