Monday, August 3, 2009
El Parian ~ Pico-Union
El Parian ~ 1528 W Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90015
If you are what you eat, then soy cabron 
. I try to get my hands on a bowl of birria every weekend and El Parian is Grand Central Station on the golden goat soup route. It has a down-home vibe, comfortable, and family-heavy and has been here for decades. Sporadic polka and a tempo of surgically precise bone-cleaving form the soundtrack during mornings here, while firecracker waitresses wink and smile, dropping lemonade off at your table.
El Parian’s menu is sparse but expert, with few offerings besides goat, a revered asada plate, and weekend menudo. Killer tacos await those who choose to vary, but birria is what they do best here (the store-bought chips are not). In half or full orders, a large bowl of dark orange peppery brew comes mostly displaced by large, glimmering chunks of kid. A traditional birria side plate of cilantro, cebolla, lime, and radish accompanies your bowl, along with a few tortillas.
I love playing with my food. Dumping all accoutrement into the bowl and attempting to make my own tacos with the wet mixture, the filled tortilla then gets a dip in the drink. Every bite sprays goat broth all over my hands and mouth, and lots of the contents plop back in the bowl.
(8 tacos)
