Amaya’s Taco Village is a mainstay of the i-35 taco scene.. Not much has changed in years… expect to find the place packed at lunch time.  The highlight of the (otherwise lackluster) menu are the Village Tacos.. Served in thick yellow corn fried shells that are a combination of chewy, crunchy, and greasy..   with processed yellow cheese, lettuce and tomato.. then your choice of ground beef, shredded chicken, or beef fajita.  Though you can get as many as 3 tacos to a plate, with rice and beans, 2 is more than enough to keep your belly full for the rest of the day.

For me, its the combination of the greasy, chewy shell  and the half-melted yellow cheese that make these tacos taste so damn good.. sometimes you just have wipe that  ’south austin – holier than thou – organic – whole food ‘ look off your face and enjoy the beauty of processed cheese… at least i do.  The ground beef is ok, but i would reccommend the fajita beef at a small extra charge.. it adds to the amazing texture of these tacos.. Amaya’s tacos have a weight/mass to them that is unrivaled.. a true gut-bomb if there ever was one.

Amaya’s Taco Village
www.amayastacovillage.com
5405 N Ih 35
Austin, TX 78723-2429
(512) 458-2531
Get directions

Al Pastor taco $0.99

I found this GREAT little taco stand just a couple minutes South-East of Austin, off Hwy 183 and DG Collins Rd.  I was the only gringo there, and the girl inside spoke ZERO engles…which is always a good sign in my book.

Chorizo/egg taco (.99) was and great, especially with the chunky, vinagery house salsa piled on top..reminded me of Maria’s w/ the chimichurri (though not quite THAT good).

Bomb Taco Alert: the Al Pastor Taco (.99), was more like a BBQ pulled pork smothered in red sauce – but it was AMAZING…highly recommended.

Las Flores – try to remember that name – and go there next time you head out near the airport or traveling towards Lockhart – its right off 183 about 5 min south of hwy 71…It may be a little off the beaten path, but there’s also a Pollo Regio stand across the street- if you feel like u wanna double up.

will post more pics later.

-cabeza

TacoTown saw it comin….Pro eating douche Adam Richman thought he could just mosey into our town, swipe an taco eating record, purge himself in the ladies room, then collect that hefty Travel Channel paycheck…WHAAALE – maybe he didn’t get the memo: the East-side’s Juan in a Million don’t make no sissy tacos:  The Don Juan breakfast tacos weigh in at around 3/4lbs. each…So, not surprisingly – he peetered out at 4.5 tacos- a few short of the record 8 tacos…weak sauce!! come back when you have an appetite, holmes.

they got some videos posted here >

cabeza

originally posted 10/13/07…bumped for your pleasure, and since TacoBlob has apparently given up writing, or tacos…or maybe he’s too busy prowling for glutes. - cabeza

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

This was a great match at the time as I was fat, angry and miserable… I stopped by and realized that I don’t know why the fuck I just made the choice to revisit that place…Why do they bother to put up flags in these urban apartment shitholes? As to say there is something majestic about a mass quantity low cost apartment complex that makes it “flag worthy”. Although I high tailed it outta there, something dawned on me, this area reminded me of all the badass places to eat down in this neck of the woods: Taco-Rama, Taco-lane, whatever ya-wanna call it, South Austin, Riverside, Congress, we all know they hold some of the best true to earth taco places. Being a Yankee asshole from the North, this is truly an experience that grows on you. I was fortunate at a young age to travel to Mexico and experience real taco stands, this place brought back that flava, now if only I could get my virginity back!

Ahh the sweet smells of Riverside, I can hear the gangsta rap, and those fuckin grackle birds that shit all over everyone are flyin all over the place. I think I hear someone being raped in the alley, ahh fuck it I’m HUNGRY! It’s a full moon tonight, I’m hungry. As I walk in, it’s yellow, it’s bright, I am somewhat familiar to this out-of-country experience. Just a few folks scattered about the room. I sit down, and received prompt service. Salsa is pretty good, fairly predictable, and the darker chipotle salsa is not really my cup of tea, but still pretty tasty. I ordered a Tecate and the Alambres Especiales. WOW! I will get back to this, but let me just say, I had NO idea how badass this dish was. Let me repeat, Alambres Especiales $7.25, glad I opted out for the $10 BJ down the street.

As I munch down chips, the waiter came over to change the channel from the static channel to more static with WW-II warplanes crashing into the sea, some sort of war documentary, apparently he thought I might find this interesting. An old man came in and sat close to me, he was talking to himself in Spanish, I thought that was kinda neat. I think he muttered “yo quiero comer el gordo gringo”, maybe not.

