Taco Taco Cafe
145 E. Hildebrand - San Antonio, Texas 78212 | (210) 822.9533

Perhaps by now you’ve heard of the taco phenomenon that is Taco Taco Cafe, a modest little taco shack out in San Antonio that has garnered nationwide attention and acclaim. Bon Appetit, in a Best American Restaurants series, crowned the Mexican mainstay as having the “Best Breakfast Taco in America”; Food Network concurred, awarding the Cafe “Best Tacos in America” (beating out Atlanta’s Taqueria Del Sol and South Beach Bar & Grill in Ocean Beach, CA);

Even Details magazine has thrown in their two centavos, designating the morning fare “Best Breakfast in America.”

Now, clearly Mexican food in general is the best type of breakfast food. Look at the citywide incredulity and panic generated by the infamous freeze of 2006, when you couldn’t get a breakfast taco. In Austin, Hell had officially frozen. So, Details saying that Taco Taco has the “Best Breakfast in America” isn’t rocking the boat too much. However, two major epicurean experts declare that Taco Taco Cafe has the “Best Taco in America”?? (breakfast and otherwise?) That’s no laughing matter. I mean, fights have been fought over much, much less, especially in the Tex-Mex Capital of the World. Thus, I decided to see for myself if the proclamations rang true. Twice, just for good measure.

As I’m vegetarian, I have two breakfast benchmarks upon which I base my verdict: migas and huevos rancheros. As long as I’ve lived in Austin, Maria’s Taco Xpress has always had the best migas breakfast taco, hands down. And I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Z’Tejas (downtown), though losing points for actually being a restaurant rather than a taco shack or stand, has the best huevos rancheros. So, at Taco Taco Café, I tried both. And was profoundly disappointed by both. The first time around I had both a migas taco and a chilaquiles taco (which more closely approximates the migas taco at Maria’s), and both were quite lackluster in flavor. The one redeeming factor was the homemade tortillas, which were actually the best I’ve ever had. The corn tortillas are as thick as the flour tortillas, and they were both fresh as a spring chicken. The second time around, I was less disappointed, but still not ready to apply any superlatives to anything I ate, especially not the salsa. Everyone knows that if the chips and salsa aren’t good, there is little chance of redemption. And they were not. The huevos rancheros did actually gain points for being quite authentic, something that the same dish at Z’Tejas lacks; but, although preparation and presentation are key, they are no substitute for flavor.

To be fair: the Norteño Taco is what actually won Taco Taco Café the Number 14 taco out of 63 designation in the December 2006 issue of Texas Monthly. So maybe it’s just that I’m not a meat-eater, and that’s what the hundreds of people who line up outside and shuffle through the tiny café each morning get that I’m missing. Taco Taco’s motto is “So good they named it twice,” after all. But is it? I say Bon Appétit, Details, and Food Network should have thought twice before they gave their hearts away. Next time you’re in San Antonio, try it out and le me know: should I reconsider my foolish notion?

Taco Taco Cafe on Yelp>