After a long 10 hour day at work, and nothing much to do this evening, I got the feeling I got to ramble… So I head down to where I used to dwell, Riverside area in South Austin. Thank god I just paid my car insurance, one thing about driving on the East Side, especially around Oltorf and Riverside is that folks drive like cock-asses. After dodging low riders and angry community college kids, I decide to go down memory lane and drive by my old misery pit, my old apartment complex in South Austin. Chevy Chase Downs, I actually picked the place because it was named after Chevy Chase, it had two pools and looked pretty depressing. Read the rest of this entry »

Rico’s Tamales on Cesar Chavez..
this is the 3.99 tamale plate.. pork tamales smothered in tex mex sauce.. it was mighty tasty.. and the salsa they give you adds alot to the experiece.. one is jalapeno creme, the other is a vinegar based red sauce.. both were great..
find all the Austin reviews on our Taco Map!

Rating: Across the parking lot from the east 7th HEB, tucked away behind the gaudy Pinky’s wireless store, stands a little restaurant named El Zunzal. Today at lunch I braved the weather in what will heretofor be remembered as the great deluge of October 2K6 in order to find out what the Zunzal was all about. I’m going to skip ahead a little bit and impart some knowledge I picked up off google after my restaurant visit. Playa Zunzal is apparently a tiny Pacific coast beach in El Salvador (south of San Salvador) which is some kind of gringo surfer heaven. Accordingly, El Zunzal has a healthy smattering of authentic Salvadorian cuisine, in addition to the standard Austin Mex faire that is found at virtually every place in town. Read the rest of this entry »

I always like to read taco reviews in the established rags. here’s a good one from the Austin Chronicle…

TACO SABROSO
Rosa Santis sets up shop on East 7th
by RACHEL FEIT, Austin Chronicle

The first thing that the Peruvian-born Rosa Santis will tell you if you ask about her business ethic is that her goal has always been to provide jobs and to serve the community. This was how she approached her construction business when she took it over from her ex-husband 20 years ago. An acquaintance of mine worked for her for eight years and remarked, “Rosa’s good people,” when I asked him about her. “She was always real fair, treats her employees like family.” Santis’ business philosophy seems to have paid off. Since the Eighties, she has made a small fortune in the utilities construction business, expanding rapidly with Austin’s own dizzying growth.
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El Chile - Cafe Y Cantina
1809 Manor Rd, Austin, TX
512.457.9900 • website>
Rating: 37.5 out of 50

RETURN ViSIT:
We ate El Chile again this past Friday night with my lady and some friends. El Chile did NOT dissapoint! Do be prepared to wait on busy nights as the place ony sits about 50-75 peeps. But the food is worth it.

Here’s what I got:

Arrachera
Sirloin steak topped with melted Chihuahua cheese, poblano rajas, and grilled onions. $12.95

Basically beef fajitas, but I had to cut it up myself. It was very tasty! tender, perfectly cooked, savory, supple beef. This cow must’ve had a personal massage therapist. I Placed the cuts inside their home-made tortillas with peppers, cheese, my favorite chipotle salsa in town, and behold…a truly world-class fajita taco.

Also gotta give props to the Holy Grail of beer mugs- I had about 4 Dos Equis in these monster glasses, they weigh about 20lbs. each. Sarah ordered the Chilango Margarita: Spicy orange infused frozen margarita. I don’t really dig spicy drinks, but this one was outstanding.

oh, and check out El chile’s website.

Also, stay tuned for a review of the NEWEST spawn of El Chile, the taco stand EL CHILITO.

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Rating:
Upon the half-assed recommendation of my roommate, I decided to make a saturday afternoon trip to local east-side old timer Nuevo Leon for the first time. I could tell from his half-assedness that I was taking a gamble.The ridiculuous blue sign outside the restaurant was almost enough to turn me around—but the parking lot was full of nice, shiny, expensive looking vehicles. Could this be the east side taco den of the rich and famous? I boldly threw caution to the lion on the big blue sign out front and swaggered inside. Upon entrance, the trap was sprung. As we were escorted to our table in the back room, I noticed the biggest room was full of what look like a seriously rockin’ bat mitzvah. This would explain the full parking lot, as opposed my guess about the popularity of the restaurant. Read the rest of this entry »

Rating:
Okay, just the goods.This joint is right behind my house, at Berkman & Briarcliff Dr. (on da East Side near ol’ Mueller Airport) I say joint cuz the name translates to “the Big House”. Don’t be fooled- their food does NOT taste like prison food. Quite the contrary.Casa Grande is a classic Mexican meat market/grocery store. The great thing about these places is, they’ve also got a discotecca (Record Store) inside, and a cowboy hat store, and a clothing store, and a check cashing place, and they sell phone cards. Its great- like a little tejano mall. But the best part is the Taqueria, located to the left as soon as you enter. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

Rating:
taco stand at the corner of manor and 51st..
i walked up and ordered 2 pastor tacos (no onions)
and a fajita gordita..
went in the conoco to get a drink while the friendly senorita prepared my food.
came out and paid 5.25 for my meal, headed to the Ugi house
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Rating:
Taco Town really has changed me. This website has given me the strength to boldly forge into the new world of the Mystery Taqueria. Before Taco Town, the odds were stacked against me. The occasional “lets try this place. It might be good” usually ended up with extended and frequent visits to the alter of King Commode- God of Porcelain. I was left with nothing to show for my courageous efforts, and there was no way to warn the next guy about the dangers of that particular Mystery Taqueria. Read the rest of this entry »