Another South Congress discovery! We’ve passed this place numerous times, and for some reason never thought too much about it.. But sooner or later, a true taco explorer has to head into uncharted waters in search of mexi-gold. So it was on Monday February 18th that we set sail for this exciting new land, albeit with low expectations.

The vibrant colors are a nice change from the old-hat look of nearby El Gallo. El Flaco Cafe is a small restaurant of maybe 15 tables. The waitresses were eager to serve and friendly from the get-go.. We got our chips and salsa promptly. The salsa was roja.. pureed thoroughly.. and mighty tasty! It was mild, not much heat, but the flavor was unique and tantelizing.

The menu featured a standard selection of tex-mex fare.. Enchiladas, tacos, chalupas, and combo plates of the sort. Both Cabeza and I decided on combo plates.. I got the standard mexican plate with 2 beef enchiladas, a taco, rice, beans, and tortillas. Cabeza got the special plate- same as mine, but with carne guisada.

The food arrived in no time, and we dug in.. Wow.. this is as good as anything else in town. It was simple tex-mex, done right.. The beef taco was savory and fresh.. a perfect beef crispy taco.. no frills. The enchiladas were excellent, cheesy and smothered in a classic con carne sauce.. Nothing bland or tasteless about this meal.. we were enjoying every bite. The carne guisada on Cabeza’s plate took the prize though.. it was just the way I like it, full-flavored and tender, with no fatty chunks just mouth-watering morsels of roast beef in a delicious brown gravy.

The icing on the cake was El Flaco’s homemade tortillas, both flour and corn that came with our meals and were wrapped around our enchiladas.. They were perfectly done and they added to quality of our meal immensely.

 

 

The tortillas are a small detail that, to me, indicate the amount of pride a restaurant takes in its mexican food - and its is an art that seems to be lost on Austin.. hardly anyone in the ATX is making their own tortillas anymore, whatup with that? do we have to go to Taco Cabana for a fresh tortilla? perhaps we need to start a coalition to advocate fresh tortillas in more mexican joints around town..i mean, apparently this is not a problem in Houston, c’mon people!

Whale, definitely check out El Flaco if you’re down on south congress and you want a quick, laid back, and quality tex-mex experience. The manager was even cool enough to come out and check on his patrons a few times, pitching in to help the waitresses when he could.. I appreciate that kind of attention to detail.

heres the score:

El Flaco Cafe [map]
3632 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 444-2767

Score:
Atmosphere: 6 (casual, but clean)
Price: 7 (inexpensive)
Salsa: 8 (unique, tasty)
Food: 9 (great)
Service: 9 (great)

total: 78% Rating:

Rating:
I was taking my necessary weekly break from tacos the other day.. visiting the salad bar at Whole Foods.. feeling good about myself..salad, sushi, Feeling like a yuppie prick, which is something that bothers me about WF.. that place is eerie….its like yuppitopia -pious aroma in the air …sure, they got some cool shit but it needs some balance.. it could use a dash of Fiesta Market to even the keel …

anyway.. As soon as I paid for my food, I saw it.. A new taco bar at whole foods.. build-your-own-style tacos nestled up next to the raw food and the coffee bar.. the sign said breakfast tacos in the morning, regular tacos at lunch.. $2.99 each or 2 for $5.00… Read the rest of this entry »

Dart Bowl is Taco Town’s official bowlin ally and mid-week waterin hole. We go there with friends a couple times a month to play Bowling Poker and swig a few yellow beers…maybe pound a shot or two if we’re feelin salty. But the real reason to go to Dart Bowl is the Enchiladas with Egg ($6.95). They are incredible. A truely sublime collision of white-trash recreation with back-ally Tex-Mex culinary sensibilities…its culture, man!

Start with prison-style metal skillet/plate, add 3 hand-rolled cheese enchiladas (the good cheese- not cheddar- but the gooey yellow processed magic), fill the skillet to the brim with hot chile con carne sauce (swimming with big morsels of ground beef) , then smother in more cheese, then top it off with 2 fried eggs (over easy). throw in a big piece of buttery Texas Toast for the moppin’ duty and you’ve got HEAVEN. Wash it down with a cold Miller High Life- maybe the ultimate beer/food compliment.

You can only indulge is this kind of artery-crusting fare so often, but I honestly wouldn’t mind having a heart attack with a gut full of Dart Bowl enchiladas…Maudie’s has the straight plate, which is essentially the same dish, but it can’t even compete with Dart Bowl. They’re probably the best cheese enchiladas I’ve ever had. I give it a 9.5 out of 10.

Dart Bowl Steak House
5700 Grover Ave.
Austin, Texas 78756
(512) 452-2518
Dart Bowl website>

“Hey man, You got something on your lip there…” “Shiit, that’s juss my Dirty Sanchez muthafucka”

If you want a more in-depth look at Torchy’s Taco’s- check out Chappy’s full review Here.

Today I only have eyes for one taco, and Holy Hell! Just got a chance to try the newest spawn of the fanatical quasi-breakfast taco dogma. It was a Revelation, or perhaps a Genesis. On the eighth day, Torchy shot his (proverbial) wad and created THE DIRTY SANCHEZ. I must admit it was the first time I’d been on the receiving end of this tasty treat…and for a dash of irony- its a meatless taco. Here’s the fillins:

Big Flour Tortilla filled with
fluffy EGGS
Tempura-fried POBLANO pepper
CHEESE
Pickled CARROT spears
Topped with Poblano-RANCH dressing

So, the tempura-fried poblano was the Alexis Amore of this gangbang, with the creamy ranch and tangy carrots playing perfect supporting roles (maybe Peter North and um…Carrot-top?), all melding into a greater-than-their-parts euphoria of taste, texture and smell. I heard thunder-claps, and visions of Dustin Diamond’s Saved by the Smell danced in my dome. Fuckin great taco and major props to Torchy’s for the balls to call it the Dirty Sanchez….