TacoMutt™ is not very happy, she is not allowed in, I probably could have taken her out on the patio, maybe next time. Not too sure if it’s safe to sit out on that patio, last time I was in this area we got rear ended by a drunk guy in a car wash parking lot, it was useless to try and do anything about it, hey just like Mexico! I made sure to order the TacoMutt™ a Lengua Taco, we’ll get back to that shortly. She took the liberty of getting it all over my leather seats.

The Alambres Especiales is listed on the menu as Beef Fajitas, bacon, onion, bell pepper and cheese. Let me add that they threw in some sort of mystery sausage ham, I looked all over the menu and didn’t see it. Either way, this dish was amazing. Unfortunately I must compare it to a cross between the top of a meat lovers pizza and a Denny’s meat lovers skillet, but this did not compare. It was fresh and zesty, lots of fresh green peppers all woven together nicely with nice cuts of beef and plenty of mozzarella on top. Talk about portions,

I was starving and couldn’t finish the dish. This was really impressive, in the four years of frequenting local S. Austin taco joints, I finally found a dish that truly stands out for me. I was really impressed with this dish, and it’s different from some of the “usual” dishes we are often ordering when we go to places like Arandas and La Tapatia, etc.

Staff was great, nice, I speak Spanish pretty good so it wasn’t awkward. There was one guy in the restaurant that eyeballed me the whole time, and I am certain he wanted to stab me, but as I left, he smiled at me. No really, it was badass, and they get a B+ all around. I have yet to find a south side taco place with comfortable lighting, but I guess low lighting costs allow for cheaper tacos so Amen, Dios Mios.

The menu looks good, and next time I will be trying some of the Caldo. The guy sitting next to me had a huge bowl, it looked really good.

Recap: Location blows, Riverside is a depressing place for me, because I lived a depressing life for a while down there. So get yer car insurance renewed and haul ass down there! They have awesome food, fresh and clean. Nice people. I used to eat at Pollo Regio down there as well, some of you have Pollo Regio near your house, it’s those drive thru shacks that usually look like they are on fire, wow, I love that stuff! Cheap chicken, also a favorite of mine.

Let’s not forget about TacoMutt™! She downed her taco super fast. Her rating: She was panting about 5 minutes after she ate it, but she did not wake me up last night with any sort of issues so she gives it a two paws up.

If you have full coverage, head down to Riverside:

-Taco Blob

Taquerias Arandinas
2110 E. Riverside

• Atmosphere: C+
• Staff: B (Spanish required)
• Food: A-
• Price Range: $5-7

Chicken Taquito

El Taquito does things a little different.. First off, you wont find any tostada chips there.. not sure why. What you will find is delicious tiny tacos (taquitos), an assortment of queso’s, fresh items at the salsa bar to accompany your meal (raspas, salsa’s, crema, limes, etc), and interesting daily specials..

The restaurant itself is nice and clean, with vibrant colors and plenty of natural light.. The ordering counter is basically just the front of the open kitchen.. you can plainly see the cooks (all ladies!) doing their thing.. It really gives off the vibe of a home kitchen, which made me feel comfortable about the food..

Queso Fundido with Raspas in the Foreground

The menu is fairly limited.. tacos – chicken, beef fajita (called ‘originales’), and al pastor – they come in large or taquito sizes.. Then there is a selection of different quesos.. these are queso fundidos, thicker than your usual tex-mex soupy queso, and served in a warm skillet and ready to dollop on a fresh tortilla.

strawberries were a nice touch

On one of our visits, the daily special was chicken enchiladas suizas, of which Cabeza happily partook. The enchiladas were very good, fresh out of the oven, made with flour tortillas and topped with a tangy verde sauce and creme..

They also offer fresh agua frescas, that you can see in large glass barrels near the cash register.. I couldnt resist the horchata..and it was a perfect, complete with slices of strawberry thrown in to sweeten the deal.

El Taquito
1713 E Riverside Dr
Austin, TX 78741
(512) 851-8226

The Score

• Food Quality: 8 (great)
• Service: 7 (friendly)
• Salsas: 7 (solid
• Atmosphere: 7 (clean and bright)
• Price: 6 (reasonable, but not cheap)

Total: Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars 76%

Check out the always entertaining Taco Inspector‘s video review of El Taquito:

Our Photos:

Rating: 3.2 out of 5 starsAcross 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.

