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    Short Order: AJ’s Quesabirria

    AJ’s Birria Tacos is a food truck that could set up shop anywhere. That’s how food trucks work; they’re mobile. So, you might expect it to set up camp near some sort of local hotspot, a place with lots of people. Perhaps a busy metro office park, or an outdoor festival or market. 

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    But instead, AJ’s Birria Tacos has stationed itself in a parking lot off Florence on West Broad Street. That’s where you’ll find it most of the time. Nearby attractions include a windowless bar called the Keg Room and a 40 Motel. That’s about it.  

    But neighboring attractions aside, it’s all good because AJ’s offers destination dining. If you fumble at the order window, the host might steer you towards the most popular item: Quesabirria. Let it happen. An order comes with choices. We went with beef and versions in both flour and corn tortillas (personal preference leans towards flour, but this started a small argument tableside, so get both). The combo yields tacos filled with cheese and beef and griddled so it all fuses together. Sublime. 

    The beef truly is the foundation for this accomplishment: it’s soft and savory and lean with just a touch of onion. A companion broth for dipping is available on the side for $2. It’s worth the investment, not so much for dipping, but for slurping. Truly, the tacos stand on their own melty-meldy merits. The broth, though, viscous and flecked with bits of long-cooked onion and beef, is drinkable…and drinkable without a subsequent brine-based thirst. It delivers full flavor, without relying on the cheap, salty angle. 

    An order is rounded out with wedges of lime and decorative radish slices.

    It was all good enough to drive back again, 40 hours later, for much more of the exact same thing. 

    The house menu offers up plenty of other treats: the birria nachos and birria ramen combinations are also popular. While trucks are mobile and can be hard to pin down, AJ’s Birria keeps pretty regular hours (open at noon, Wednesday to Friday) at 3989 W. Broad St.

    Keep track of AJ’s Birria Tacos on Facebook.

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    Miriam Bowers Abbott
    Miriam Bowers Abbotthttps://columbusunderground.com
    Miriam Bowers Abbott is a freelancer contributor to Columbus Underground who reviews restaurants, writes food-centric featurettes and occasionally pens other community journalism pieces.
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