Lengua, La Posada
Type: Classic Mexican
Rating: 4.75
Price: $2.80
La Posada is hidden between a liquor store and an insurance agency—blink and you’ll miss it. But don’t: this taco is a real find. Braised with onions, peppers, and tomatoes to stewlike consistency, the sliced beef tongue is cradled into a thick, lightly griddled flour tortilla. A comforting, mild red salsa takes it to elite status. 6800 West Gate Blvd, 512-444-2631. Mon–Wed 7–9, Thur–Sat 8–10, Sun 8–9.
Chorizo, Egg, and Potato, Tacos Guerrero
Type: Breakfast
Rating: 4.5
Price: $2
Yolanda Guerrero beams at you as if you’re her own son or daughter as she makes your tacos from scratch, right down to the steamy tortillas. Ask which meat to add at breakfast and she looks you straight in the eye: “Chorizo, mija.” She might rest in the afternoon, but then she works late preparing carne guisada, carne asada, carnitas, and chicharrón in her tiny orange trailer for the next onslaught. 2531 Pleasant Valley Rd, 512-939-2308. Daily 5–3.
Brisket, Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ
Type: Modern American
Rating: 5
Price: $5
You walk past the three picnic tables and stand like a supplicant at the window of this black-and-silver trailer to choose among the smoked meats: pork carnitas, beef fajitas, and brisket. They’re all terrific, but the brisket is the height of the pitmaster’s craft—moist, deeply smoky, lush with well-rendered fat. Pulled like pork, it comes in a grill-bronzed homemade flour tortilla. A dollop of guacamole provides a brilliant finish; add serrano-tomato salsa at your discretion. The two-year-old operation is the brainchild of Miguel Vidal, who managed Ranch 616 restaurant before striking out on his own. You can eat on-site, but most people order to go, and there’s seldom much of a wait. Maybe that’s partly why none other than Austin brisket guru Aaron Franklin says it is his favorite local barbecue trailer. He’s glad he doesn’t have to stand in line either. 11500 Manchaca Rd, 512-221-4248. Mon–Sun 8–10 (or until sold out).
Space Cowboy, Tacodeli
Type: Modern American
Rating: 4.5
Price: $3.75
Tacodeli jumpstarted the modern taco movement in Austin in 1999 by playing fast and loose with the Mexican basics; founder Roberto Espinosa, who grew up in Mexico City, knew that Americans liked big, lusty flavors and didn’t care if they were “proper” or not. That pioneering spirit continues today at six tidy locations. Espinosa and business partner Eric Wilkerson keep it classic with simple steak tacos and pork in homemade mole (based on Espinosa’s grandmother’s recipe) yet also offer creative takes like the Space Cowboy, a stuffed conglomeration of roasted portobellos, guacamole, grilled poblanos, and more. 7301 Burnet Rd, 512-467-9999 (multiple locations). Mon–Fri 7–3, Sat & Sun 8–3.
Fish, Tamale House East
Type: Modern American
Rating: 4.25
Price: $5
The grandchildren of Tamale House founders Carmen and Moses Vasquez run this place, which explains its family feel, with two ancient upright pianos inside and a rambling patio outside. Order the fish taco and you get a whopping flaky filet of tilapia with a scoop of guac on top. The roasted-tomatillo-and-lime salsa compensates for fall-apart corn tortillas. 1707 E. Sixth, 512-495-9504. Tue–Sun 8–3.
Green Chile Pork Missionary-Style, Torchy’s Tacos
Type: Modern American
Rating: 4.25
Price: $4.95
It’s totally outrageous: a crispy corn tortilla that’s stuffed with green chile pork, pickled onions, guacamole, jack cheese, and tomatillo salsa, then tucked inside a flour tortilla. Yet it’s also compelling—the pork is tender, the tart onions play off the creamy guac, and there’s a crunch in each bite. Part of Torchy’s so-called secret menu, this taco sums up the genius of the Austin-based chain: nothing succeeds like excess. After starting in a trailer in 2006, founder Mike Rypka has expanded his reach to seventeen Texas locales plus Denver; his over-the-top combinations and sly names (the Trailer Park, Mr. Pink, the Dirty Sanchez) are like the makings of a taco street party. 1801 E. Fifty-first, 512-322-2411 (multiple locations). Mon–Thur 7–10, Fri 7–11, Sat 8–11, Sun 8–10.
