Tacos y Más: The trendy birria dish put two Houston taquerias on the map – Chron
Birria tacos at Tacos Doña Lena come planted to a little Mexican flag.
Every other Thursday, Chron taco columnist Marco Torres tells the story of Houston through Mexican food in "Tacos y Más." This is Torres' inaugural column, all about birria tacos.
In May 2022, Jose Jesus "Jesse" Esparza, owner of TJ Birria y Más (no relation!), was crowned El Rey de la Birria. He and his team served thousands of quesabirria tacos at the La Feria Festival held at the Humble Civic Center, where they also participated in the birria contest. The judges—myself included—were delighted with the flavor and juiciness of their birria, complemented by a spicy green salsa and flavorful consommé.
At TJ Birria y Más, Jose Jesus “Jesse” Esparza uses three different types of beef cuts for birria tacos.
Birria is a dish that originated in the Mexican state of Jalisco. The traditional meat of choice for birria is goat, although lamb and beef can also be used. The meat is marinated with chiles and other spices, then stewed in a pot for hours, creating a fragrant dark red consommé and exceptionally tender meat.
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In Mexico, birria is served in a bowl, with the meat floating and drowning in its own juices. Fresh tortillas are provided for tacos, or you can roll up the tortilla and eat it alongside your soup.
TJ Birria y Más now has two Houston-area locations, one in Stafford and one in the Heights.
Birria has been a Mexican cuisine favorite for generations. It was usually reserved as a dish served at wedding celebrations or similar festivities. Although birria has been available at some Mexican restaurants and taquerias in Houston for a while, it definitely wasn't as prevalent as it is now.
And that's just traditional birria. The quesabirria trend has dominated social media in the last few years, a result of Tijuana-style birria tacos filled with cheese and wrapped in consommé-dipped tortillas. The trend traveled north of the border, up California to Los Angeles, then spread across the nation.
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As I walked into TJ Birria y Más during the lunch rush one weekday afternoon, I encountered a trio of Harris County Sheriff deputies on their break ordering quesabirria tacos.
"Do you guys come here to eat often?" I asked.
"Yes, we definitely do, but usually not in uniform," responded one of the deputies.
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"I've eaten birria all over town, and this is my favorite," declared another. "The other spots just can't compete with TJ's."
Esparza, the owner, believes that birria is more of a cooking style rather than a type of meat. For his birria, he uses three cuts of beef: brisket for fat, chuck roast for tenderness, and shoulder clod for volume. The meat is then shredded and ready for tacos, quesabirria, and even birria ramen.
Jose Jesus “Jesse” Esparza worked at other restaurants in Houston before striking out on his own at TJ Birria y Más.
Esparza was born in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, and has been in Houston since he was about 5 years old, growing up in the Bellaire and Sharpstown neighborhoods. At the age of 16, he started working as a dishwasher at a Black-eyed Pea restaurant, later moving up as a line cook and server. He distinctly remembers making the chain's famous chicken-fried steaks.
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Later in his career, he worked for Fish City Grill, first as a cook, then a kitchen manager and general manager. He started Taquizas El Jesse in 2018, a taco catering business that was fairly successful.
The original TJ Birria y Más opened in Stafford in May 2020, and the Heights location followed in April 2021. Opening during a worldwide pandemic has been a challenge, but both restaurants have found success with birria as the best-seller on the menu.
Tacos Doña Lena in Spring Branch is another prominent birria establishment. The restaurant is named after Magdalena "Lena" Cabrera, a native of Salamanca, Guanajuato, in Central Mexico.
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Cabrera had been selling tacos out of her home in Mexico since 1985, continuing when she moved to the States in the 1990s, and eventually leading to her namesake restaurant that opened in April 2020. Business slowed during the pandemic, but Tacos Doña Lena built a following through word-of-mouth praise for their quesabirria and other authentic Mexican offerings.
Magdalena “Lena” Cabrera with her son, Angel, at their Spring Branch restaurant Tacos Doña Lena.
"Me encanta la cocina," said Cabrera, expressing love for her kitchen on a pleasant Monday evening as we chatted in front of her restaurant. Most of the tables were full around 8 p.m., only an hour before closing time. Her son Angel was running around, taking orders, helping run food, and making aguas frescas.
So what makes Doña Lena's birria so good? Cabrera keeps her secret adobo recipe close to her heart. She also credits her family's love and passion for food and hospitality as a major factor of their success.
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"Este trabajo es muy pesado (This work is very draining)," she confessed. "Pero nos encanta! (But we love it!)"
Doña Lena's birria tacos are made with tortillas bathed in red consommé and planted with a little Mexican flag perched atop of a toothpick. The steaming birria soup is served in a white styrofoam cup, topped with cilantro and freshly diced onions. Alongside, six salsas are of varying spice levels, from the traditional tomatillo and verde, to the rojo molcajete salsas, and the hottest two aptly named El Mocoso and La Llorona.
From social media hype to real life, it seems like birria in Houston is here to stay. I definitely believe that we're still a fajita, trompo and barbacoa town, but there's more than enough room for all the delicious tacos in my heart and in my belly.
Birria tacos, like the ones at Tacos Doña Lena, are made with tortillas that are dipped in red consommé.
Find it: 2025 N Durham Dr Suite A, Houston, TX 77008
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Find it: 8788 Hammerly Blvd G, Houston, TX 77080
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Marco Torres is Chron’s taco columnist, penning a monthly dispatch on Houston’s Mexican food scene in his “Tacos y Más” column.
Born in Matamoros, Mexico, Torres moved to Houston with his family when he was two years old and has lived here ever since. A graduate of the University of St. Thomas, he dabbled in the oil and gas and banking industries before picking up a camera at age 24.
The authors of “Tacos of Texas” commissioned his photography for the 2016 book, cementing his “taco journalist” moniker. Torres has photographed and written about food and music for the Houston Press, Houstonia, Eater, Chron and the Houston Chronicle.
When he’s not eating or thinking about food, Torres is roaming around the great City of Houston in search of good music and colorful graffiti.
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