#Habibi's Birria

[formeryelpers]

Habibi’s Birria, 138 Jackson St, Hayward, CA 94544

Oooh, Habibi’s offers Mediterranean and Mexican fare from a counter inside the Valero mini mart. They call it MexiTerranean food. And it’s halal. While the wraps, plates, falafel, gyros, and shawarma sounded tempting, I had to go with the birria since it’s in their name. On the Mexican side, they have quesadillas,  tacos, mulitas, tortas, burritos, and loaded fries. For birria, they have burritos, ramen, fries, tortas, quesadillas, and tacos.

Quesabirria taco combo ($13.99) comes with 3 quesabirria tacos and consommé. The tacos were crispier than I’m used to for quesabirria. They were dipped in the birria broth to add flavor and spice. Each taco had two corn tortillas with cheese melted between the two tortillas. The tortillas are topped with beef birria, chopped white onion and cilantro. There wasn’t enough cheese, onion or cilantro. The beef was nice – tasted like it had been braised for hours without drying out. The consommé was mainly broth with a few slivers of beef and a bit of onion. It was too salty but adding lime helped. Adding onions and cilantro would have made it better too. A spicy salsa, radish slices and lime wedges were provided.

The food took about 10 minutes. It’s takeout only. $10 credit card minimum. Gas station convenience store ambiance.

3.5 out of 5 stars

By Lolia S.

[mrleochan]

Quesa-Birria Combo ($13.99), Birria Plate ($16.99). Found myself in Hayward so we do what the locals do. Order birria tacos at Habibi’s! The shop is located in a mini mart at a gas station but that doesn’t me from enjoying these bad boys. Ordered the taco combo with cheese and the birria plate. First off the meat is amazingly flavored. The whole fam from young to older enjoyed the flavored. The broth made it messy but it was a nice addition to the meal. The orange sauce was fire, literally and figuratively. It’s 🌶️!! Overall a great meal and will order again if I’m ever on this side of the bridge. 😋 🌮 (at Habibi's Birria) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn7y4QpPG70/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[formeryelpers]

Tacos Papo, 2617 Decoto Rd, Union City, CA 94587

This is the only second time that I’ve had quesabirria in the Bay Area (the first time was at Habibi’s) though I’ve had it a couple of places in LA. I liked Tacos Papo way more than Habibi’s. Maybe I got lucky and ordered just the right thing at Tacos Papo but I LOVED the quesabirria quesadilla.

The menu includes tacos, quesadillas, sopes, tortas, nachos, burritos, plates, and menudo on weekends. Street tacos are $2.60 each. Proteins: Asada, pastor, pollo, carnitas, cabeza, lengua, chorizo, tripa, buche, birria. They also have fish and shrimp tacos.

Quesabirria quesadilla ($14.99) on fresh handmade flour tortillas, includes lime wedges, radish slices, pickled carrots, grilled jalapeno, grilled onions, consommé with onions and cilantro, beef birria in a flour tortilla with cheese, onions, and jalapenos. Drooling just thinking about it. The quesabirria quesadilla was cut into four pieces. Each piece had way more birria than you’d get in a quesabirria taco. The flour tortilla was thin and very crispy. The beef was stewed and very juicy! So much beef flavor, cheese pulls – there was no need to dip it into the consommé because it was already so moist (yet crispy). I appreciated how it wasn’t salty. The consommé wasn’t salty either but had a sweetness to it. Liked the veggies on the side. Also, the quesadilla had a scorching hot filling that stayed hot while I was eating it. I wish they had included some salsa but I think it was the best quesadilla that I’ve ever had.

My father had the fish tacos ($5.72 each) which came with fried fish with cabbage. Those looked okay.

Quesabirria is available every day except Tuesdays. Breakfast is served all day. Online ordering available. If you pay in cash, you get a discount.

4 out of 5 stars

By Lolia S.

[jasonlloren]

Quesabirria tacos ... from a Valero gas station (at Habibi's Birria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKUX_mhhPT_/?igshid=1c91kiu5rieug