Drive east from Fairhope or west from Robertsdale on Highway 104 and the landmark is easy to miss: a small blue building next to the Alley Cat Alley bar, with eight tables inside and a menu posted on a board. That building is Las Catrinas de Rosy, the Silverhill taqueria that started as a pandemic-era gamble and grew into a three-location institution with a devoted following across Baldwin County and Mobile.
The name is a lesson in itself. Catrinas are the elegant clay skeletons associated with Mexico’s Day of the Dead, and Rosy is Rosy Gallardo, the home cook turned restaurateur who opened what is widely credited as the first taqueria in Baldwin County in March 2020, arguably the worst month and year to open a restaurant. Instead of retreating, the new business used the disruption to its advantage, betting that authentic Mexican cooking would find its audience even when nothing else was normal.
From 10 Pounds to 60
Gallardo had been making her dishes for years and sharing recipes with friends before she ever sold one. “I started doing tacos and other things, and people wanted more,” she said. “I started making the kesabirria and it was the most popular. I think I’m the first one who started selling those in Baldwin County.”
The math tells the story of that popularity. When the taqueria began, Gallardo cooked 10 to 20 pounds of birria every two days. Today she uses 60 pounds a day at each location. The birria, a slow-cooked, adobo-marinated meat stew tradition made with beef, goat, lamb or chicken, anchors the menu, most famously in the quesabirria: slow-cooked beef and melty cheese wrapped in a warm homemade tortilla, seared flat-top style and served with a rich consomme for dipping.
What to Order
The Silverhill spot operates counter-style, with orders taken at the window and everything made to order. First-timers follow the crowd to the quesabirria, which pairs well with creamy refried beans topped with cheese. Traditionalists lean toward the seasoned beef quesadilla with rice and beans. Regulars recommend the puffy tacos, pronounced “poofy” by those in the know, and the adventurous order the birria ramen to go. Prices are reasonable, the flavors run flavorful rather than fiery, and the dining room’s mix of Spanish-speaking regulars and first-time visitors adds to the room’s authenticity.
Three Locations and a Family Business
What began in Baldwin County expanded across the bay in September 2023, when Las Catrinas opened a spot in the Insider Food Hall on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile, joining the original Silverhill location and a Daphne outpost. Gallardo’s adult children are involved with every location, keeping the operation a genuine family business, and the food is made fresh after you order at each one, with handmade tortillas, slow-cooked marinated meats and fresh toppings.
For the Silverhill original at 14835 Highway 104, the formula has stayed the same: a small blue building, a short menu executed well, and a steady stream of customers filling the tables and lining up for takeout. In a restaurant landscape where authenticity is a marketing word, Las Catrinas de Rosy earned it the hard way, one birria pot at a time.