Josh says "Get the 'Taco Equivalent of French Dip' (Quesabirria Tacos) at El Mariachi"

Above is my order of "3 Quesabirria Tacos," and below is my former student, Josh--my quesabirria taco connection.

2008 Scriber Lake High School grad (Edmonds' alternative high school, where I teach), husband, father of two, construction project manager, and active Everett community member, Josh is an all-around excellent human being--a gentle soul, the kind you trust with your life.

When Josh messaged me saying the quesabirria tacos at El Mariachi Birria Y Tacos on Evergreen Way must be featured on EAT99, I trusted him with that, too. 

So we made a plan to meet there, 17 years after he was a student in my English class. 

After contending for a parking space in their crowded lot, I entered to see ten Everett firefighters seated at a table, all of them intensely involved in eating my soon-to-be destiny: the 3 Queso Taco Plate ($13). 

I've had birria before--richly flavored meat stew made with marbled cuts of either goat or beef, marinated in an adobo sauce made of vinegar, chilies, herbs and spices, and slow cooked until it falls off the bone. 

But "quesabirria" I had yet to try: birria wrapped in a cheese quesadilla of sorts, then fried. The plate comes with pickled red onions, cilantro, lime, green sauce, and consommé--the rich, tomato-y stew meat broth--for dipping.

"It's the taco form of French dip," Josh says. 

The only way to describe this meal is "a meaty, rich, tangy, smoky, savory, limey, cheesy, drippy 'mess'"--in the best sense of that word. It ran down my chin and all over my plate. It's a lot--too much to eat in one sitting for me (although not one crispy flake of cheesy fried tortilla was left on any of the firefighters' plates). 

I was happy to save one remaining taco for lunch, and to consider what I might order next time. If the deep, rich flavor of their birria hints at the taste of their other fillings, I'm looking forward to a couple of cheese-less tacos, with a choice of marinated pork, steak, braised chicken, or "soyrizo" (vegan chorizo), and an order of esquites ($7), off-the-cob corn, slathered with creamy, lime-scented, chile-flecked sauce. Hopefully I'll have room for the popular tres leches cake ($9.50), too. 

As for Josh, he tried the fusion bowl of birria ramen ($14), which is basically the taco plate minus the cheesy tortillas, plus ramen noodles and a lot more consommé. He proclaimed it to be delicious.  

Everything was excellent; El Mariachi's fame is well-deserved. 

You know what they say, the student has become the teacher, and all of that.

For those who don't know much about Scriber Lake, we are a school that supports different learning styles, so a lot of creative students find their way to us. For this reason, it was fun to hear how the Edmonds inter-district house-building program had made possible a career Josh enjoys. 

We are friends on social media, so I have kept track of his life to some extent. But it was fun to hear stories about his kids, who love to help their dad in his shop, and frightening to learn about his scare with cancer (he's been free and clear for a while now!). I appreciated his insightful questions, and that he wanted to know how I was holding up in education after all these years. 

All of this, plus two different manifestations of birria.

When I started this blog six months ago, I wasn't expecting it to open up opportunities in my community (more on this later), or to re-connect with people like Josh. I did it because it seemed like a fun thing to do, and these outcomes have been the joyful results.

You know what else they say. . . do what brings you joy, and more joy will follow. Sometimes, if you're lucky, killer tacos will follow, too. 

Homework heads-up:

In my first post, (in August), I mentioned we all needed to try the gyro at M Market Halal and be ready to discuss. This will happen next week!

El Mariachi Birria Y Tacos
6100 Evergreen Way
Everett, WA 98203
425-512-9024

Tuesday - Saturday, 11am - 9pm