Alexis B.
Yelp
Delicious! We stopped by for dinner last night and left happy and full! Birrieria y Taquaria Arandas is in the old Zulema's Taqueria on Graylynn Drive in Donelson. It's small inside (just 2-3 tables, I think), but they added some outside seating (picnic tables) as well. We ordered at the counter and enjoyed our meal outside at one of the picnic tables.
Let's talk birria. It's a Mexican dish from Jalisco, and it's essentially meat stewed and served with consomme/soup. Growing up, I learned that birria was goat meat, but usually in the States you're talking beef. (I've only ever seen beef in Nashville.) And quesabirria? Take a tortilla (large or small depending on if it's taco style or quesadilla style), dip it in the consomme, place it on the grill with lots of the cheese and the birria inside, let it get crispy. Then it's served with a cup of consomme to dip the taco/quesadilla into. There are obviously lots of ways/variations of this dish. But in case you haven't had it before but have been hearing a lot about it (isn't quesabirria everywhere all of a sudden!??!? YUM), I thought this might be a helpful dumbed down explanation.
So, of course, we got the quesabirria. Their version was quesadilla style (if they make taco versions I didn't see it on the menu). The consomme was delicious, and the quesadilla was a great cheesy/gooey mess - just what I wanted. The quesadilla didn't stay on the grill long enough to get crispy or browned at all which was my own complaint - because it made a bit more difficult to eat (dipping a soft, pliable slice of quesadilla into the consomme required some skill - did I have enough??). But a delicious, comforting, yummy dish. The plate came with frijoles, rice, lettuce, pico de gallo, slices of cucumber, and lime.
We also got their chicken plate (you can choose whole, half, or three piece chicken - we did the three piece). Their chicken was simple, delicious, with crispy skin, and really good grill/char flavor. A simple dish that I could eat all the time. The plate came with frijoles, rice, lettuce, pico de gallo, slices of cucumber, and some corn tortillas.
This was a meal I'd happily repeat. This is delicious comfort food to me. And that consomme! Check it out. There are a few places where you can find quesabirria in Nashville now - but this little spot in Donelson is making a yummy version.