To be honest, I was pretty worried when I walked in the place. The front counter area was in a general state of disarray, the place kind of smelled strongly of cleanser, and there were about 3 customers seated at 12:30 PM. There exists a primal human instinct called fight or flight, and it applies to almost every human interaction imaginable including the taco hunt. The whole of my taco instinct was screaming run when I walked in this place. I’d been here too many times before, trapped in the belly of the beast with medicore tacos. Why would I subject myself to the bland taco doldrums, risking further hunger, when my bastion of taco knowledge kept telling me that taco bliss was no more than a few blocks in any direction!!??? Motherf*cking TACO TOWN b*tiches. That’s f*cking why. Cause you f*ckers need my ass.

And are you glad I put my ass on the line today. Becuase I have to say that my eating experience at El Zunzal turned out to be nothing short of outstanding. When my chips were finally delivered, I found the salsa to be fresh and surprisingly good (bonus: it was really cold, which I love). I decided to follow my waiter’s advice and get something I was wholly unfamiliar with when ordering lunch, the pupusa de queso y chicarron. Additionally I ordered the tamales pollo, and as a litmus test the taco al pastor. The Pastor Taco was above average, yet utterly forgettable in an east side sea of pastor goodness. In contrast, I felt that both the pupusa and the tamale were perfection. A pupusa is basically a gordita, that instead of being grilled, sliced, and then stuffed—- is first stuffed with a combination of cheese and something (chicken, chicarron, loroco(which is some kind of salvadorian flower petal)) before being grilled. During grilling, hot cheese will usually bust out at some seam to releive the pressure, making it look kind of like a jelly donut (which is a major imagery bonus). Oddly, pupusas are served with a vinegar/cabbage slaw which in today’s case was bright red. My waiter told me to put that slaw on my pup, and what a glorious taste combination this was. It would be impossible to convey how well the two tastes combined–although one might compare it to peanut butter meeting jelly or fried chicken meeting syrupy waffles.

The tamale was possibly the best I have ever tasted. Straight up. It was not a shrimpy little mexican tamale, however. It was a big, gooey, overly moist, amazingly hot and flavorful central american tamale. It was closer to the size of a burrito than it was a mexican tamale. As amazing as it was, I was unable to finish it– as I had apparently saved my best item for last. The inner workings of the tamale were wrapped in a plantain husk, which was then wrapped in foil— and the whole thing was slice opened bread-box style so I could not lose any of the juices. It was bliss. I also picked up a semita de pina ( giant pineapple sweetbread cake 3$) on the way out. It was also incredible.
When I return to El Zunzal, I will probably get one pupusa and one tamale– they were both that big and that amazing— and at 2$ each now qualify as one of the best deals on the east side. However, the prices on the rest of the menu were kind of high, averaging 10 dollars for any plate—with options in Salvadorian, Seafood, and Mexican combo plates. Apparently, the owners own a group of taco trucks that patrol town as “Tacos del Rey” but they were all at the store today because of the heavy rains. I hope those are doing well, because the very mediocre state of the restaurant could turn off many customers. East Seventh is full of great, reasonably priced Mexican food, but you can bet I’ll be back to this gem—even if it’s only to get my food para llevar.

El Zunzal

512-474-7449
642 Calles
Austin, TX 78702

Ratings:

Salsa: 6

Atmosphere: 4 (bonus for the auththentic tejano jukebox and the widescreen mexican soap operas)
Service: 7 (was told what to oder, properly, made copy of menu when they didn’t have one for me)
Food quality: 9 (seriously mindblowing)

Price: 6 (both impressive and not)

Rating: 3.2 out of 5 stars (32/50)

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.

However, when the slowdown hit two years ago, Santis saw her business contract and, for the first time, worried about having to lay employees off. So she turned her attention to a new venture – a taco stand called Taco Sabroso, which she placed on a vacant lot purchased several years earlier as an equipment yard on East Seventh. She staffed it with three of her employees who had previous restaurant experience, and then hired a cook from Guanajuato. “My goal,” Santis says, “was to keep my employees and to offer the surrounding community a quality service.”

What started out as a taco stand perched near the street soon expanded to a full-fledged restaurant serving classic Mexican fare. At night, festive white lights twinkle in the pecan trees that shade the lot. Live Andean and Latin American music enliven the place on Saturday nights, while the occasional wedding spills out into the surrounding parking lot. Santis says she plans to build a banquet hall to accommodate the unanticipated crowds she has had on the weekends.

