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When Goat Lord Juan Zaragoza recommends a place for birria, it should be taken as an order, which is why I did something I’ve never done before: drove right past Birrieria Zaragoza without stopping, then ordered a bowl and a couple tacos eight blocks south at Taqueria y Birrieria Morelia. As the name implies, owner Gustavo Hernandez hails from Michoacan (where Morelia is the capital), and he makes the more common stewed goat in consomme (unlike the roasted birria tatemada at BZ), as well as a regional by-product made with the innards known as montalayo, a sort of haggis built from the stomach lining stuffed with minced intestines, liver, and kidneys, similar to the Jaliciense machito—just gutsier. Juan phoned Hernandez that I was on my way, so I can’t guarantee that he always fills these darlings as generously as he did for me, but a little goes a long way. Goat guts, as you might imagine, are powerfully strong to begin with, and these are no exception, though they’re heavily seasoned with chile, onions, and peppers, and a dollop of one of the three house-made salsas also helps tame the offal, just as some raw onion mitigates the soft scrambled-egg texture.
