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Top-Notch Taco de Birria Is Hiding Inside NoMa Rice Bar

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These days, you’re unlikely to stop inside a taqueria and not find some offering of birria on the menu. The traditional Mexican dish can be enjoyed as a stew or separated into consommé and shredded meat for tacos and burritos, making it a premium option at your neighborhood taco joint. What you probably wouldn’t expect, though, is that one of the DMV’s top-rated birrierias is hidden inside a popular Korean chain. 

Nestled inside a repurposed Rice Bar on 2nd Street NE in NoMa, you will find Taco de Birria; the name, initially a placeholder, leaves little doubt regarding its new food concept. However, shy of an A-frame sign outside and a menu banner inside, nothing about the location’s aesthetic has changed since early 2020, when Rice Bar sold its last bowl of bibimbap here. The recent, all too familiar pandemic brought about a unique set of challenges that forced business owners to think on their toes and adapt to new circumstances. 

At the height of its operation, Rice Bar operated nine total locations, each serving its standard, fast-casual Korean fare. Upon halting operations at several restaurants, owner James Lee called on a long-time employee to discuss and strategize a new concept. “Birria is still new to this area, so we thought it would be a good idea to help us reopen,” said chef Demesio Esquivel, an employee of Rice Bar for more than a dozen years and new partner at Taco de Birria. 

Chef Demesio Esquivel
Chef Demesio Esquivel Credit: Austin Morgan

Only within the past few years has birria boomed on the East Coast, in large part due to social media. If you’re a foodie, you’ve almost certainly scrolled your Instagram timeline, stumbled across a viral photo of a taco getting dunked into a bowl of glistening broth, and instantly stopped. But not every restaurant goes viral on social media. When a new concept opens under difficult circumstances, can it be the savior it was intended to be?

Prior to reopening, Esquivel spent a few months refining and perfecting his birria recipe with the goal of reviving the NoMa location. He would make a trip every Sunday to meet with Lee and get his feedback on the latest version. “When I took Jim the final sample batch of birria, he said, ‘This is it,’” Esquivel recalls now. After tasting their way around town for comparison, the team of two knew they had a recipe for success. 

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