I still remember the first time that I heard the term “birria tacos.” My son, then a high-schooler, came home talking about some new kind of taco he wanted to make – something he had seen on TikTok.
At first, I wasn’t sure whether to believe him. I thought I knew all the tacos there were. But then he showed me the video – a golden tortilla stuffed with rich dark brown meat being plunged into a bowl of amber liquid shiny with a bit of oil on top. I had to admit it looked decadent.
That may have been the first time I encountered birria tacos, but it wasn’t the last. It seemed that within months birria was popping up on menus at Mexican restaurants everywhere.
“It’s been around for probably 50 years, but you know social media these days – they bring all kinds of things to the surface,” said chef Basir Ahadi of Taco Zocalo. “Everyone was asking their favorite taco shops if they had birria.”
Click here to read the rest of the story over at the Ashburn Magazine website, including the history of birria tacos, how they exploded on the American culinary scene and a pro tip from one Ashburn area “expert.”