Crystal Wise
To have a full understanding of just how popular Jacqueline Anaya’s birria taco truck has become, one only needs to eat there — or, rather, try to — on any given Saturday.
Up and down East Belknap, cars start lining up around 11. Within the hour, the street looks like Interstate 35 during rush hour, with cars lined up as far as the eye can see.
The scene perfectly illustrates the growing popularity of birria tacos and, in particular, Anaya’s birria tacos. Next to barbecue, birria de res — a traditional Mexican dish consisting of stewed meat, spices and peppers — has been the hottest food trend in Fort Worth this year, and Anaya’s food truck, Calisience, has greatly helped stoke that fire.
“It was definitely a right place/right time type of thing,” says the Los Angeles native, who moved to Fort Worth as a teen and graduated from Eastern Hills High. “Believe me, it’s still kind of a shock to me, to think this many people want to try my food.”
The signature item at Calisience is tacos dorados, made with beef birria, Monterey Jack cheese, and corn tortillas. Using a recipe passed down from her grandmother, Anaya simmers the beef in spices for up to seven hours. The beef is folded into the tortillas, along with the cheese. Each taco is then grilled for about 13 minutes, melting the cheese and crisping the edges of the tortillas. Some people call them “quesatacos” as they bear a resemblance to quesadillas.
Each order is served with a side of beefy broth, called consommé, for dipping.
Crystal Wise
What sets Anaya apart from others is how she utilizes birria in other dishes. She’s used it as a filling in quesadillas and, most recently, tortas. It’s also the primary component of her popular ramen, which she makes with birria broth and traditional ramen noodles.
Birria is thought to have originated years ago in Jalisco. Using it as a taco filling developed in Tijuana, according to Eater. As the popularity of the dish increased throughout Mexico, different recipes emerged. “Originally, only goat meat was used for birria,” Anaya says. “But a lot of people use beef now, and some use veal, lamb, or pork.”
The trend of adding cheese and grilling the tacos on a flattop became popular in California, then other parts of the country — New York, D.C., Texas. In Fort Worth, restaurants that have long served birria are experiencing a surge in popularity, while others are adding their own spin.
“I love that about Texas,” she says. “Restaurants and chefs here aren’t afraid to get out of their comfort zones and put their own twists on things.”
The success of Calisience has afforded Anaya the opportunity to expand her business. In November, she’ll open a second food truck, called Cali Mar. Parked in the same lot as Calisience, it’ll be devoted to food inspired by the cuisine of Sinaloa, where some of her family is from.
She’ll offer two signature dishes: tacos gobernador, grilled tacos filled with shrimp, mozzarella, tomatoes, garlic, and poblano peppers; and mar y tierra, a breaded and fried sushi roll stuffed with vegetables and cooked seafood.
“This is all food I grew up on,” she says. “The birria comes from my grandmother, the Sinaloa food from my aunts. The fact that I’m able to share this food and these recipes with Fort Worth, I don’t know if there’s a better feeling than that.”
Crystal Wise
Calisience, 3318 E. Belknap St., instagram.com/calisience
