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| Tacodeli's "cowboy" taco. Photo: Portal and Friends/Flickr |
Austin's taco scene skews toward what some might call "gringo fancy," characterized by the prominence of flour tortillas and nontraditional ingredients like bison and basil -- and fish, which is found infrequently in Sunset Park.
Brooklyn tacos, on the other hand, pay homage to one of the neighborhood's main demographics, Mexican immigrants, with tacos wrapped in two corn tortillas. They typically contain nothing more than a meat filling -- goat, lengua (tongue) and cabeza (brains) are among commonly selected options -- minced raw onion, cilantro, a spritz of lime and an optional flurry of queso fresco (white cheese).
Poll and more after the jump.
Chief among the Sunset Park taquerias is Tacos Matamoros. The cabeza and goat barbacoa are juicy and highly flavored, and a pork number comes with a spicy kick not found in the Austin fare we've sampled so far. Down the street, a shack with neither a name nor solid operating hours offers tripe, while El Potrillo offers the (to us, boring) option of chicken.
Tacodeli, on the other hand, has a wildly eclectic menu typical of what we've found in Austin. There's the delicious -- and worthy of seconds -- Cowboy (beef tenderloin rubbed with ground coffee and brown sugar, topped with onions, corn, roasted peppers, queso fresco and guacamole) and Mojo Fish (tilapia seasoned with paprika and garlic mojo, topped with guacamole and pico de gallo).
Owner Roberto Espinosa says the menu is varied due to customer preference. "The chicken mole was [because of] a recommendation. I never thought it possible to offer mole tacos!" All are commonly served on flour tortillas, though corn is an option. Asked about the prevalence of flour tortillas, Espinosa again cited his customers' tastes. "We also serve whole wheat tortillas."
Near the University of Texas an outpost of Torchy's Tacos serves a fried avocado taco as well as one with fried chicken. Both include a "poblano ranch" sauce that this eater never spied the likes of in Brooklyn.
Yet a surprising find was street-corner truck Taqueria Piedras Negras, which shells out tacos reminiscent of Sunset Park. If you can get past the meat's high oil content, the carnitas and stewy beef barbacoa are well-seasoned gems.
It boils down to where on the spectrum a taco lover's affections lie: Some might cite class differences -- or whether one's palette skews American or more traditional Mexican. To this taster's stomach, Sunset Park offers the better taco. Nevertheless, Austin holds promise, the promise of new discovery, even if it's in a flour tortilla.
But you tell us:
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| other (tell us in the comments! |
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7-09-2009 @1:20PM RS said... Taco Lover:
He's just barely got here and tried TWO places and is so quick to judge? IMO this article is just trollish. I think criticism and remark are well deserved.
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7-09-2009 @1:35PM Yelorose said... As someone born and bred in Texas and a current Brooklynite, I can see where this writer was coming from. In Brooklyn, the places are just there in a specific neighborhood, you don't really have to search them out. In Austin, it's so much bigger, you could spend weeks driving around finding places, which is I'm sure what those "taco journalism" guys do. Something tells me this author, being new to the city, asked for recommendations and went to the places that were open and available to him. (Side note: breakfast tacos just don't exist outside of TX and I miss them dearly!)
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7-09-2009 @4:38PM MoonLizzie said... Hats off to you for seeking out the tastiest tacos! There is a wide variety of tacos available in Austin and you're going to have fun searching for a taco that doesn't make you yearn for Sunset Park.
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7-11-2009 @8:49AM Christina said... I agree that Torchy's and Tacodeli are a very small example of Austin's tacos, and both are pretty obviously fusion tacos--and there's nothing wrong with that-- but it is wrong to compare more traditional styles from Brooklyn with Tex Mex contemporary styles from Austin as if that's all either location has to offer. The sheer volume of places where tacos are available here in Austin is astounding--Kerbey Lane and Magnolia Cafe (all night diners), both have them, and hell, even the flagship Whole Foods has a taco bar! Does that mean that we have better tacos? No, but it is pretty easy to find tacos, and I honestly can't believe you couldn't find any places that were open (though, surely the other Austinites here can remember finding their favorite diamonds-in-the-rough, and how they maybe weren't so pretty or easy to find). I think if I were going to write a story like this, I would wait until I could try at least one of the not-open places to see if they were comparable in any way. Hint: many of our trailers only open in the evening for the people exploring the music scene in pedestrian-friendly areas, or those going home after a night of bar hopping.
