Four-Generation-old famous Birria Recipe at Chalio Mexican Restaurant

(Gerry Furth-Sides) for young Chalio Luis in Jalisco, watching his grandparents cook delicious birria to ready for each weekend was more than a welcome treat.  This was a 1930’s and the ritual became a highlight of his childhood.  By that time the recipe has already been in the family for four generations, ever since the 1880’s.

Today, birria is also the longtime favorite of several generations at Chalio’s, family-owned Chalio Mexican Restaurant in East Los Angeles.   And it got its initial claim to fame with birria, a spicy goat stew.  And rightfully so.  Layers of flavor permeate the dish of tender strips of marinated meat in a rich broth.

Young Chalio was not the only one who loved the traditional birria.  Family legend has it that the townspeople would order and wait with great anticipation for their special occasion order to arrive.  It was a “must-have” from weddings to funerals.  Chalio wanted to re-create this feeling for customers.  And he has succeeded.

In the 1980’s Chalio made his way to the US working as a field hand. Before long he was selling birria out of his backyard.  He would drive warehouse to warehouse selling to workers, too.  Eventually, the dish because so popular that customers came looking for him — with up to 150 in the backyard.  So it wasn’t surprising that when he opened his first restaurant it was an instant a success.

The spicy stew dish, Birria, which originated in Jalisco, is traditionally made of goat meat marinated in adobo spices, mutton (yes, sheep!) or less often out of chicken or beef.

Chalio’s honors the goat dish with no less than 8 choices of parts including (1) Pescuezo or neck and bones; (2) Aldila or Carne con Nervio, Meat with nerves; (3) Pienesillo/Espinazo, Espinazo Hueso or  Tender meat with bones; (4)Pistola or Hueso, nervio, carne or bone with nerve & meat; (5) Costilla, Carne con Hueso or Tender Rib (6) Maciza/Pierna, Carne sin Hueso or boneless meat).

Chips made in-house with a habanero sauce so popular the restaurant bottles it for sale by customer demand.

Family friend and Chalio manager, Frank Mendez, thoughtfully guided us through the 6-page menu of special, unusual traditional dishes.

In the background, we could see homemade tortillas being made in the performance kitchen.

Chile Verde, with a meat of your choice, rice, and beans covered in green chile with melted cheese piled on top features a variety of wholesome and spicy tastes.  It is a favorite of our writer friend, Barbara Hansen, who wrote it up for the Los Angeles Times

Molcajete Azteca in a black stone pot is filled to the brim and over with chicken, beef, chorizo, quasi-ranchero and molcajete salsa (below). The Yucateco version adds shrimp, steak, and avocado.

The word machaca comes from machacado (pounded or crushed) and used dried, hydrated and pounded spiced beef that results in extremely textured, tender meat.

A bowl of Barria (in the background) sits next to a platter filled with the traditional lime, onions, plus rice and beans is next to it.  Huevos con machaca and Chili Verde represent a perfect cross-section of the menu.

Frank thankfully talked us into dessert:  “Tres Leches Cheesecake.”  The dessert arrived and it was indeed tres leches, and it was cheesecake,  and was still a surprise!  – it was an appealing slice of around regular (supremely moist tres leche) cake made with three kinds of milk, striped with cheesecake.  Perfection.

It is bittersweet that the last picture we saw at Chalio was of Anthony Bourdain, who visited the restaurant for the Travel Channel.  The engaging video is below.

www. ChalioMexicanRestaurant. com, Chalio Restaurant, 760 S Atlantic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90022