So we made it a point this week to go exploring the north side of the ATX… in search of hidden gems.. hoping to strike mexi-gold. It was a trying experience for us..we hit Lamar at 2222 and headed north.. past Los Jefes, our last bad north lamar experience, north past 183.. and then we saw Mr. Pollo.. looked tempting so we parked it and started walking in.. only to be stopped in our tracks by 2 dudes walking out, claiming that they’d been burned! we had to take their word for it.. they seemed like dependable taco loving jerks (pictured at right), so we got back in the car and continued north..
the next place we saw was called Tacolate.. it was what looked to be a former Micky-D’s building.. we were hungry as f*ck so our judgement was thoroughly impaired at this point..and mind you it was 30 degrees and windy outside so we shuffled in looking for a warm meal.. inside the place was dead.. a few meats under a heat lamp.. a few hispanic dudes looking at us suspiciously..the heater in there was apparently broke since it was the same temp as we had just walked out of.. we took in the vibe for a minute or so while the lady at the counter ignored us.. then we turned around and walked out.. strike 2 for north lamar.. damn.. this is why i call it south round rock.. it really doesnt deserve to be considered Austin in some respects.. weak..but we tredged on in search of a hot meal..we were considering chinese at this point..
so we continued up the way until we saw a nice looking restaurant in a strip mall.. La Parilla.. this looks a little more respectable. .they had holiday airbursh art in the windows.. a big screen with saucy telenovelas.. a light crowd.. a full bar.. nice.. this place has promise.. we get the chips and salsa.. a warm orange-red suace.. very mild, but tasty nonetheless. decent chips..
the menu is pretty big.. lots of choices.. and i was still hungry as f*ck so I had a hard time deciding.. but for some reason I settled on the shrimp chile relleno.. food came about 10 min later.. Cabeza got an assortment of items.. a pastor gordita, a carne guisada taco, and a regular crispy beef taco.. Whiskydick got the mole chicken..everything looked pretty good… colorful dishes indeeed..
i dug into the chile relleno.. it struck me that the red sauce surrounding it was a little watery.. the shrimp inside was plentyful, but they were the tiny popcorn shrimp variety.. not what I expected for some reason.. kinda dissappointed, but it tasted good enough and I was hungry as f*ck.. I ate on..
Cabeza didnt have anything good to say about his tacos.. the pastor tasted OK to me.. it was very red, which was strange.. too red. he had a general blah review for everything on his plate..
the mole sauce on the chicken was bunk.. it was obviously hershey’s syrup and a couple of other spices.. weak… dont think Whiskeydick could even eat it all…
I kept at my chile relleno..finishing my plate, and I payed for it.. with my bowels.. it was poporn shrimp overdose.. and you should know by now that my stomach can handle almost anything… the walk out to the car was utterly painful..
overall, it wasnt quite strike 3.. more of an infield popup.. I am just a little ashamed that north austin can’t represent.. I mean La Parilla is probly one of the best joints on north lamar.. and it sucked..so I will continue to call north lamar South Round Rock until someone proves me wrong and can present me with a decent mexi-meal up there.. dont worry.. I wont give up the search… a true taco explorer presses on thru the sleet and snow..
La Parrilla 9515 N Lamar Blvd Ste 102
Austin, TX 78753-4124View Map 512-491-9414
There are a few places up north that I really like. Kens Subs Tacos & More
at 9408 Dessau Rd Austin, TX 78754.. Get an extra tortilla, cause enough stuff will fall out of your tacos to make a new one..
Joby said,
December 5, 2006 @ 9:52 pm
There are a few places up north that I really like. Kens Subs Tacos & More
at 9408 Dessau Rd Austin, TX 78754.. Get an extra tortilla, cause enough stuff will fall out of your tacos to make a new one..