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>

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 »

La Parilla

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 »

Location: Arboretum area just West of the Arbor 7 cinema intersecting rice and beans.

This ain’t no roach party, this ain’t no shithole, and these folks definetly ain’t foolin’ around! So I’ve been living in Austin now for 7 years and am dumbfounded at how I’ve walked by this utopia of belly bliss probably well over 30 times after watching a movie and never walked in. All those times I could have left the theater to fill up and refuel after landing my butt in the theater the whole day gone to waste! Well those days are distant memories from now on because I’ve just had an epiphany due to sensory pallette overload! Read the rest of this entry »

i love you curras
the mayan temple of pastor
and pork tamales with mole sauce

i just got back from lunch there and my mouth is still watering
not sure if i’ve reviewed them before , but the tamale plate is enormous!
6 tamales, each weigh in at about 1 lb. rice, beans, and sauce – get the mole sauce. .it will change your fucking life,..

trust me.

evan got the grilled tuna special and got burned..which is rare for that place.. try the mole dammit.