The 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival is shaping up to be the best yet, with cooler weather, lush green grass, a very solid lineup, and perhaps finest crop of food vendors ever assembled…This ain’t yer daddy’s “state-fare” of turkey legs and funnel cakes…We’re talkin gourmet, Austin-style goodness…even vegetarians have options….and so here’s the…

Taco Town Approved Grub at ACL Fest:

Hudson’s on the Bend
Hot & Crunchy Cone: Shrimp/Chicken/Avocado
NEW! Purple Pig Cone: braised pulled pork w/ purple slaw & horseradish sauce

Mesa Verde Grill
Quesadillas: Spinach Mushroom, Chipotle Chicken or Steak
Smoked Wings with Sweet BBQ or Mango Habenero Sauce

Torchy's Green Chile Pork taco

Torchy’s
Green Chili Pork Taco
Potato Bean Green Chili Taco
Trailer Park Taco

Wahoo’s
Blackened Fish Tacos
Grilled Chicken Tacos
Burritos: Fish/Chicken/Veggie

Moonshine
Fried Fish Tacos w/ Jicima
Lunar Burrito

WANT! Taco Wallet

Tacos: a good place to put your money
No, literally.  Its a freakin taco wallet! Thanks for the tip Fuck Yeah Tacos!

Stand Up!
Awww snap! Taco night at Bernie’s just went PRO with these interlocking taco holders. Now use both paws to stuff that taco with our delicious Bison Picadillo Recipe.  These things are dishwasher safe, but in Texas we like our carbon footprint XL, so we’re waiting on these disposables.

Patented Taco Shells:
only thing better than a taco stand is a freestanding taco, and the only thing better than an ice cream cone is a taco cone!

Nuked Crispies?
Taco Pablo brings you the Taco Toaster, a revolutionary device that turns soft corn tortillas into crispy taco shells with your microwave.  Genius.

Wow! Somehow this slipped past our habanero rubbed eyes, but it was just called to our attention that our very own CHAPPY’S Original Green Salsa was awarded honorable mention in the Individual Green Sauce division of this year’s Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival.

This is our 2nd honorable mention award in 4 years of competing at The Chronicle Fest, to go along with our two 1st place champion awards at Joby’s Hot Sauce Contest. – so we’re feeling somewhat validated and definitely movitated to make the podium next year…

after the jump: the full list of Individual winners from 2009: Read the rest of this entry »

Coed Fish Tacos
Tasty UT undergrad makes a hideous fish taco

Brooklyn vs. Austin
Where are America’s Best Tacos?

99 Cent Chef
recipe for Huevos Rancheros on the cheap

Crack Sauce
Blogger makes love to TacoDeli’s Doña Sauce

California Love
ATX Taco Blogger El Mundo de Mando (of Taco Journalism) blogs his Taco Crawl through San Francisco’s Mission district for SFweekly. La Taqueria and Taqueria Pancho Villa both received high marks.  He goes on to weigh the pros & cons of Tacos vs. Burritos…is it even close, Mando?? (SFweekly)

Eat This Lens!
local photographer has some stunning shots from their recent Houston Taco Tour…nice work Marshall.

Houston’s Top 10 Taco Trucks
H-town’s finest mobile tacos – as compiled by the honorable and knowledgable Robb Walsh…El Ultimo (My favorite) comes in at a respectable #3….and the winner is >

Barbacoa 2 ways
Señor Robb Walsh gives us a detailed recipe and history lesson on the all-but-extinct art of Mexican Mutton BBQ, Barbacoa de Borrego…Also, peep Robb’s video tutorial on Backyard Barbacoa, AKA smoked cow head.

> NEW South Austin music venue/taco shop opens this Saturday | Its called Villa’s Music Garden – just north of Hill’s Cafe on S. Congress.  Shout out to our boy Shawn Nelson, who’s on this inaugural bill | event page

> Houston Taco Truck Tour by Camera Phone

> Austin Bloggers take the Houston Taco Tour 2009
Long Point Drive is Houston’s version of South 1st Street. taco Mecca.

> “Show Me Your Taco” is going to Iowa July 6th for a Taco Tour good luck Nelson, but if Davenport is any indication – Iowa tacos pretty much blow cabritos.  Sorry, el Boz.

> Stop Laughing at THIS retarded preacher, or you’re going to Hell

Wall Street Journal, that is…check out this article on gourmet food trucks, a trend that’s sweeping the country and bridging the gap between expensive restaurants and fast food:

Jeff Blank, Owner of Might Cone

Jeff Blank, chef and owner of Hudson’s on the Bend, in Austin, Texas, where the average check is $75, rolled out a lunch truck in March. The truck, called the Mighty Cone, specializes in fried chicken, shrimp and avocado coated with a mixture of almonds, sesame seeds, cornflakes and chili flakes; average checks are under $10. At Hudson’s, revenue is off by 20% to 25% compared with two years ago, Mr. Blank says, but revenues from the truck have made up for those losses and even allowed him to hire extra staff.

Good Stuff and congrats on Blank’s success. TacoTown will always be children of the cone.

Photo by John Anderson

Much Respek to the brothers Vallejo and their 2nd annual Pachanga Latino Music fest this past weekend in East Austin.  The fest was huge success by all accounts…but more importantly, they managed to expand the definition of “a musical instrument” to include the BBQ Grill.

Serrano’s owner Adam Gonzales actually cooked fajitas LIVE, onstage during the Panchanga All Stars set – a super-group featuring members of Vallejo and Grupo Fantasma, with Michael Ramos, Willie Alvarado, Haydn Vitera and a bunch more…

Now TacoTown calls that innovation.

Full Festival Review here >

Chappy’s elbo green is a hit. Music is loud. Beer is cold. Get down
here. Paradise cafe upstairs all day baby. – cabeza

Taco Town is baffled and enthralled.

This weekend Christopher Huang will attempt to run 200 miles from Houston to Austin non-stop, completely unsupported, and utterly untrained. He will run straight to East Austin’s legendary Juan in a Million mexican restaurant, where he will immediately attempt to break his own world record – a 10lb scarfing of 8 Don Juan breakfast tacos. The amazing quest begins Thursday, March 19 and ends in Austin on Saturday March 21st at 3pm.  Chris has set up a website to promote the event where you can follow his trek LIVE via GPS….One thing’s sure – TACO TOWN will be at the finish line for the full report.  Good luck Chris/ -cabeza