Jose, Austin has a warm, welcoming and ever-expanding food blogger community and you should definitely check out some of the events that are held around town. Addie Broyles, food editor of the Austin American Statesman has done a lot to help foster this community and the best way to get involved is to read her blog, Relish, and join the associated groups on Facebook. We even have taco tours or food trailer tours which anyone can join. You can email me (I'm assuming this is possible via slashfood? If not, follow the link to my blog or DM me on twitter, as I don't know how to contact slashfood writers) and I can give you pointers or more info on Austin.
www.vegan-vanguard.blogspot.com
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7-11-2009 @8:49AM Christina said... Oh and also, I agree with the people who mentioned Arandas and Arandides, although since they're both chains, each location varies: South First and Oltorf is our favorite, William Cannon and South First is our least favorite, Stassney and Manchaca is good. I haven't tried the northern locations. For $1.80 you can get two 2-ingredient breakfast tacos that will fill you up, add another buck 80 or so and get an agua frescas.
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7-11-2009 @3:09PM Jose said... Again, thanks for the comments, especially to Christina. She's right: I'm a newbie here! And I've got a 9-month-old, so it's tough to find new spots on the fly. But the recommendations by Jodi and LP and others are exactly what I'm looking for. I'm definitely going to check out Arandas, Arandinas, El Riconsito, and La Tapatia. The passion exhibited by Austinites (I'm looking at you, ac, RS, et al) gives me great hope for tacos in the Texas capitol, a hope (and open-mindedness), I mentioned in this piece.
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7-14-2009 @11:45AM New Yorker in Austin said... Torchy's Tacos?! No offense, slashie, but you have not yet experienced Austin's tacos! Take a trip to E Austin or S Congress. You have much to learn about Austin!!!
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7-14-2009 @12:30PM Jane said... - Curra's al pastor on corn.
- Bacon and Egg breakfast taco at Joe's on East 7th.
- Second the recommendation of Arandas #3 on Burnet.
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7-15-2009 @12:14PM ponderos said... Jose. Go to Maria's Taco Xpress and Mi Madre's (recommended by mulitple posters), then see if you don't want to re-write your article. ;)
The migas taco at the aforementioned Maria's may be the best taco in town. If you're saying to yourself "what are migas?", then you definitely didn't have a big enough sample size.
Guero's is a big bag of hipster fail usually, but their al pastor kicks ass. El Sol y La Luna (relocated to Sixth and Red River) has great breakfast tacos, too.
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7-15-2009 @9:09PM ae said... Personally, I think there are better places in Texas to get tacos than Austin. A lot of the food there caters to its huge student population... And it's one of the whiter cities in Texas.
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7-16-2009 @4:20PM staplehawk said... Oh my lordy.. No contest! I've been to all of them and Austin wins. Yeah Torchies is good, but no authentico! Honestly I have a personal favorite right now and it's double wrapped corn tortilla tacos with cilantro, onions, chicken and lil spicy sauce up at Guadalajara on Lakeline and Cypress Creek. Homemade tortillas sauteed in oil. Those guys barely speak English, but they make killer authentic food! Try their Mole enchiladas too. :) yes East side has too many great choices to even start!
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7-18-2009 @7:55AM Bob L. said...
Seems like the only places you are going to are the non-mexican owned taquerias. Have you traveled through Riverside and east austin? Doesn't sound like it. Also, some of the best tacos are from small stands, trucks, trailers or little booths at weekend markets. Travel a little and you'll discover more.
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7-20-2009 @7:55PM Raiders757 said... Authentic or not, I'll pass on goat, tongue, and brains. I'll stick with boring ol' pork, chicken, and steak. I'll take the Americanized Mexican food if that's the alternative.
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7-21-2009 @9:20PM Brad said... The best tacos in America are in Mty also known as Monterrey Mexico. All else are poor imitations of tacos! mere memories of the flavors of a forgotten youth! That said, when in Austin- eat what's in Austin- or for a short 7 to 9 hour drive depending on your route- go to Monterrey Mexico- and find one of the taco streets. -I have to just get by with our traditional taco's at Tacos El Zarappe, and the new stand over at 107 and Depot road west of UTPA west of Edinburg- keep eating! b.t.w. Mexican food is different in each state of Mexico (37 I think)
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7-25-2009 @9:03PM johnkzin said... I have to agree with San Diego. Or, really, any small taqueria in California. (while Roberto's may have grown into a chain, it started out as one of these types of places)
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