In the 24hrs since Taking the Sanchez, I’ve been flirting with the idea of this taco de-throning my longtime favorite alt-breakfast taco- Tatiana’s Tamale Taco at Maudie’s…But alas- Cabeza is never one to make a hasty decision. I’ll have to eat one more Sanchez to confirm the new champ..

oh yeah- I also had a beef fajita taco- which was amazing and also deserves props…If I can take my mind off the Sanchez for a second, then i’ll add to this post…

Torchy’s Tacos [map]
1207 South 1st Street
512-366-0537
Monday-Sunday 7am-11pm

So I finally followed the blog hype and went to check out Torchy’s on South 1st. Dissappointment was not to be found.. I even did a return trip with Pastor Al to solidify my opinion. First off, great location..directly across the street from the lackluster effort that is El Mercado.. its like they are sticking out their tongue and saying, “Nanny Nanny Booo Boo!”. I dig the relaxed setup, it reminded me of a mini-Freddie’s (which is just down the road and backed up to the same creek) theres a sandy area for chillin, tables, chairs, a badass limestone firepit that looks perfect for evening song swappin round the smoky embers.. I wander if they have any SXSW events planned? Noise shouldnt be too much of a problem since it backs up to TSD. There’s even a basketball hoop - jack some 3’s up while you wait… Read the rest of this entry »

Cabeza was leaving town for a while so we decided to treat ourselves to what has been touted as the nicest mexican restaurant in Austin, Fonda San Miguel…. we made reservations an everything, “party of 5 hummmkhay!” (in my rich prick voice). We even arrived early so that we wouldnt arrive late and lose our table (the hostess had warned me over the phone that this could happen).. it was a good move, cuz we got to check out the digs, have a seat at the bar and order one of the best mojitos I have ever laid my lips upon.. for 8 or 9 bucks i guess it oughta be..it was with this that i turned to the grumpy little miser taunting me from my shoulder and gave hime a swift flick in the nuts.. I had eaten enough $3.25 crispy taco dinners at tamale house to earn myself this one, I was determined to do this meal right..drinks, appetizers, dessert, the whole nine.. Read the rest of this entry »

Well i have already had almost all the tacos here so i decided to try the last couple that i had not endeavored as of yet. The Happy Taco (Seasoned chicken with sauteed shrooms and melted jack cheese, garnished with cilantro and onions) was one of them and should be called the Im Ok Taco— sort of bland with the Jack cheese being the busting out flavor. I had to kick in some of the magic, creamy green sauce to make it fun. Even with the cilantro and onions in there, which almost all of them have by the way.

Then onto the Adobados taco: Adobo marinated chicken with cilantro and onions. Their adobo is made from scratch using dried chipotle, ancho and guajillo peppers. Now this sucka was deeelish. The peppery chipotle flavor is the primary gang buster for this taco and really compliments the chicken. I dont know if i have ever had guajillo peppers so i cannot comment on their taste but if they had anything to do with its primary flavor then i applaud them. This taco reminded me of the Cowboy and the Puerco Barracho though as the meat is that orangish red color—but hey, still really good. Read the rest of this entry »

it was a cold and icy day in the ATX.. the mayor said to stay home, sounds to chappy like a challenge (or a maybe a conspiracy?) ..

in either case, time to head out for a little cultural research and taco exploration….
Pastor Al had a beat on this place up by 183 and lamar.. El Rancho Grande.. upon entering, i had the sense that this was just as risky a proposition as icy roads and paranoid drivers.. first off, no central heat in up in here.. just a couple of cheapo plugin space heaters.. ha. i kept my jacket on.. service was crap.. my ice tea never got refilled.. we ran outta salsa.. (the salsa was the only highlight of the meal) beans were cold.. the pierna woulda passed in a bad bbq restaurant as pulled bbq pork. carne guisada needed salt…overpriced.. no heat.. bah humbug.
Read the rest of this entry »

Taco faithful, I have called this meeting to impart my divine and intimate knowledge of one my favorite taco places, the tacogod goto (if you will). This bastion of taco and beverage goodness should always be on a short list for those taco-ites looking to find some of the freshest, tastiest tacos and stiffest, cheapest drinks in all of Austin. I have to admit that this review was a long time in the coming, and I’ll make another admission early on. I am familiar with the owners, and consider them my homies. Therefore I have diligently eaten at Wahoo’s many, many times in order to ensure that I could give a fair and impartial review as to quality of the taco experience. There is one thing alone that sets apart good restaurants from badass, goto, favorites. CONSISTENCY. And this is the mantra at Wahoo’s.

Read the rest of this entry »

We first encountered Santa Rita at this years’ AusChron Hot Sauce Fest, AKA, the great title robbery…but thats another story. Santa Rita had a booth setup and they were peddling tacos and stuff.. we ate one and like it very much.. it was standard beef soft taco and it was served by a beautiful woman… ..yes, let it be known that a beautiful woman can sway our vote…. Read the rest of this entry »