Aqui Es Texcoco

"Lamb is king at Aqui Es Texcoco, and if you leave without the meat sweats, you didn’t do it right. The cafeteria-like Chula Vista restaurant does brisk business in barbacoa, served with mugs of piping hot lamb broth and chickpea soup that make great hangover helpers, especially at breakfast time. Cuts of slow-roasted lamb, both fatty and lean, come with fresh corn tortillas and all the fixings to fashion your own tacos. But if you’re with the right company, you should get feral with a whole roasted lamb head, excavating morsels of fall-apart meat off the skull while navigating through the occasional tooth or eyeball." - Candice Woo

"Birria might be the Mexican slow-cooked meat dish of the moment, but barbacoa — particularly barbacoa de borrego (lamb) — might reign supreme. This Chula Vista restaurant has been focused on lamb barbacoa for nearly 35 years, turning out tender, succulent barbecue that’s best had as a build-your-own taco experience, served with fresh tortillas, salsa, garnishes, and a side of rich lamb broth, but it’s also excellent as a filling for crunchy flautas or cheesy quesotacos. Although lamb is king here, don’t miss the zucchini flower or huitlacoche quesadillas." - Candice Woo, Helen I. Hwang

"Birria might be the Mexican slow-cooked meat dish of the moment, but barbacoa — particularly barbacoa de borrego (lamb) — might reign supreme. This Chula Vista restaurant has been focused on lamb barbacoa for nearly 35 years, turning out tender, succulent barbecue that’s best had as a build-your-own taco experience, served with fresh tortillas, salsa, garnishes, and a side of rich lamb broth, but it’s also excellent as a filling for crunchy flautas or cheesy quesatacos. Although lamb is king here, don’t miss the zucchini flower or huitlacoche quesadillas." - Candice Woo, Helen I. Hwang

"This sit-down restaurant pays homage to the city of Texcoco in Mexico, where lamb barbacoa originated. This traditional dish is slow-roasted for several hours in an underground fire pit and covered in the leaves of the Maguey plant. Owner Francisco Perez replicates the barbacoa-making process using a specialized oven, making his South Bay lamb barbacoa incredibly close to what you would enjoy in Texcoco. Grab your family and friends and share an order of cuts of lamb barbacoa alongside handmade corn tortillas, fresh limes, and garnishes. The Baja-style grilled quail and squash blossom quesadillas are also standouts." - Kristin Díaz de Sandi

"Aqui es Texcoco highlights a hyper-regional style of lamb barbacoa slow-cooked in an underground pit oven, a style hailing from the state of Morelos and renowned throughout Mexico. The tacos and dinner plates topped rich, tender meat have earned this restaurant a near-religious following among those in the know. Lamb barbacoa remains the house special but you really can’t go wrong with any item on the menu." - Mario A. Cortez, Candice Woo