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.
There’s a brand new El Chile Restaurant in Northwest Austin- in the old Mesa Hills Cafe building. The reviews so far are mixed at best. Look for a TT writeup soon. El Chile | 3435 Greystone Drive | Map | Menu | Reviews
We also got a “numero dos”, downtown version of El Chile’s kid brother taco/coffee shop, El Chilito. They’re open weekdays 7am-3pm.
El Chilito | 918 Congress Ave. | Map | Menu | Reviews
We were lucky to have some old friends in town last weekend (whatup T$!). So, we figured, “what’s a fitting way to mark such a special ocassion? How bout an amazing Brunch at one of Austin’s most influential eateries: FONDA SAN MIGUEL?” Just off Burnet on Hancock in North Central Austin, FSM is a tour de force of traditional Mexican and South American cooking. Let’s eat!
Various botanitas
Everything is served buffet-style out of huge clay pots and antique mexican vats. There’s always 4 or 5 main entrees, in addition to a variety of fresh fruits and veggies, escabeche, side items, migas, ceviche, homemade tortillas, and a full bar ($3 mimosas hit the spot). And, if you leave any room in your gut, the gourmet desserts will seal the deal.
Some particularly GREAT items were: The Carne Guisada: a juicy and flavorful classic executed perfectly- the sauce was less of a gravy, more of a rich broth.
The Corn Polenta: sweet and creamy with thick crust – perfect with a dollop of sour cream and rajas.
Pollo en mole Poblano: classic dish – rich and complex. Very satifying….recipe here
Bread Pudding: sweet nirvana
Price was a bit steep at $40/each, but the ambiance was top-notch (they had a mariachi band playing beautifully harmonized love songs – none of that la cucaracha bullshit) and nobody hits the real mexican cuisine in ATX like Fonda. The whole building is like an art museum…if you haven’t been yet, i’d suggest taking the folks out for brunch, or maybe a special date for your pumpkin face.
Cabeza like.
Fonda San Miguel
2330 W North Loop Blvd, Austin, TX? (512) 459-4121
<map> <website>
Fuego’s was started up by a family of ex-patriate californians. Cabeza and I ate there about a year ago, and remember the place having a promising menu..but it was understaffed and seemed to be on a shoe-string budget. I just checked out some of the recent reviews on Chowhound, and Fuego’s looks to be finding its groove. The fish tacos are a consensus highlight…We’ll be back for a followup visit soon. Oh yeah, and its BYOB and right next to a liquor store.. They are at a strange location.. on lamar, just south of 183..It takes a u-turn to get there if you’re coming from the south.. more reviews on yelp
Fuego’s Authentic Mexican & California Cuisine
7600 North Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78752
512-524-1164
this is the first in a series of reports from our resident taco blob, Chicago Fats.. The blob will be your man behind enemy lines, going boldy where no self-respecting taco lover should ever go.. the fast food joints..wish him luck and prepare to be disgusted and ashamed for him and his sidekick dog Taco Mutt.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Starring: TT Blob & Taco Mutt
Bonus: It’s 59 cent Taco Tuesdays! Taco Mutt™ is in LUCK!
Where the fuck do we start? Walked up to the local grocery store, I just maxed out the American Express on Heineken and the HEB bacteria infested rotisserie chickens just didnt seem appealing to me tonight, so we headed on over to the local TB. Me and the Taco Mutt™. Taco Tuesday is her favorite day.
I walk up to the cashier knowing that I want the NEW! NEW! NEW! Cheesy Beefy Melt! Turns out the cashier can’t talk, in her whispering miserable voice she informed me she was trying to get management to let her go home sick, she thinks she has strep throat. I also have a miserable sore throat too, I hear it was going around, I actually missed most of work today because I couldn’t talk this morning. Nice to know that cashier lady is rubbing it all over your change! Turns out, management wouldn’t let her leave because they use the slime in the back of her throat in the special sauce for the Cheesy Beefy Melt. 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 »
another day, another taco…made the short trek up slopac to where it hits Burnet.. the newest Tacodeli resides there in a fresh new urban-sprawl strip center.. we walked in to find a decent size late lunch crowd..the cute girl at the counter was nice enough… guiding us through the menu of gringo-inspired tacos, tortas, and burritos.. I ordered a blue plate (2 tacos, rice and beans) with 1 cowboy taco and 1 pork mole taco.. we got a basket of chips and salsa to start things off.. the red sauce with the chips was phenomonal.. i mean it.. it was a great red sauce.. i think may have been some chipotle in it.. highly reccommended.. Read the rest of this entry »
So we made it a point this week to go exploring the north side of the ATX… in search of hidden gems.. hoping to strike mexi-gold. It was a trying experience for us..we hit Lamar at 2222 and headed north.. past Los Jefes, our last bad north lamar experience, north past 183.. and then we saw Mr. Pollo.. looked tempting so we parked it and started walking in.. only to be stopped in our tracks by 2 dudes walking out, claiming that they’d been burned! we had to take their word for it.. they seemed like dependable taco loving jerks (pictured at right), so we got back in the car and continued north.. Read the rest of this entry »
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Thumbie and I were searching uncharted territory on a Monday afternoon, combing the wilds of Anderson Ln. we saw Enchiladas y Mas, which sadly appears to have gone under.. smells like a conspiracy…so we tredged onward until we saw a colorful little dive at the end of a mini-strip mall – La Casita. the decor on the inside was ultra bright and freshly painted.. the place sparkled with bargain priced new-ness.. we sat. I believe our waitress used to work at another taqueria in town.. she looked very familiar. she was very friendly and prompt. apparently not prompt enough for the other table across from us. This suit wearing good’ol boy had the nerve and impatience to walk to the back to ask another lady for some iced tea..and queso in a very condescending tone, mind you he had just ordered from the waitress 30 seconds beforehand.. bro – cant you see she’s taking care of our chips and salsa? step off bo-seefus! Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
another day, another taco…made the short trek up slopac to where it hits Burnet.. the newest 
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