Taco Sabroso, as its name implies, is primarily a taqueria featuring real foods, cooked slowly to allow them to infuse with flavor. Out of Taco Sabroso’s canteen kitchen comes a tender carne deshebrada (a stewed spiced beef cooked until it falls apart) that is soulful and complex or a gently assertive carne al pastor flavored with achiote and onions. Carne asada or guisada are prepared with equal dexterity, in a taco, torta, or on a plate. However, the real showstoppers at this ever-evolving restaurant are the homemade salsas designed to accompany the meats. These are some of the best I’ve tasted. The fiery yet creamy green chile salsa is probably my favorite. But no less delicious is the dried red chile salsa with its salt-and-vinegar twang. The kitchen regularly turns out four different varieties.

Since Santis built the sit-down restaurant, the kitchen has also started serving such seafood dishes as citrus and tomato coctel de camarones and steamed fish dishes. These dishes are now drawing almost as many habitués as the tacos. A regularly scheduled Peruvian food night, requested by many of Taco Sabroso’s clients, is on the agenda for the months ahead.

Oh, and by the way, she still hasn’t had to lay off her employees, either.

and The Satesman reviews the same place…here’s what they said:

TACO SABROSO
Serving food even a governor will love
By Dale Rice
American-Statesman Restaurant Critic
Thursday, December 25, 2003

Gov. Rick Perry and I have something in common. We both like the pastor at Taco Sabroso.

However, as much as I hate to admit it, there’s one big difference.

Perry has been visiting the East Austin taqueria since it opened more than a year ago; I just discovered it this month.

Owner Rosa Santis purchased the land at the end of Seventh Street a decade ago with the intent of storing large equipment used in her utility construction business.

Then, with the boom in Williamson County, she decided it made more sense to keep the equipment in Round Rock.

When construction began waning along with the economy, she decided to “create some jobs for my guys.” She bought a small cooking trailer and opened a taco shop.

People liked her food, but in winter it was tough to keep the tacos warm long enough for customers to enjoy them. So, Santis decided to expand, building the sleekest taco joint in town.

Now diners can eat indoors, where the white walls, slate floor and expanse could be home to fancier fare.

Instead, Taco Sabroso still emphasizes its simple cuisine.

Its pastor is a delicious version of the traditional sliced pork. However, it doesn’t have the sweetness imparted by the heavy pineapple flavoring used by many Mexican restaurants. The pork gets its distinct taste from marinating in garlic, onion, paprika and achiote.

It’s delicious in taco form ($1.75) served with cilantro and onions or as a “gringa” ($2) with the addition of melted cheese.

Other tasty tacos included the steak ranchero (meat with pico de gallo), suisas (beef fajita meat) and picadillo (ground beef with lettuce and tomatoes). The ranchero and picadillo tacos go for $1.75, while the suisas is $2.

In addition to the tacos, the torta Cubana ($4.50) is a flavorful meal of French bread with ham and a second choice of meat (the pastor is good here, too), with avocado, cheese and tomato.

But it’s those tacos that will keep me coming back for more.

Governor, where else are you eating that I don’t know about?

---

You may contact Dale Rice at drice@statesman.com or 445-3859.

El Chile – Cafe Y Cantina
1809 Manor Rd, Austin, TX
512.457.9900 • website>
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars 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.

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.

ORIGINAL VISIT & REVIEW:

This place is on the east side right where Manor Rd merges with Dean Keaton. Its almost next door to the other relatively new taco joint “Vivo”. And actually the 2 places a re very similar, but I’d say El Chile is a bit more on the creative Mexican cuisine side (think Curras), while Vivo is more Tex-Mex style.

We arrived at about 11am, pretty early for lunch so they’d just opened. by the time we finished the place was packed. They have a small but comfortable and artsy interior area, and an equally nice outside deck seating, which is covered.

my order:
Enchiladas de Mole Rojo

NTOTB’s order:
Chicken Puffy tacos

The Enchiladas were filled with braised pork- very moist and delicious, and smothered in red Oaxacan mole sauce, then sprinled with sesame seeds. the mole was rich, decadent, but not overbearing. It had a slight hint of bitterness, which is common in mole, but I thought It was EXCELLENT overall. The pork was perfectly cooked and I savored every bite. My plate was garnished with Black beans (adequate) and white spanish rice (yummy). A very impressive mole dish overall. I’d say it comes in a close 2nd to Curra’s mole enchiladas…

for dessert, we tried the tres-leches cake on our waitress’s recommendation. It was like a sopping wet sponge, just DROWNING in sweet milk. Now, I like a moist cake as much as the next dude, but this was just too moist. We both agreed that it was kinda gross to have that much liquid pouring out of cake. I’d rather have 3 glasses of milk and a piece of relatively moist cake.

