Birrieria La Plaza is a
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
restaurant in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, in the United States. Initially operating from a food cart in southeast Portland, the business has announced plans to add a
brick and mortar
Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
and a stall at
Block 216.
Description and history
The
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
restaurant Birrieria La Plaza (BLP) operates from a red
food cart
A food cart is a mobile kitchen set up on the street to prepare and sell street food to passers-by. Food carts are often found in cities worldwide selling food of every kind.
Food carts come in two basic styles. One allows the vendor to sit o ...
on Stark Street in
southeast Portland, in the
parking lot
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
of a
discount store
A discount store or discounter offers a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down cost ...
. The menu focuses on
birria
Birria () \ ˈbir-ē-ˌä \is a Mexican dish from the state of Jalisco. The dish is a meat stew or soup traditionally made from goat meat, but occasionally made from beef, lamb, mutton or chicken. The meat is marinated in an adobo made of v ...
and also includes braised beef and vampiros.
The Plaza Plate includes a
quesadilla
A quesadilla (; ; Mexican diminutive of ''quesada'') is a Mexican cuisine, Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla that is filled primarily with cheese, and sometimes meats, spices, and other fillings, and then cooked on a griddle or stove. Trad ...
,
taco
A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of filling ...
,
mulita,
tostada, and a cup of
consommé
In cooking, a consommé is a type of clear soup made from richly flavoured stock or broth that has been clarified, a process that uses egg whites to remove fat and sediment.
Consommé has three English pronunciations: traditionally in the UK, t ...
.
BLP is owned by Oracio Hernandez.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the restaurant experienced setbacks from beef
supply chain
In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, acti ...
issues. In May 2020, Rachel Pinsky of ''
Eater Portland
''Eater'' is a food website by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in 2005, and originally focused on dining and nightlife in New York City. Eater launched a national site in 2009, and covered nearly 20 cities by ...
'' wrote, "At the height of its success a couple months ago, Hernandez’s food cart was going through a thousand pounds of chuck roast a week to make this popular stew. On May 4, the prices offered by his meat supplier for chuck increased by 200 percent. Hernandez was forced to temporarily shut down to find another reliable source of affordable meat."
In January 2023, ''Eater Portland'' said the business plans to open a
brick and mortar
Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
restaurant in the Southeast Division space which previously housed Andale Andale, followed by a stall in the food hall at
Block 216.
Reception
Michael Russell included BLP in ''
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
''
's list of "Portland's 10 best new food carts of 2020". In 2021, Tuck Woodstock and Katherine Chew Hamilton of ''
Portland Monthly
''Portland Monthly'' (also referred to as ''Portland Monthly Magazine'') is a monthly news and general interest magazine which covers food, politics, business, design, events and culture in Portland, Oregon. The magazine was co-founded in 2003 b ...
'' wrote, "we believe the honor of best quesabirria taco in Portland goes to Birrieria La Plaza". ''
Willamette Week
''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture.
History
Early history
''Willame ...
'' said in 2021, "The birria boom has hit Portland, and the persistent traffic jam outside Birrieria La Plaza signals that it's the chosen one at the moment."
Krista Garcia included the restaurant in ''Eater Portland''
's 2021 overview of "Where to Eat in Gresham and East Portland" and said BLP "has quickly become a standout amidst East Portland’s birria belt. The restaurant's crunchy vampiros are a particular favorite, but it's worth taking home as much of the restaurant's deeply savory soup as possible." She also included the business in a list of Portland's 17 "standout" Mexican restaurants and food carts.
The website's Zoe Baillargeon included the quesadilla in a list of "Where to Find the Cheesiest Dishes in Portland and Beyond", and Nick Woo and
Brooke Jackson-Glidden
Brooke Jackson-Glidden is a food writer and the editor of ''Eater Portland''. In 2023, she received the Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award from the James Beard Foundation in part for her essay about Either/Or.
Career
Jackson-Glidden has been the ed ...
included BLP in a 2021 "Guide to Portland's Most Outstanding Food Carts".
Jackson-Glidden also included the restaurant in ''Eater Portland''
's 2022 list of the city's 38 "essential" restaurants and food carts.
See also
*
Hispanics and Latinos in Portland, Oregon
There were approximately 60,000 people of Hispanic or Latino origin in Portland, Oregon, as of 2020; about 10% of the city’s population.
The Portland metropolitan area has Oregon's largest Latino population. In 2022, Jamie Goldberg of ''The Or ...
*
List of Mexican restaurants
This is a list of notable Mexican restaurants. Mexican cuisine is primarily a fusion of indigenous Mesoamerican cooking with European, especially Spanish, elements added after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the 16th century. The basic ...
References
External links
*
{{Restaurants in Portland, Oregon
2019 establishments in Oregon
Food carts in Portland, Oregon
Mexican restaurants in Portland, Oregon
Restaurants established in 2019
Southeast Portland, Oregon