it's really not that hard to find. Birria Fernandez is right off the 5 South off ramp to Coronado Ave...
where you will see the Hollister gas station on Hollister Ave. As soon as you get off the 5, make a right onto Coronado, then a quick left on Hollister, then a quick right on Flower St. where you will see this building...
Look for this sign...
The place to be is underneath. There will most likely be a long line of people. That morning we went, it was about 9:15 am. They open at 8 am. You go in and have your name put on a waiting list. We had a party of 6 and miraculously enough, we were seated within minutes of having put "my" name (in which I took the liberty of using Mary's easy-to-spell-and-pronounce-name-unlike-my-own) on the list!
Score! They led us to a table out in the back patio, which turned out to be a much better choice sinc eit was pretty loud and noise and quite bustling inside. I was able to snap a few shots of the menu board and the drinks before going to the back...
The restaurant had these awesome colorful chairs inside and in the shaded patio. The manager was going around making sure everyone was served. He was very friendly and welcoming and made a joke when he saw me taking a picture of the menu, saying, "Hey, why don't you take a picture of me instead!" while posing!!! He had a good sense of humor, that guy.
Although we were six, we only had one order of birria ($9). The condiments and salsa were first brought out to our table, followed by the birria juice dipped corn tortillas. The birria de res followed soon after, piping hot and looking quite hearty...
The meat was so soft and shredded easily. It gave off the most delicious aroma...
I had a few gripes. The first is that it took a longass time and three separate requests to three separate people (two waiters and the manager himself) to get another set of tortillas. It was a bit frustrating having to wait for it while the birria was getting cold. Four of us had arrived a few minutes before Jinxi and S and I felt bad that they had to wait while the tortillas were supposedly on their way. The second is that they don't serve water, unless it's bottled. Luckily we all brought our own.
This was the second set of tortillas. Look at the broth on those babies. It kind of made it soggy, but man, did it taste good!
I will have to go here again with Bert and TC next time!
If we weren't going anywhere else that morning, we would have ordered more but, no...We had to pace ourselves wisely....
Who else went to Birria Fernandez?
Former SD foodblogger Marie wrote about it during her SD CityBeat days:
"Restaurant Fernandez serves soup for the soul" SD City Beat, January 18, 2013
along with Kirk of mmm-yoso:
"Bountiful Birria at Fernandez Restaurant and Catering" December 2, 2013
Birria Fernandez
2265 Flower St.
San Diego, CA 92154
(619) 370-0729
www.fdzcatering.com
I've had birria de res at Asi es Jalisco (along with chivo or goat) and I must say that Fernandez's version is quite excellent. It was so flavorful and juicy. I also liked the radishes. My friend La Ley personally doesn't like radishes on her birria de res and she prefers to eat it with tostadas instead of the soft corn tortillas. We'll have to try that next time! And there WILL be a next tim, despite the ridiculous wait to get a simple order of tortillas.
7 comments:
The chill this morning has me craving birria, but it is a 'red flag warning' day, so I know it will be warm...have had this on our radar for a while now and do need to get there. Is that a quesadilla?
This was sooo good. S and I have been talking about it ever since! Thanks for showing us around - it was awesome! :)
hi cathy - i want birria again too. Birria Fernandez is pretty good! I need to try Birria Los Cheves y Chivos in National City and Don Rafa in CV to make a comparison. an no, that is not a quesadilla, but broth dipped tortillas.
hi jinxi - glad you guys liked it! i hope the food wasn't too cold. there are more birria places to try down south. i also like the version served at asi es jalisco.
Hey CC - Actually, I think getting the tacos de birria is the way to go....they'll ask you if you want some tendon along with the meat....it's awesome stuff.
hi Kirk - when I go with Bert next time, I'll ask for it that way! thanks! :)
This birria was so good! Jake, T and I loved it, I think it was our favorite from the food crawl. We'll try it as tacos, too, the next time we go (whenever that week be!).
We will have to try it with tostadas and tacos too.
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