Overall- El Chile is a good restaurant. There’s at least 3-4 things I’ll go back to try. With a couple of exceptions, the service was informative, friendly and prompt. I do RECOMMEND this place.

Atmosphere: 8
Service: 6
Quality: 8.5
Salsa: 8.5
Price: 6.5 (everything was around $9 or $10)

score: 70%

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

El Chile – Cafe Y Cantina
(512) 457-9900
1809 Manor Rd
Austin, TX 78722

MAP HERE >

_________________
•••••CABEZA DE TACO•••••
THE GREAT TACO EXPLORER

Rating: 2.9 out of 5 stars

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.

Truly, Nuevo Leon is the Matt’s El Rancho of the east. I prefer to think that the metaphor speaks for itself. Could I really have been so stupid as to expect authentic Mexican food from a place that proudly displayed such a stupid sign! What kind of a name is “new lion” anyway?! I berated myself as I poured over the menu. Clearly, the signature dish was the beef taco plate, which contained a box around it on the menu to signify its importance. Merritt was there recently and told me that his beef tacos were “f*cking great” and tasted “amazing”, with double wrapped corn tortillas lightly fried. (sidenote: apparently the margaritas are also “strong as f*ck”). You’ll have to take his word for that, as we had neither beef tacos or margaritas.

The salsa was respectable, and for reference was almost identical to the salsa found at Maudie’s (except the spiciness was closer to that found at the lake Austin Maudie’s, rather than the painfully fiery concoction found at the S. Lamar Maudie’s). I asked our waiter which of the many items I should order that contained grilled chicken. He proceeded to tell me that I should get chicken fajita tacos. I ordered chicken fajita tacos. He then told me that chicken fajita tacos were not on the menu. I asked once again if I could order chicken fajita tacos. He calmly told me that I could not. We met in the middle and I ordered chicken fajitas. He then launched into an odd diatribe about how he liked to call himself the “chicken man”, and how he especially liked eating cooked chicken at home. This might have been amusing and cute if there was a spanglish language barrier, but seeing as he was very gringo it was odd and kind of scary. We smiled and nodded, and thankfully he left.

The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time, and we were both glad to have added a single tamale to our order as this was the best part of either meal. Moist, meaty, salty, and spiced to perfection.  quite a treat. Sadly, the same could not be said of the rest. My chicken fajitas were tough little nuggets, with sparse peppers and onions. The rice and beans were standard, no more and no less. I was glad to see fresh pico de gallo, and homemade guacamole on my plate— rounding out a respectable deal on a ten dollar plate of fajitas. The tortillas were an embarrassment. The flour tortillas, whose asymmetry suggested that they were made on site, were literally dry to the point of crunchiness. The corn tortillas were clearly store bought and were average at best. Drew got the Frank’s sour cream sauce chicken enchiladas. To say he was disappointed would be an understatement, and truly I must admit his plate looked pretty pathetic. The sour cream sauce was so thin that it was translucent, and he had to cover his enchiladas in salsa to get any flavor at all. Judging from the size of the place and the size of the staff, this place must do a very respectable amount of business. Was I asking for trouble going in at mid-afternoon on a Saturday? Of course I was, I’m no sucka and I know that’s one of the worst times to get a decent meal anywhere. But restaurateurs beware, tacotown doesn’t take siestas, and you would much rather have a happy tacogod than a vengeful tacogod.

Quality: 5/10
Service: 7/10 (other staff members made up for our server’s, big ups to the 90 year old guy who was all over my water like yellow on spanish rice)
Atmosphere: 6/10 (bonus for nice patio overlooking the train station that no one ever uses )
Salsa: 5/10
Price: 6/10 (very reasonable considering the competition, but not exactly cheap)

Rating: 2.9 out of 5 stars

Nuevo Leon
1501 E. 6^th St
512-479-0097

www.nuevoleoninaustin.com

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
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.

