Rating:
On my Tuesday night hunt for a new and exhilarating taco experience, I set off with the tacobuddy and headed straight for the motherland. My plan this week was to attack East Seventh, as on a recent drive in that direction I was enticed by the large number of establishments which I had never visited. We decided to take one pass from 35 to pleasant valley, and then diplomatically decide what restaurant would receive our sponsorship and review. While negotiating a U-turn at Pleasant Valley we debated our options. My vote was for a little place called La Casita whose “Now Open” sign hinted at the promise of the cleanliness and superior quality that could be found at a new taco dive. Tacobuddy had his heart set on a cute little spot named Los Comales. Not wanting to forcefully assert my superior judgment, or be subjected to his whims on our next outing, I suggested a democratic coin flip. The coin favored the God, but a power higher still was at work in favor of Los Comales. A sign on the door at La Casita told us that an emergency situation had forced an early closing, and our fate had been sealed.

Upon arriving at Los Comales, we were greeted with a smile and a sign told us to seat ourselves. The first thing I noticed was that the restaurant was questionably empty at 7:00 (somewhat forgivable on a Tuesday night). The next thing of interest was that the kitchen was positioned horizontally along the wall as we entered and a see-through plastic allowed us to view the very large grill where various meets and vegetables sizzled provocatively. The décor of the restaurant could best be described as campy Tex-Mex heavy on the Mex, however I was not allowed much time to inspect as we chose to enjoy our meal on the patio overlooking lovely East Seventh. As the sun set on this beautiful 70 degree evening I was filled with optimism. A friendly chicana whose smile touched both ears quickly brought us waters, chips, and salsa. Fortunately the TACOGOD speaks Spanish at a 3rd grade level, as our server clearly did not know one word of English. I was glad to find that the chips were both warm to the touch, and formed in the thin crispy restaurant style I find so agreeable.
Now I must admit that when I saw the salsa I was concerned. Its color was the deep unnatural red of Pace, and it was clearly soupy. Another concern was that it came in those little blue dollop bowls that you can only fit a broken chip in. HEARTBREAK: as soon as it hit my lips my worst fears were confirmed: Vinegar. Now, I m not going to accuse them of serving pure Pace, because upon closer inspection the salsa clearly contained fresh cilantro (even pace is chunkier than what we were served though). My first instinct was to run and not look back. How could they let this happen? What s the point of eating tacos with a tangy red vinegar paste. Disgusting. If tacobuddy hadn t already ordered a drink, I would have drug him out of there faster than you can say “New York City???!!! ” Resigned to my fate, I choked down some more of the offending mixture and tried to focus on the menu.

The Menu was full of reasonably priced options, and I noticed upon walking in that the plates were formidable in size. Two items received an entire page of the menu, Tacos and Gorditas. Seeing as how they had already bombed the salsa category, I figured the only way they could save themselves was with outstanding tacos. This was do or die for this place. Tacobuddy ordered two tacos of chicken fajita, with lettuce tomato and cheese, at the bargain basement price of two dollars each (1.50 without the toppings). I also ordered a chicken fajita taco with all the trimmings, but switched it up by also ordering a chicken fajita gordita. As an afterthought I ordered us a guacamole salad (3.00) so that we would have something to put the chips in while we waited. The guacamole, while much better than the salsa, was just not quite right. It was a little too creamy and light colored, which lead me to question both its content and its freshness. Our tacos arrived quickly as did this restaurants last chance for salvation. After surveying both the taco and the gordita, I dove into the taco first. The first thing I noticed was the excellent homemade corn tortilla. As I bit in, I tasted a little bit of taco heaven. The taco was jammed packed with huge chunks of thick extremely tender flame grilled chicken breast, and little pieces of onion and bell pepper complimented it perfectly. I found myself wishing I had gotten this taco topping-less, as the blandness of the lettuce, tomato, and shredded yellow and white cheese merely got in the way. Next I moved onto the gordita. For those of you unfamiliar, a gordita is an extra thick corn tortilla that has been flash deep friend to to make it puff out. This incredible piece of food had a very thick and chewy bottom half, which was pleasantly lubricated with refried beans. Covering the beans was a large mound of the aforementioned amazing chicken, lots of shredded cheese, lettuce, and the thin crispy top of the former tortilla. As jaded as I was about the salsa, I could not deny the awesomeness of this thing.
I felt a tinge of regret as I imagined myself eating it with real fresh salsa, and I choked back the tears which welled in my eyes. There were many other appealing things on the menu, but it is hard to imagine myself returning to this place. If you are a Pace lover, Los Comales may be the place for you, but tacotown most certainly is not. Having wonderful fresh salsa delivered in bowl after glorious bowl is one of the most spiritual and uplifting parts of the taco experience (some would say it is in and of itself the pinnacle)— and sadly Los Comales robbed me of this. It is truly sad to see a place with such potential for greatness fall by the wayside. I would actually consider eating there again, but only if I could bring real salsa, and if I had to go somewhere else for my salsa then what s the point?

THE SCORE
Salsa 2 (was going to get a 1 but the fresh cilantro bought a point)
Food 7 (lost a point for the guac)
Service 5 (super nice but you English speakers are f d)
Atmosphere 5 (patio should be in the back, not on the street)
Price 8 (very affordable for a restaurant/taqueria mix)

Total 27/50 - 54%

Rating:

LOS COMALES RESTAURANT 2136 E 7TH ST, AUSTIN, TX 78702 Phone: (512) 480-9358