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The Birria Craze Lands In Berkeley With New Taco Truck 


Patrons line up outside of Tacos El Amigazo in Berkeley on Thursday afternoon. | Michael Romain

Thursday, September 29, 2022 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

Birria, which is a popular steamed meat dish, is all the rage across the country. 

“On Instagram, there’s a collective fetishization of cheese pulls in extreme close-ups, and images of tacos half-dipped in Styrofoam cups of meaty broth,” the New York Times reported last year. 

“The parade of magnificent, bonkers mash-ups is endless — birria waffles, birria pizza, birria fries, birria pho, birria tortellini,” the paper added. 

Now, the birria craze has landed in Berkeley. At a meeting on Aug. 16, the village board approved a license agreement that allows Tacos El Amigazo to sell its popular Mexican cuisine on a vacant village-owned lot at 5544 St. Charles Rd. in Berkeley. 

Rudy Espiritu, Berkeley’s village administrator, said Tacos El Amigazo is the only food truck that operates on village-owned land and the only one he’s aware of in operation in the village. 

The food truck features a range of the standard Mexican dishes, including burritos, quesadilla, tacos and tostadas. But what makes Tacos El Amigazo a rarity among taco establishments is that it serves birria. 

Birria, which originated in the Mexican state of Jalisco, is traditionally goat, lamb or beef slow-stewed in a pot, as opposed to barbacoa, which is cooked underground. 

Village Free Press trekked over to Tacos El Amigazo to taste its birria taco, which was as melt-in-your-mouth as advertised and topped with grilled onions, cilantro, sour cream, jalapeño pepper and sauce. 

The birria taco at Tacos El Amigazo in Berkeley. | Michael Romain 

In addition to the birria taco, the food truck may be the only place foodies in Proviso Township can eat birria ramen. 

Tacos El Amigazo open daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more info, click here. 

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