It’s no secret that I love me some Mexican and South American food. I raved about Mamacita’s a couple of weeks ago when we tried them for the first time and I vowed then to make it back on a Thursday to try their birria tacos since they only make birria on Thursday and we went on a Saturday. Well, it’s Friday and I’m out of work until Monday due to a personal injury and literally cannot stand at the stove to cook dinner, so imagine my surprise and excitement when Chelsea told me that we were going to take a drive out to some random brewery for dinner despite the fact that I’m 8 years sober and Chelsea drinks on rare occasions. Turns out it’s because Mamacita’s busted out the food truck today for a full beef birria menu, so we knew we had to go.
For those not familiar, birria is slow braised meat (typically beef in the US but traditionally using beef, lamb, goat, mutton or chicken) that is marinated in vinegar, garlic, herbs, peppers and spices and then cooked low and slow in a consomé until it is so tender it falls apart when you look at it sternly. By the way, consomé is basically just a fancy Spanish term for broth. Birria is served as a soup, stew, or as tacos, but Mamacita’s said “To hell with tradition, we are gonna put our own fusion twist on this deliciousness” and then proceeded to do what they do best.
The menu for the food truck today was all birria all the time, with various ways of eating this delectable beef ranging from traditional birria tacos to birria nachos, a birria pizza-dilla, birria loaded fries, birria stuffed burritos, birria quesadillas and birria mulita (think taco in sandwich form) as well as some Mamacita’s Staples such as their Philly Egg Rolls, OG Rice Bowl and Beef or Chicken Empanadas. We opted to keep it simple and went with two birria tacos for myself and Chelsea wanted to try a birria mulita.
For the tacos, you get birria, mozzarella cheese, cilantro and onion on a toasted corn tortilla with consomé and lime on the side. First off, the beef is ridiculous. It should be illegal to be this damn perfect. I could have just eaten the beef by the fistful and been happy. This birria is so soft and tender and perfectly cooked that you don’t end up with the stringyness stuck in your teeth after. You could taste every bit of seasoning in the beef without it being overwhelming. The onions were cooked but still crunchy and the mozzarella cheese, although not “traditional” for birria, added a really lovely creamy flavor to balance out against the bite of the onion and garlic. Add in a spritz of fresh lime juice from the wedges served with the tacos, dip it in that so-perfect-you-can-drink-it consomé and you have yourself the closest thing you’ll find to whatever God you believe in in taco form. And yes, the consomé IS so good you could drink it, I know because I actually did drink my leftover consomé and I regret nothing don’t make fun of me. Words cannot express how immaculate these tacos were. I am glad I was sitting in the car when I took my first bite because I got weak in the knees and my eyes rolled backwards. Best. Taco. I. Have. Ever. Had. Period. It reminded me of the street tacos I had walking to and from work in Arizona but even better. Find me a better birria taco and I will give you a million reasons why you are wrong. I dare you.
Chelsea had never had birria before so this was her inaugural taste. For someone who typically prefers chicken over beef in all meals unless it’s a burger or filet mignon, she was ready to dive right in because Mamacita’s. She ordered the birria mulita, which is essentially a taco that isn’t folded and instead has another soft corn tortilla on top, kinda like a grilled cheese sandwich but with corn tortillas instead of bread. Same “fixings” as the tacos with onions, mozzarella and cilantro, cooked the same way, just a different way of eating it. Chelsea took her first bite and her immediate response was “Hmmmph” as she just grunted at me and continued to love every bite. Her mulita came with a bonus side of salsa verde which we both took advantage of and put some on our meals and it was delicious and made the food even better, as if that’s possible. For someone who doesn’t usually order beef with her tacos or quesadillas, she sure fell in love with birria today.
Now here’s a quick warning for anyone who wants to dive face first into some birria: it’s wet. Like, WET wet. Your tacos will drip. They will fall apart. The corn tortillas aren’t cooked to the point of being crispy because they are typically dipped in the consomé before cooking to give you an extra blast of flavor. You WILL make a mess eating birria in any form, it’s inevitable. But it’s also part of the experience. Between the consomé dripping down your chin, braised beef falling on your plate or lap and the taco shells melting from how soft and moist the beef is as it leaks into the shell, you need to be prepared for the juice and mess. This is not a clean meal and it never will be. But just grab a few extra napkins and savor every bite because it’s worth every drop.
All that being said, I cannot express how truly happy and mad my belly is right now. Happy because those tacos are beyond incredible. Mad because I only ordered the two. I am relieved that we live in Jordan and not near Mamacita’s because just like Brewer Union Café in Brewerton, I would eat here so much that I would be broke at all times. Mamacita’s is where it’s at, folks. Twice now we have eaten there, twice now they have absolutely blown our minds. Between their spin on the Cubano a.k.a. the greatest sandwich ever made and now their out-of-this-world perfect birria, Mamacita’s is exactly what perfection means when it comes to Puerto Rican fusion food. 1000/10, 576/5 stars, all of the thumbs up including your neighbor’s and that random estranged family member you try to avoid talking to. Go to Mamacita’s. Tell them Christian, Gregg and Chelsea sent you. See what all of the hype is about because they are worth it in every aspect. This is, hands down, one of our all-time favorite eateries in CNY. They can do no wrong.
Mamacita’s Spanish Fusion Food Truck
Location varies, Syracuse NY
No phone number available, but ordering online an option