“ Hidden with good reason. I would drink their hot sauce. In a city filled with tacos, I will go out of my way for El Parian. ”

“ The food is absolutely exquisite and tastes like heaven. The best part is the beans which are godly nothing will change my mind!! ”

“ Times change. Food trends come and go. Even birria changes. El Parian stays the same. We've all bore witness to the recent surge in birria's popularity, that great tsunami of spiced goat consome that has flooded social media over the last few years. The star of the birria invasion has been the traffic light red, oozing cheese, quesabirria variety. It is well suited to the window display case. But the more wholesome, more honest, murky bowl filled with flesh and bone is what El Parian has done since time immemorial. Its interior is cavernous and dark. The walls are adorned with amusing posters. I've heard tell they once had a poster featuring President Lincoln side by side with Presidente Juarez. I couldn't find that one. I did see one featuring two sets of gallos. One flock wore the jersey of the U.S. soccer team and the other wore that of the Mexican futbol team. The order of birria arrived and it was not for sissies. Although, there is a strong waft of so called baking spices that comes from the bowl, so perhaps it is for sissies. In any event, you must dig through the kid's ribcage for the tenderest parts of meat. You must crowd the bowl with onions and cilantro. Inundate it with chile de arbol salsa. After all these years, El Parian still serves both one of the quintessential Angeleno and Jalisciense dishes, I kid you not. ”

“ This place is a whole in the fall, don't expect anything fancy because you won't get it, you're not going to a trendy place where all the hipsters go (thank goodness lol) but the food is great! I had taco de asada and one of carnitas and the carnitas are one of the best I've had, and the tortillas are hand made there at moment you order. The waitress was so kind and helpful and attentive. Take cash because they don't take anything else. ”

“ My favorite place to get birria de chivo this place has never disappointed me and today well I'm definitely going back I see some poor reviews and I'll be the REAL JUDGE OF THESE POOR REVIEWS!!! Im very picky and I expect good customer service and the same deliciousness at ”

“ This place is a total dive. That's probably the charm and one of the reasons why Jonathan Gold liked the place so much. I read that he liked their birria more than the birria he tried in Guadalajara, Mexico. I stepped in for dinner and the place was dead. Empty. You order at the front of the restaurant from the cashier who might not speak any English. I had to speak in my imperfect Spanish to order. You will be told in Spanish to sit down and they'll bring your food to you. What I didn't like is how she slammed my utensils on the table without any napkins. Thank goodness I have wipes with me all the time. As far as the taco de birria, it was flavorful. You'll have to be careful because in my case there was a little piece of bone in the meat which I can see could be dangerous if someone were to swallow it. There are warning signs on the wall of the possibility of choking eating their birria. After your meal, you'll have to get up and pay at the front as well. Would I go out of my way to eat here again? Probably not. If I were to choose a birria spot in the area, I would probably stick to Birriería Chalio for their handmade tortillas and more lively atmosphere...and agua frescas. ”

“ I have been coming here since I was 10 years old , I am now 30 and may I tell you this place remains the same - the only thing that has changed is obviously the prices however still very worth it. I love coming in here and getting the Taste of a home cooked meal , great family atmosphere , Jukebox playing in the background and along with great tasting Birria. I have always done carnitas ( which are tasty ) along with a side of the tortillas ( which are made fresh and taste amazing ) however this time I went with the chilaquiles of Birria - LET ME TELL YOU ....... Chilaquiles game changer the meat was very juicy and tender , the cheese and crema was the icing on the cake. Highly recommend getting there Birria with broth or there carnita plates , you will not regret it. ( the service could be better but the food makes up for it ) ”