This particular day, I had the honor of dining with the venerable Marvin Pair (a man well versed in the exotic world of mystery tacos.) We sat there for about 5 minutes trying to talk to the lady behind the counter (who no speaka engles) before we figured out the procedure- turns out you have to order your food from the check out isle over by the groceries, then your order gets relayed to the lady behind the taqueria. The nubile Mexican princess at the check out booth actually spoke a few words in broken English, so we were reasonable sure we’d odered the beef fajita plate. I think it cost $7 total for the 2 plates. Cheap as dirt.

On to the food- Be warned- they pile a bed of cilantro and onions on top of everything here, so if you’re not down with that, just say “no celantra o cebellos” or your favorite spanglish insult. I learned the hard way. but after pushing most of it off, I found a heaping mound of mouthwatering, flavorful beef fajitas. they are more like a marinated bistek a la mexicana with plenty of zesty sauce . Tender, decent cuts, not too fatty. The rice and beans were hot and more than adequate. The tortillas were homemade, and they are FUCKING AWESOME. corn and flour are both excellent. they didn’t give us any salsa, though. that was kind of a bummer. But we left very satisfied.

The other stuff on the menu is ayones guess. I saw some wierd shit behind the glass, and I’m not brave enough to try most of it. But at least I found one tasty stalwart, that should keep me coming back.

Another notch in the belt for the Cabeza.

Quality: 7.5
Price: 9
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 7 (for the nubiles)
Salsa: N/A, so I’ll substitute another category…
tortillas: 9

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
_________________
•••••CABEZA DE TACO•••••
THE GREAT TACO EXPLORER

Rating: 2.7 out of 5 stars
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. Not wanting to forcefully assert my superior judgment, or be subjected to his whims on our next outing, I suggested a democratic coin flip. The coin favored the God, but a power higher still was at work in favor of Los Comales. A sign on the door at La Casita told us that an emergency situation had forced an early closing, and our fate had been sealed.

Upon arriving at Los Comales, we were greeted with a smile and a sign told us to seat ourselves. The first thing I noticed was that the restaurant was questionably empty at 7:00 (somewhat forgivable on a Tuesday night). The next thing of interest was that the kitchen was positioned horizontally along the wall as we entered and a see-through plastic allowed us to view the very large grill where various meets and vegetables sizzled provocatively. The décor of the restaurant could best be described as campy Tex-Mex heavy on the Mex, however I was not allowed much time to inspect as we chose to enjoy our meal on the patio overlooking lovely East Seventh. As the sun set on this beautiful 70 degree evening I was filled with optimism. A friendly chicana whose smile touched both ears quickly brought us waters, chips, and salsa. Fortunately the TACOGOD speaks Spanish at a 3rd grade level, as our server clearly did not know one word of English. I was glad to find that the chips were both warm to the touch, and formed in the thin crispy restaurant style I find so agreeable.
Now I must admit that when I saw the salsa I was concerned. Its color was the deep unnatural red of Pace, and it was clearly soupy. Another concern was that it came in those little blue dollop bowls that you can only fit a broken chip in. HEARTBREAK: as soon as it hit my lips my worst fears were confirmed: Vinegar. Now, I m not going to accuse them of serving pure Pace, because upon closer inspection the salsa clearly contained fresh cilantro (even pace is chunkier than what we were served though). My first instinct was to run and not look back. How could they let this happen? What s the point of eating tacos with a tangy red vinegar paste. Disgusting. If tacobuddy hadn t already ordered a drink, I would have drug him out of there faster than you can say “New York City???!!! ” Resigned to my fate, I choked down some more of the offending mixture and tried to focus on the menu.

