Goat at the Taqeria

I really need to back off the unconventional meats. Last weekend it was lamb, now it's goat. For dinner, I had the "Birria Platillo" at Taqueria Tepatitlan, with tamarindo to drink.

Tepatitlan was my favorite sketchy taqueria in Houston before I moved here. They usually have interesting aguas frescas (hooray for Mexican fruit Kool-Aid goodness), and their refried beans are truly a mound of lard-studded beauty.

The first problem with dinner was the beans. Or lack thereof. I must be on their frijole boycott list or something, because the TWO times I've been there since moving to Houston, I have failed to get my beans. The first time I was there, I asked for a side of beans. The waitress completely forgot, and I was too full of tacos to complain. This time, I requested all beans and no rice (I may have an obsession with my rice cooker, but I really hate Mexican rice). Instead, I got a huge mound of rice, and no beans. I felt bad for the waitress, who had been having trouble understanding our Spanish anyway, so I contented myself with mooching Jon's beans. They were typically fluffy, flavorful, and undoubtedly lard-filled.

The goat was okay, on the greasy side. I'm not even quite sure how I ended up with goat- I guess I was feeling indecisive and it looked interesting. I like cabrito (baby goat), but haven't been up to eating it since I milked a goat in college and met its adorable babies. Birria is adult goat- musky, a little gamey, greasy. Meh. I don't think I'll be eating goat again. The dog certainly enjoyed the leftovers, though.

I'm always impressed with Tepatitlan's extras. They offer only two salsas with the chips- a garlicky tomatillo and a smoky red- but they offer pickled spicy carrot slices as condiments with dinner, and their corn tortillas are beautiful. They're freshly browned on the griddle, thick and puffy, and probably also filled with lard. The guacamole is always fresh and delicious, and they make the labor-intensive aguas frescas no one wants to make (watermelon, cantaloupe). Tonight, their selection was limited, so I chose the tamarind. It was good, with a slightly astringent flavor. It's probably the only agua fresca that tastes better with less sugar rather than more.