Where to get beef birria, and a haircut. Seriously.

This city has plenty of restaurants such as Flor del Rio, Birria de Don Boni and Birrieria Tlaquepaque, and weekend stands offering traditional birria de chivo (Mexican goat stew) served with a bowl or foam cup of rich consommé and warm corn tortillas. However, it’s not as easy finding a place that specializes in beef birria. Fortunately, there’s Birrieria Gonzalez, a food truck in South L.A. run by L.A. native Oscar Gonzalez, serving his family’s beef birria tacos that come wrapped in Tijuana’s signature cone-shaped form, to an increasing number of consommé-sipping Angelenos, seven days a week.

There are a few elements to Birrieria Gonzalez that set it apart from other regional birrierias. For one, it’s the only place in L.A. where you can have birria tacos while you wait your turn to get a haircut — yes, this food truck is parked right in front of Casa de cortes Gonzalez, a barbershop that also happens to be run by the ambitious 29-year-old entrepreneur, Gonzalez.

In February 2015, Gonzalez and his brother Omar decided they needed a space to sell their family’s birria, which was popular with friends and neighbors. So they leased a small barbershop located on the corner of Maple Street and Adams Boulevard, hoping to have a permanent space to serve their aunt’s birria — they had previously sold the birria out of their home on the weekends and for special occasions. During the first six months, they began seeing a surprising increase in the amount of locals craving their tacos and consommé. They never even bothered to hire a barber to work at the now fully operational Casa de Cortes (House of Cuts) Gonzalez barbershop. Business was good, but the city shut them down for not having the proper permits to sell food out of a barbershop.

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For the Record

May 26, 1:56 p.m.: An earlier version of this story said the food truck is located at Maple Street and Avalon Boulevard. The correct cross street is Adams Boulevard.

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The minor setback “ended up being a blessing in disguise,” said Gonzalez. The brothers leased a food truck, got the proper permits and started serving beef birria in front of the now-functioning barbershop.

The truck specializes in serving this lesser-known version of birria, made with beef, that’s widely popular just south of the border. In Tijuana, you’ll find pop-up taco stands and carts on weekends slinging consommé-splashed beef tacos topped with a smoky red salsa at blazing speeds. Some stands are less flashy but also offer ridiculously tender birria tacos topped with pinto beans and salsas that pack a punch.

Before Birrieria Gonzalez opened, the only places in L.A. where you could consistently find Tijuana-style birria tacos was at special family gatherings such as birthdays, weddings, quinceaneras or baptisms — on weekends.

While L.A. has several sit-down restaurants that offer birria, they typically serve goat birria, which is by far the most popular and traditional version in Jalisco (the birthplace of birria) and surrounding states such as Zacatecas, Aguascalientes and the state of Mexico. Birrieria Gonzalez offers those who aren’t the biggest fans of the gaminess of goat, and those who like birria either way, a beef version.

Traditionally, birria is cooked for hours in clay pots in underground pit-ovens after the protein (goat, mutton, beef) has been prepared with an adobo rub made with different types of chiles (ancho, árbol, pasilla); spices such as cumin, cloves and sesame; along with garlic, tomato and onions. At Birrieria Gonzalez, the same traditional ingredients are used, but the cooking is done overnight in huge metal pots. The result is tender, succulent beef and a rich, deep-flavored consommé.

The menu offers more options than most sit-down birrierias, with birria-loaded tacos, mulitas (birria and cheese sandwiched between two corn tortillas), quesadillas, tostadas, tacos dorados (fried tacos) dipped in consommé then fried on the flat top, and consommé with a healthy helping of shredded beef. Each item comes topped with chopped onions, cilantro and a smoky red salsa, with a side of lime wedges and sliced radishes.

In just over a year, the truck has established a loyal customer base, some of which make visits several times a week. On a sunny midafternoon, you’ll see a wide range of customers lining up at the truck for their fix of post-work tacos and consommé — from millennials pulling up on their gas-saving motor scooters dressed head-to-toe in Lakers attire, to construction workers, to mechanics, to healthcare workers still wearing their scrubs. There’s no longer an excuse to not have a place or the time to get a taste of beef birria in L.A.

The truck is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m .

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