Marc L.
Yelp
A good entry point into Birria.
While the Birria craze has died down a bit, popular Birria restaurants still attract a crowd and Birria Los Socios is a good example. The brick and mortar version of the popular Jay's Red Taco trucks, this is one of the more popular places to get your Birria fix taken care of. If you don't catch them at the right time, though, it could be a 20-30 minute wait to order. Make sure you factor in that extra time!
I got a Beef Mulita ($7.28), Beef Quesataco ($4.68), a Small Consommé with Meat ($4.16), and a large Cucumber agua fresca ($6.24) to drink. $25 in total for a lot of food... AND a friend gave me a Chivo (Goat) Taco to sample!
The Beef Mulita and Beef Quesataco are both super cheesy, but bang for buck, I see why the Quesataco is the most popular item on the menu. Given the nature of stewed beef and melted cheese, it's gonna be a deliciously greasy endeavor no matter what you order, but the Quesataco was the right mix of cheesy, crispy, greasy goodness to keep you coming back for more. The Mulita is good too, but for handheld ease of eating, the Quesataco is the clear winner!
Of course you can't have Birria without that consommé and Birria Los Socios does it right because the consommé come with extra meat in it... from what I understand, if you order a Medium or Large-sized Consommé they give you some tortillas as well.
But what about the Goat? I'm not the craziest about Chivo/Goat, especially after having bad experiences, but the Goat at Los Socios is the cleanest I've had. If you've ever had baaaaaddd goat (haha), you'll know it tastes RANCID if it's not prepared well, but that's not a problem at Birria Los Socios! While the Beef is good, I feel like the next time I come here I want to order Goat for everything... even the burritos, which I've heard are very good.
The Cucumber agua fresca, which I saw a lot of Yelpers rave about, is very refreshing... definitely a "healthier" choice if you wanted a less sugary drink. Regardless, whether you dine in or takeout, they got a smooth operation running here: service is fast, they accept cash or credit, and they have a nice self-serve salsa stand for you to load up on sauces, limes, and cilantro.
Not sure if this is THE BEST Birria in LA, but it's a contender for sure!