holy **** captain! i salute you! that baby is being printed out and put on my fridge, and it is my goal to eat at every one of those restaruants before i graduate.
Maudies: Awesome Breakfast : Pete's tantalizing tacos - eggs, potato and cheese with diced serranos (seeds in!). Depending on your luck with the seeds, you will have varying levels of cornholio en fuego. El Gallo: South Austin institution. I was raised on it, so there's no better "comfort" enchilada; not necessarily the best, but reliable. La Fuentes off of S. Congress: lower-rent version of El Gallo; solid old-style Tex-Mex, not sure if it's still there as I haven't been by in a while. Kind of hidden from Congress. Rosie's: very much in the same vain as El Gallo and La Fuentes. Good South Austin comfort food. Little Mexico: solid family Tex-Mex, run by Mex-Texans. Maybe even a step up in quality from the El Gallo school. Had a great relleno there once, but I have to be in a certain mood for relleno. Mexico Tipico: (gone?) always liked the fajitas with the potatoes - some kind of old country regional thing. La Michoacan: my regular breakfast stop on the way to work. As orngbld said, much more old country style, complete with a TV always on the Spanish stations /soccer games. 2 chorizo/egg/cheese and a Jarritos pina will set your mind right. Arandas/Arandinas: local chain; many locations to serve you...some people say it requires to "convert" yourself to Jalisco-style, but I can appreciate it and still go back to my El Gallo later. I like the triple-tacos-in-foil thing, queso blanco, and the preponderance of extra grease. No secrets with these folks. Taco trailers on S. Congress/Riverside/E. Austin, etc. : wherever you find ubiquitous #s of hispanics laborers, you find these roadside kitchens. Some are more established/developed than others. Some you might not even be able to tell they sell tacos unless until you get up to the window. A large percentage of them are unknown treasures. Often you'll get fresh-made tacos and sometimes even fresh homeade tortillas (corn and flour). Maybe even white cheese, depending on the regional roots of the proprietors. For the inexperienced, it can be hit-or-miss, but i've found enough good ones that I usually don't mind rolling the dice on an untried trailer. Some of the best al pastor in these parts can be found at taco trailers. Often the only place to get a decent meal after last call, as many of them are open very late or even round-the-clock to serve the large proportion of patrons who work nights or odd hours. Not unheard of to hit one at 2:30 in the morning and have to wait in line. R.I.P. : Tex-Mex BBQ at S. First and Oltorf (drive-thru joint): Food was great and cheap - how could you not love the idea of brisket tacos with borracho beans and the best homeade potato salad you'll ever have? Ahead of their time, perhaps - or forgotten tradition? I could never decide. Sad that they didn't make it. Margaritas: hard for me to judge. I always add a floater of Dom Silver, so that tends to be a great equalizer...
Maudies Azul Tequila Casa Garcias Matt's El Rancho Abuelos in the Barton Creek parking lot is tasty. Juan in a Million has good migas. Seis Mesas (sp?) in east Austin has huge breakfast tacos. The little stand on Tilllery St across from the church has the best breakfast tacos. Chuys decent. Trudy's decent. Gueros decent. Serranos decent...so many on this list I haven't tried & must! Hook'Em!
I thoroughly recommend Garabaldi's on south Congress, just south of Ben White. It's on the east side of the street in the strip center behind the Wendy's. It's authentic, excellent fresh tortillas, and outstanding Carne Asada!!
There's a place called Dina's in the strip center on the NW corner of S. 1st and Stassney. Check it out. I can't believe nobody mentioned Amaya's Taco Village at Capital Plaza. And, apropos of nothing, there's a place on the Kerrville Hwy. in Fredericksburg, across from the rodeo arena (behind the machine shop) that is excellent. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name.
My favs in S. Austin in no particular order: La Reyna Girabaldis Tequila Azul Polvo's El Nopalito La Feria Maudies South
The "Mexican Dinner" at Dario's is hard to top. I had that yesturday and could eat it again tonight. Their salsa is also badass.
I ate at Manuel's on Jollyville Rd today and thought it was pretty damn good. Overpriced, but good all the same.
Uberhorn, how you can praise Serrano's and slam Azul Tequila and Maudie's is beyond me. To each his own!
I wouldn't say I "praised" Serranos. Besides, since the last posting I've had a bad experience there. I'd take it down several notches. I hit up a place on Manchaca called Texican Cafe this past weekend. Awesome shrimp enchiladas. The salsa was excellent but the chips were so-so. I still recommend the place.
I went to Enchiladas Y Mas for lunch today. Pretty damn good. The carne guisada was awesome. The enchiladas, were good, too. The only negative I had was the tortillas. Who do I have to kill to get some homemade flour tortillas in Austin?
hornian, Try La Cocina Michoacana, which is at 251 N. Bell (Hwy 183) in Cedar Park. It's inside the strip center behind a Popeye's Chicken, on the left-hand side as you head north. It's not TexMex - it's interior Mexican, but not coastal seafood oriented or that hard-core stuff you get at Curra's. Just really good food. I go crazy over their flour tortillas. Hot and steamy right off the comal, and smelling like pancakes. I'll probably eat ten or so every time I'm there. Their iced tea has a good flavor to it also.
orngblood: thanks for the great list you posted. At Trudy's, 9 times out of 10, most of us order their migas. The other 1 time out of 10, we order their chicken enchiladas...the kind with verde sauce & sour cream. It's a good place to go relax and enjoy a meal and margaritas with friends. Having had many memorable times there in the past surrounded by good friends, maybe that is the other reason I think highly of Trudy's. That and their migas. Bear in mind, this positive approbation of Trudy's is coming from someone ancient enough and sentimental enough to admit that he still misses the ambience of The Stallion restaurant and their enchilada plate.
Fat Bastard, I will share with you my reasons for not liking Pappasito's AT ALL. The food there is not bad, I just don't think most of it stands out either. Others have mentioned the portions which are very large, but so are the prices. They seem to be double to triple what I can spend at a Taqueria for comprable food. Then there is the wait because it is a chain and seems to be filled with out of towners every time I go. Then the service. I might be a real bastard for doing this, but this is the only restaurant I have ever left a penny as a tip. I have been to Pappasito's probably about 10 times in my life (EVERY time because friends wanted to go) and only ONE time (at a company party) was the service any good. So you wait and wait to get a table to wait and wait on service. Maybe that is one reason the wait is so long to begin with. Now, here is the other reason to top it all off. It is Aggie owned. I can look past a wait, and bad service if the food is great. It is not. I can look past a restaurant being a chain, even if the food is mediocre, but the place is convenient. It is not. And to top it all off, everytime I spend a dime in that place I know the pure profits are going to Aggies. Bugger off!
I know this thread started some time ago, but has anyone tried Los Pinos on Hudson Bend Rd? Hands down, the best food on Lake Travis. Try anything on the menu with a star by it -- some of the most original mexican dishes in Austin.
