#Saucy Goat Chick Mafia

[formeryelpers]

The Goat Mafia, 777 S Alameda St, Los Angeles (Downtown), CA 90021

Didn’t realize that the Goat Mafia was the same as the ones behind Saucy Chick Goat Mafia in Pasadena. SCGM is amazing. The Goat Mafia is amazing. It’s too good to be street food (high quality, made from scratch), but you can find them at Smorgasburg on Sundays.

Choose from tacos, the chivadilla, and mulitas. The goat is the star but there are other proteins.

Goat tour ($17): 2 birria tacos, ½ chivadilla, consomme. The Chivadilla is a goat cheese quesadilla with roasted beets topped with jocoque, agave, pepitas, and fresh dill. Jocoque is a yogurt cheese. I thought it was crema. The corn tortillas were made in-house. Everything was good but the agave made it sweeter than I prefer – still, it was good, creamy, fresh, earthy, sweet. The birria tacos featured the housemade corn tortillas topped with tender, stewed goat, tangy pickled onions, and cilantro. The consommé was also so good – spiced and not too salty.

4.5 out of 5 stars

By Lolia S.

[formeryelpers]

Saucy Chick Goat Mafia, 203 S Rosemead Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107

Best goat birria ever. Actually, it’s the only birria de chivo that I’ve had and it’s tender and meaty like beef birria but a little gamey, so you know it’s goat. The other goat dishes I’ve had in the past have been very bony with little goat meat. Saucy Chick gives you big pieces of tender goat and no bones. Wow.

Saucy Chick took over the space from another Mexican eatery but they have a unique Mexican-Indian fusion thing going on, plus a 100-year old recipe for Jalisco style birria de chivo.

The mains include free-range rotisserie chicken plates, bowls, burritos, tacos, nachos, chaat-chos, chicken wings, salads, sides, drinks, and locally sourced cookies.

Birria de Chivo bowl: birria, Jeera rice, Mayocoba beans, hand-pressed corn tortillas, pickled red onions, cilantro ($15): Beautifully assembled bowl, plenty of food. It tasted like food that was cooked from scratch with quality ingredients. The Mayocoba (heirloom?) beans were very tender, almost creamy, topped with a sprinkle of cojita. The Jeera rice is long grain basmati rice, flavored with cumin. Tasted Indian but complemented the Mexican flavors of the birria very well. The birria was incredibly tender, flavorful, and a bit spicy. The two corn tortillas were soft and thick. They’re thicker than usual but I don’t know if that’s a flaw or not.

The sauces are sold separately but he gave me a couple to try. Each was excellent. The macha chili oil was a bit smoky and spicy. The ambli molasses added a bit of sweetness and the flavor of tamarind. The GG sauce tasted like cilantro chutney.

Order at the register. Service was very friendly. The place is cute and casual but small. They have an outdoor patio and strip mall parking.

5 out of 5 stars

By Lolia S.