Gringa, Rosita’s al Pastor
Type: Classic Mexican
Rating: 4.5
Price: $3
Al pastor is the thing here: the chile-marinated pork is cooked trompo-style to a perfect char, then sliced and sprinkled with diced onions and cilantro atop one of Austin’s best handmade flour tortillas. Even better is the variation known as the gringa, with its generous layer of melted queso blanco. (Tip: the chips and salsas are also first-rate; be sure to ask for the off-menu red árbol.) 1911 E. Riverside Dr, 512-442-8402. Daily 8–5.
Asadero, Matt’s Famous El Rancho
Type: Modern American
Rating: 4.5
Price: $12.95/platter
Matt’s is a throwback in the grand Tex-Mex tradition, a 63-year-old landmark whose neon sign (“King of Mexican Food!”) welcomes you into pure tortilla-scented nostalgia, complete with potted cacti and fountain-bedecked patios. The menu is a predictable compendium of brown-and-yellow platters, which is why the asadero taco is such a standout: a massive, messy masterpiece of griddle-toasted homemade flour tortilla embracing beef tenderloin chunks with caramelized onions, poblanos, and, best of all, a slab of asadero cheese, crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. 2613 S. Lamar Blvd, 512-462-9333. Sun, Mon, Wed & Thur 11–10, Fri & Sat 11–11.
Carne Enchilada, Mi Tradición
Type: Classic Mexican
Rating: 4
Price: $3.99/plate
Stand by the glassed-in kitchen and watch the workers nimbly assemble your beef “enchilada” tacos, which have oomph thanks to a dollop of thick chile adobo that’s cooked with the meat right on the griddle. 8716 Research Blvd, 512-374-9910 (multiple locations). Daily 7–10.
Migas, Veracruz All Natural
Type: Breakfast
Rating: 4.75
Price: $3
There are three Veracruz trailers, but the Manchaca one has kitchen consistency. The migas taco is the star attraction: house-made tortilla chips and pico de gallo are mixed into peppery, fluffy scrambled eggs, then finished with cheese and an avocado wedge. The molcajete-fresh salsa roja is a must; order Stumptown coffee or a local beer from the adjacent Radio Coffee Bar. 4208 Manchaca Rd, 512-629-8238 (multiple locations). Daily 7–midnight.
Barbacoa, Joe’s Bakery and Coffee Shop
Type: Classic Mexican
Rating: 4.75
Price: $1.99
This iconic institution boasts deep generational roots: from 1935 to 1957, Joe Avila’s parents ran La Oriental Grocery & Bakery, on East Ninth; he opened his namesake restaurant two streets over in 1962. Ever since Joe’s passing, his daughters and granddaughters have run the welcoming joint, where portraits of Ann Richards and Henry Cisneros hang with old-Austin pride and colorful pasteles greet customers from the bakery case. The hefty tacos are just as inviting, especially the barbacoa, whose long braise makes for a beautifully “melty” texture. An honorable mention goes to the carne guisada, simmered in thick, spicy gravy. 2305 E. Seventh, 512-472-0017. Tue–Sun 6:30–3.
Tacos al Carbón, Fonda San Miguel
Type: Modern American
Rating: 4.5
Price: $15/platter
Even if it weren’t one of the loveliest Mexican restaurants in the country, with its Saltillo tile and contemporary art, we would still go to Fonda for the tacos al carbón. They are simplicity itself, with medium-rare slices of steak and handkerchief-thin flour tortillas. In supporting roles are small pots of chipotle salsa, grated cheese, and pico de gallo. 2330 W. North Loop Blvd, 512-459-4121. Mon–Thur 5 p.m.–9:30, Fri & Sat 5 p.m.–10:30, Sun 11–2.
Carnitas, Taco-Mex
Type: Classic Mexican
Rating: 4.5
Price: $2.50
Ring the doorbell. It’s right beneath the little curtained window. When the glass slides open, place your order, then read the news or check email on your phone until you’re waved back over to pick up your food. This literal hole-in-the-wall, which sits in a strip center next to a shuttered washateria, makes the kind of slow-simmered stews—such as the beef-and-potato tinga in a tomatillo-rich sauce—that are a five-napkin treat. But it’s the fabulously tender and flavorful roasted carnitas that could take the place of honor at your holiday table. Somebody here can really cook. 2611 Manor Rd, 512-524-0860. Mon–Fri 7–10, Sat 8–10, Sun 9–3.
