1535 South Standard Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92707
I'm slowly going through my restaurant wishlist, trying to get to some of the places that have been on my list for a couple years or more. One of those spots is Navarro's Taqueria, which opened just over two years ago, near the intersection of Standard and Edinger Avenues. They won rave reviews from some food writers that I really respect. That was enough to get me up and out of the house on my day off, driving thirty minutes each way for an early lunch.
Located between a gas station and an auto mechanic, across from Madison Park, Navarro's is a blink and you'll miss it spot. According to my friend that lives in the area, this location has been a number of restaurants over the years, but nothing has stuck. I have a feeling that with all the great press and the four and a half star reviews that they receive, Navarro's might be around for a long time. They also feature the one thing that might be hotter than Nashville hot chicken sandwiches right now, birria.
For those of you that are not familiar with birria, here's a little history. Birria comes to us from Jalisco, Mexico, where it was made centuries ago. It's basically a stew, traditionally made with goat. The birria tacos we know today are birria de res, which is made with beef. The tortillas are dipped in the broth, which gives them their trademark orange hue. The beef is shredded and the tacos are served with the consomme, which is the broth that the meat is cooked in. It's topped with cilantro and onions, and the tacos are dipped in it for an even greater flavor enhancement.
Navarro's gets a lot of love for their birria, but they also offer eight other kinds of proteins which can be made into tacos or burritos. There are also ten tortas to try, along with quesadillas, taquitos, nachos, and loaded fries. Breakfast is also done here for early risers. Prices are pretty modest, with only a couple plates exceeding the $12 mark. Their online ordering worked well for me, as my food was ready when I arrived. It was wrapped well to avoid spillage and was all accounted for. Let's see if my sixty-minute drive for lunch on my day off was worth it.
First up, the famous Birria Combo B ($13.99), which includes three birria tacos, beans, rice, and consomme. The tacos are street taco-sized, but they provide plenty of the birria in each one, topped with plenty of cilantro and diced red onion. I was expecting the tortillas to be a little moist, but they were fried crisp. On its own, the birria was good, but when dunked into the consomme it became even better. The moisture and big flavor of the consomme burst through in each bite The beans and rice were pretty solid as well.
With the exploding popularity of birria, it was just a matter of time before some hybrid birria items became mainstream, and that leads us to this wonderful Quesabirria ($9.99). Even better than the tacos, this quesadilla filled with birria and cheese was the perfect vehicle for the birria. Very cheesy and filling, these four pieces did not last too long. I especially liked the crispy tortilla which added a nice texture to each bite. You have to get this when visiting Navarro's.
It was not all birria for me on this trip, as I had to give their other tacos some love. I tried the Al Pastor ($1.55), Asada ($1.49), and the Carnitas ($1.49) tacos. The best of the bunch was the pastor, which had a pleasing marinade seared into the pork, with a touch of sweetness from the pineapple dripping down the trompo. My silver medallist here was the asada, which was more tender than I was expecting, and got a nice jolt of flavor from the provided hot salsa that was packed tightly in my bag. The carnitas was, unfortunately, a bit dry, and lacked any depth of flavor that I was hoping for. Not awful, but it could not hold a candle to the other proteins at Navarro's.
Navarro's Taqueria was definitely worth visiting on my day off from work. The birria, especially in the quesabirria was delicious and has gotten me inspired to seek out more of it as soon as possible. I was also impressed with their regular tacos, which were filled with way more than I was expecting, based on the price, and were anything but lackluster. If any of you have any birria places you think we should try out, don't hesitate to reach out via social media or with the email at the top right of this page.
Out of five shot glasses, (because Jalisco, Mexico was not only the birthplace of birria, but also tequila, and as every college-aged student knows, a shot glass of tequila is a great way to start an evening of partying), five being best to zero being worst, Navarro's Taqueria gets 3.5 shot glasses.
Navarro's Taqueria does not have a website, but you can get more information about them on their Yelp page by clicking here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/navarros-taqueria-santa-ana
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