The Menu was full of reasonably priced options, and I noticed upon walking in that the plates were formidable in size. Two items received an entire page of the menu, Tacos and Gorditas. Seeing as how they had already bombed the salsa category, I figured the only way they could save themselves was with outstanding tacos. This was do or die for this place. Tacobuddy ordered two tacos of chicken fajita, with lettuce tomato and cheese, at the bargain basement price of two dollars each (1.50 without the toppings). I also ordered a chicken fajita taco with all the trimmings, but switched it up by also ordering a chicken fajita gordita. As an afterthought I ordered us a guacamole salad (3.00) so that we would have something to put the chips in while we waited. The guacamole, while much better than the salsa, was just not quite right. It was a little too creamy and light colored, which lead me to question both its content and its freshness. Our tacos arrived quickly as did this restaurants last chance for salvation. After surveying both the taco and the gordita, I dove into the taco first. The first thing I noticed was the excellent homemade corn tortilla. As I bit in, I tasted a little bit of taco heaven. The taco was jammed packed with huge chunks of thick extremely tender flame grilled chicken breast, and little pieces of onion and bell pepper complimented it perfectly. I found myself wishing I had gotten this taco topping-less, as the blandness of the lettuce, tomato, and shredded yellow and white cheese merely got in the way. Next I moved onto the gordita. For those of you unfamiliar, a gordita is an extra thick corn tortilla that has been flash deep friend to to make it puff out. This incredible piece of food had a very thick and chewy bottom half, which was pleasantly lubricated with refried beans. Covering the beans was a large mound of the aforementioned amazing chicken, lots of shredded cheese, lettuce, and the thin crispy top of the former tortilla. As jaded as I was about the salsa, I could not deny the awesomeness of this thing.
I felt a tinge of regret as I imagined myself eating it with real fresh salsa, and I choked back the tears which welled in my eyes. There were many other appealing things on the menu, but it is hard to imagine myself returning to this place. If you are a Pace lover, Los Comales may be the place for you, but tacotown most certainly is not. Having wonderful fresh salsa delivered in bowl after glorious bowl is one of the most spiritual and uplifting parts of the taco experience (some would say it is in and of itself the pinnacle)— and sadly Los Comales robbed me of this. It is truly sad to see a place with such potential for greatness fall by the wayside. I would actually consider eating there again, but only if I could bring real salsa, and if I had to go somewhere else for my salsa then what s the point?

THE SCORE
Salsa 2 (was going to get a 1 but the fresh cilantro bought a point)
Food 7 (lost a point for the guac)
Service 5 (super nice but you English speakers are f d)
Atmosphere 5 (patio should be in the back, not on the street)
Price 8 (very affordable for a restaurant/taqueria mix)

Total 27/50 – 54%

Rating: 2.7 out of 5 stars

LOS COMALES RESTAURANT 2136 E 7TH ST, AUSTIN, TX 78702 Phone: (512) 480-9358

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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

the food came with 2 salsas – one was a red chipotle – very thin consistency but tasty – smokey and tangy..
the other was a verde jalapeno sauce – very thin consistnency too.. but this was also very tasty – medium heat range – the sauces added to the flavor of my tacos perfectly i was in heaven!the pastor was perfectly cooked, tender and juicy with very little fat..
the tortillas and celantro were fresh and up to par as well..the pastor scores an 8 out of 10.. youd be hard pressed to find better in town..

now on to the beef fajita gordita. it was about 4 inches in diameter with a beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and sour creme between 2 gordita pieces (thick corn tortilla/bread things)
que sabrosa!
i was still in heaven.. the taco gods were smiling down upon me, showering me with such devine gifts..

i’ll be back there.. and there is a El Paisa #2 right down the street – further north on manor at another gas station.. after my reccommendation Ox and Dirty Dave at there on our way out of town.. Ox had 2 pastor tortas.. they were big and scrumptious by his account..

go try the stand out – you wont be dissappointed
EAST SIDE!!

atmostphere: 5 (a gas station parking lot)
salsa: 7 (good stuff)
service: 7 fast and friendly
price: 7 (could be a little cheaper)
food quality: 9 (great food)

total: 35/50
%70

thats a good score for chappy
i dont give no padded fluffy scores.. %100 is only found in the skies above taco heaven

-chappy

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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.

