1 of 4
by Crystal Clear Photography
Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez
2 of 4
by Crystal Clear Photography
Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez
3 of 4
by Crystal Clear Photography
Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez
4 of 4
by Crystal Clear Photography
Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez
When Rogelio Cortez announced on Instagram the opening day for his new food truck, Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez, the last thing he expected to happen was, of course, the first thing that happened: a crush of people turned up.
“We thought maybe there’d be some people there but not on that level,” he says through the window of his truck, parked on East Rosedale Street, next to a tire shop. “We hired a band. We tried to make a big deal of it. But who knew how it was going to go?”
Certainly not Cortez. After just a few hours, he ran out of food. Turns out, people were — and are — unexpectedly anxious to try his “quesatacos,” a cross between quesadillas and tacos. Grilled corn tortillas are stuffed with beef — soaked in a broth for several hours — and mozzarella cheese, then thrown back on the grill to crisp their edges, like those of a quesadilla.
Even though variations of Cortez’s tacos have existed for decades, a food truck in Los Angeles helped bring them to the masses via a YouTube video that now has more than 4 million hits.
Cortez serves his tacos with a large side of consommé, a secret-recipe soup that comes with sides of lime, cilantro, and onions. Dip the taco in the consommé, and you’ll take one of the city’s best new bites.
“My mom’s the master chef,” Cortez says, pulling his mom, Patricia Cortez, into a photo taken for this story. The recipe dates back three generations, originating with Cortez’s grandmother, Aurelia Cortez, a native of La Noria, Jalisco, the rumored birthplace of birria tacos.
“My mom and grandmother made birria tacos for family and friends, and everybody loved them,” Reglio says. “I just put a different spin on them.”
Follow Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez on Instagram @birrieriaytaqueriacortez. Currently open for drive-up service only.
