Tacos y Cerveza: The Tale of a Beer Barn and a Birrieria

Someone once suggested we put something on every street corner in America. Not sure what it was, but it should actually be a beer barn next to a birrieria.

On a recent lovely Friday afternoon, the bright sun added a touch of warmth to the chilly air; it was Goldilocks weather. Perfect. And on this day, Tacos y Cerveza Drive Thru in Grand Prairie was glistening.
The building is part drive-thru beer barn and part restaurant, Birrieria Aguinaga, which provides nourishment for drive-thru beer barn customers. And if the word birria looks misspelled, it's not. A birrieria is a place that serves birria. Like a taqueria to a taco. Party tip: they don't just sell cases of beer and birria here. They also serve big tasty mango margaritas to go. It's one-stop shopping for a perfect Friday afternoon.
Birrieria Aguinaga specializes in birria, as noted, and also serves fare influenced by the cuisine of Jalisco, Mexico. The first house specialty on the menu is plato de birria, made with either beef or lamb. Other menu items include tacos, enchiladas, soups, tortas and quesadillas. But as the name implies, you should really try the birria. 
After timidly pulling up inside the barn and parking, we spotted a sign below the register asking customers "Looking for the dip tacos?" Sure. The quesa birria plate comes with two tender beef tacos with gooey cheese, served with a side of consommé. We waited maybe 10 minutes for our order, then pulled around the parking lot to eat and watch the cars go by.

I smushed as much of the grilled onions and peppers as I could in the first taco, then dipped it in the consommé for an amazingly messy but totally worth-it bite. The beef was fall-apart tender, and a squeeze of lime and a dollop of salsa made for a bright and piquant morsel.
There are also big fruity frozen drinks here, with and without shots, like a mango margarita, or just a mangonada (no booze). There's also a Smirnoff preparada and shrimp and cucumber-topped micheladas. It was lunch so we had to pass on the fun stuff, to our great disappointment.

We settled instead for a mangonada, which I told myself I'd take only a few sips from on account of its sweetness. That was great in theory, but within about 20 minutes this cold tropical nectar with big chunks of mango and swirls of chamoy was gone.

The michelada options look equally amazing and intimidating. A deluxe option is stacked with shrimp and cucumbers on the lid and a Tajin straw. There's also a la charola preparada, which is six beers on ice surrounded by shrimp and cucumber, celery and Tajin; snacks and beer in one party tray.

If you're more in the mood for a sit-down meal, Birrieria Aguinaga is a full-service restaurant.

Tacos y Cerveza, 507 E. Main St., No. 200, Grand Prairie. Daily, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.