_________________
•••••CABEZA DE TACO•••••
THE GREAT TACO EXPLORER

Rating: 2.4 out of 5 stars
Eager to review a taqueria which I had not previously patronized, I went to yellowpages.com and typed in taqueria and Austin, tx. Interestingly enough I was unable to locate the establishment I originally chose, and found myself aimlessly meandering through north Austin until I stumbled upon El Pollo Feliz. The signs on the building clearly advertised something relatively foreign to the taqueria world, rotisserie chicken was proudly displayed alongside such words as tacos, tortas, and burritos. Bemused and perplexed, I entered the building.
The first troubling aspect that caught my attention was that the restaurant was completely empty at 12:30 on a weekday. VERY bad sign. Not easily dissuaded from my task, I confidently strode to the counter and diligently studied the menu. All of the standard taqueria choices were present, and to make my selection easier there were pictures to accompany all of the plate options. My choice was relatively simple as there was only one option labeled lunch special: 1 breast and thigh of chicken, with rice, potato salad, salsa, tortillas and a drink ($4.75). To make sure I tested all of the staples, I also ordered chips and substituted my potato salad for guacamole (fortunately I was charged for neither). For my drink I received a Lipton Raspberry Iced Tea as no real iced tea was offered.
I peered around the place and noticed that it was relatively big, open, and very clean. The decor was standard and the lighting was bright with many windows.
Most likely because the restaurant was empty and the chicken was already cooked, I received my food within two minutes of ordering. The chicken was predictably tasty, juicy, and golden brown. Next I moved to the rice—oddly enough my rice bowl was about half rice and half chicken, which would be fine except that I already had quite a bit of chicken in front of me. Salsa: as they offered both a mild and hot salsa I asked for both. Sadly and predictably, the mild was watery and bland, and the hot was the same thing with half of its mass being fresh jalapenos (way too hot). Brilliantly I mixed the two together and got something edible but far from impressive. Interestingly, with the chips I received a third type of salsa which was soupy, deep red, cilantro heavy, and spiced appropriately by habaneros. If it wasn’t so soupy it might have been decent, but as it was it was just kind of strange. The guacamole infuriatingly came from a bag which made me want to throw it at the nice girl behind the counter. The chips were below marginal. The tortillas were store bought (both corn and flour) and were poor even by that standard.
As I ate, an old episode of MASH played above me on a TV/DVD combo. As Hawkeye struggled with claustrophobia brought on by an emergency triage set up in a cave, I struggled to pinpoint exactly what it was about this place that sucked so hard. As I write this, the answer seems clear. Rotisserie chicken is very good, but it has never been enough to carry a restaurant by itself. Think of Boston Market and where they would be without the excellent sides and succulent cornbread: f’n nowhere. I mean what the hell kind of taqueria offers potato salad instead of beans!? It’s almost like a half assed concession to the fact that rotisserie chicken just isn’t f’n Mexican food! So in closing if you need to get three chickens for 20 bucks, this may be your place, but for tacos and anything Mexican do yourself a favor and go anywhere else.

my score:
Food Quality: 4 (the chicken brings it up to 4)
Salsa: 3
Service: 6 (of course it’s good if I’m the only one there)
Price: 6 (everything was very cheap)
Atmosphere: 5

Total 24/50: 48 %

Location : Guadalupe and Airport
map: MAP LINK

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
So me and the bro were driving around today looking for a fresh east-austin taqueria to try out.. we drove down roggae looking for a place that just turned into a fried chicken joint – DAMN! sabotage, then we drove up manor to 183.. no tacos in site..so we resigned to head over to La Palapa, a place that eboz didnt really like the last time he went.. when on the way down the feeder road of 290, a curious establishment appeared before our eyes.. it was a small brick building, painted like the Mexican flag, a sign read EL CHARRITO.. wowoahwito! cant pass this up, its like the clouds parted and taco heaven had sent down a saviour to deliver us from the evil! we pulled in and walked inside..this may be the smallest restaurant in Austin.. it had about 6 small tables and a tiny bar seating area diner style.. the atmosphere was pure mexicana, with 4 chicas sharing duties and a kitchen the size of a hot tub..

drink order goes in within 30 seconds… nice..
chips and salsa arrive.. hmm the chips are pretty poor – the tostida genereic variety. the salsa was red and in the medium-hot range.. a classic tex mex type of salsa that scored on par.. maybe just below average, but still worth munching on..

food order within 2 min. I get the beef fajita plate for $6.25, eboz orders the pastor plate for 5.25 and a chorizo/egg taco on the side for 99 cents.

food came within 5 min.. portions comparable to los altos.. the rice and beans were par.. no suprises there.. i was surprised to find my fajitas smothered in onions.. which is to be expected i guess, but not my personal style.. the salad was only lettuce and tomato, no avocado and no lime wedge.. this aint aranadas..

evan received a generous portion of al pastor.. more then he could finish..
the totllas were nice and warm, slightly grilled. they werent home made, but they were fresh and tasy nonetheless..

time to eat.. hmm well all i can say is that it was just mediocre. i wanted el charrito to change my life, but it only changed my stomach contents..

the best quality of el charrito is most likely the quaint atmosphere.. youd be hard pressed to find a cooler looking taqueria.. maybe arandas #1 (east 7th) .. i might return one day to check some more of the menu.. they had enchiladas, a very cheap breakfast menu (2.99 migas), and even some tempting seafood.. but it will have to wait..

heres my score:
Food Quality 5
Salsa 4
Service 5
Price 5
Atmosphere 9

total: 28/50

56%

MAP LINK

location: 7100 E 290 (on the north feeder just east of reagan high school..)