Rerouting to Tijuanazo

 Tijuanazo Birrieria

676 South State College Boulevard #101

Anaheim, CA 92806

Truth be told, we had not anticipated eating at Tijuanazo. We had planned on going to Tacos Los Cholos down the street before heading to an early-season Angels game. Tacos Los Cholos has been on my list forever. After so many false attempts, we were determined to finally experience what many consider one of the best taco spots around these parts. 

It was not to be, though. We cruised into the parking lot to see an extensive line of people around the building waiting to get their tacos. The open-air grill expelled an aroma that told people far and near that the tacos at Los Cholos might be worthy of the hype. I would have to wait to find out, as we had to pivot to find somewhere else to eat, as the mediocre food at Anaheim Stadium would not suffice. A quick Yelp search brought us to Tijuanazo Birrieria. 

They are not to be confused with the famous Tijuana taco stand, which recently opened two locations in the US, one in LA and the other in San Diego. Tijuanazo Birrieria has four locations, all in the Inland Empire, except for this one. Their first foray into OC opened last year. In that time, they have garnered a 4.8-star rating but with only 45 reviews. It's not a big enough sample size, but we were intrigued enough to try them.  

Tijuanazo is strictly a birria restaurant. Want carne asada or pastor? You're going to have to find another spot. They serve birria in many forms; burritos, tacos, nachos, tortas, party packs, and even ramen. Regular birria tacos cost $4, while the quesabirria taco will cost you a dollar more. The rest of the menu is modestly priced, with nothing over $14. They also have Taco Tuesday and other specials throughout the week. We ordered at the counter and sat in the spacious dining room while waiting for our food to be prepared. Let's see if Tijuanazo is a good stand-in for where we were initially going to eat.  

I got two Quesabirria Tacos ($4.75 each) and one standard Birria Taco ($3.99). Pay the extra 76 cents to get the quesabirria tacos. The regular taco was fine, and once I dressed it up with onions, cilantro, and their extra spicy hot sauce, it was just as good as any birria taco I've had. The cheese mixed with the moist birria brings these to the next level. The consome here is one of the best I've had, and when you dip the tacos in it, it is like a flavor bomb going off. I did not have a bad bite while here.   

When we first had Birria Ramen ($13.50), I thought it was just some gimmick to be shown on social media. Then we tasted it, and now we are converts. We can never go back to regular Cup Noodles ever again. The birria and the consome make this more comforting than hot chocolate on a chilly evening. Katie found it hard to share with me, but luckily, this was good sized, so I got a few bites after she got her fill. 

Even though we had not planned on eating at Tijuanazo, our flexibility paid off. These were some of the best birria items we have had to date, and as a bonus, they were not as pricey as other places we have visited. The restaurant was clean, the employees were friendly, and the food will have us returning soon, probably during Duck's hockey season. 

Out of five salads (because the Caesar salad was invented in Tijuana 100 years ago), five being best to zero being worst, Tijanazo gets 3.5 Caesar salads. 

For more information about Tijuanazo Birrieria, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.birrieriaeltijuanazoca.com/