Birria fans, you have a new, savory home in Whittier. With eight locations spread throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties and the Inland Empire, Fuego Cravings is your go-to destination for Mexican-Californian deliciousness.
Owner Francisco Zapien explained that he and his business partner, Jose , opened their first restaurant in 2021 in the city of Beaumont to share their unique flavor and delightful specialty, beef birria. Their motto is “Fresh. Quality. Delicioso.”
“We don’t claim ourselves to be 100 percent authentic Mexican restaurants. We utilize California ingredients and put a Mexican flavor to it,” said Zapien. “For example, our Birria Ramen. You won’t see it in Mexico as an authentic dish. It’s a combination of both Californian and Mexican.”
All-Day Menu
The entire menu is available all day. From breakfast burritos, street tacos, tamales, and tortas, there is enough on their nearly 80-item menu to please even the most traditionalist. The adventurous will be satisfied with items like my son’s favorite, the Birria Pizza. It is a 12” pie filled with birria, mozzarella cheese, onion, and cilantro, served with their in-house birria consommé. Also on the menu for the bravehearted are three Hot Cheetos items: the Fuego Taco, Fuego Mulita, and Hot Cheeto Fries. My favorite items are the birria street tacos. I also recommend the fish tacos, which have a light and crispy batter and a creamy chipotle sauce.
Most Popular Item
“The most popular item is our Quesabirria,” said Zapien. “It’s a taco, a six-inch corn tortilla with mozzarella cheese, our authentic birria, onion, and cilantro. Then you get the consommé, you can dip it for an extra juicy flavor.”
My family hasn’t tried the Quesabirria or the Birria Fries yet, but they’re on our list. Other items we have our eyes on for our next visit, or the one after that, are the desserts: Nachos de Dulce (cinnamon nachos topped with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of your choice), Churro Bites and Ice Cream, and the Spiced Cake filled with dulce de leche.
Generous Portions
Most entrée platter prices hover around $13, with à la carte items ranging from $1.29 for the 4-ounce cup of Birria consommé and $2.89 for street tacos, all the way up to $24.99 for the Birria Pizza. Prices may edge a little high, but the portions are generous. My daughter ordered from the kids’ menu. Her kids’ Quesadilla was $11.99 but came with rice and a medium drink. The 12” tortilla was sliced into four large pieces and was heavy on the cheese. She took half her quesadilla home and made another meal out of it.
Fuego Cravings offers three aguas frescas, as well as fountain drinks, Mexican Coke, and Jarritos.
Zapien invites the community to stop in and try the food.
“We use the best quality ingredients that there are,” said Zapien. “Cooking meats, cooking our birria, our menudo – which is really popular – chopping onion, cilantro, radishes. Everything that you’ll get here it’s fresh and good quality.”
Catering and Online Ordering
Fuego Cravings
16032 Whittier Blvd.,
Whittier, CA 90603
(562) 526-1155
Online ordering: fuegocravings.com
