La Casa del Cabrito

La Casa del Cabrito is a longstanding cabrito specialist in Saltillo's Jardines del Valle district, part of the informal fraternity of asadores that keep Coahuila's signature dish -- milk-fed kid goat roasted over charcoal -- alive in its home state. There is no tasting menu or chef pedigree to speak of here; the kitchen works in the traditional norteño register, splitting the goat and roasting it slowly beside open coals until the skin blisters and the meat pulls from the bone. Cabrito al pastor, roasted upright over the coals, and cabrito adobado, marinated in a dried-chile adobo before roasting, are the two versions on the menu, both served with frijoles a la charra, flour tortillas, and a table of salsas. The dining room is unpretentious -- a bright, family-style hall with long tables built for groups working through shared platters of meat, no dress code, and the steady hum of a Saturday-lunch crowd rather than a hushed fine-dining atmosphere. Drinks lean local: bottled Mexican beer and aguas frescas rather than a curated wine list, since the meal is built to pair with beer more than wine. Reservations are recommended on weekends, when families fill the room for the traditional Saturday and Sunday cabrito lunch, but midweek service rarely requires booking ahead. Portions are generous and priced for repeat local visits rather than special-occasion splurges. Visitors are best served treating it as Coahuilans do: a lunch destination, arriving hungry and ordering a whole side of goat to share among the table, rather than a light evening stop.