Taco Taco Cafe: Best Taco in America or is it?
I kept hearing about this little place in San Antonio, where the locals wake up early, tortillas are made in-house, ingredients are fresh, people are friendly and they've got a pretty good standing with The Food Network. A few years ago, The Food Network gave this mom and pop shop the Best Tacos in America title. I had to find out for myself how good these tacos really were so when I had opportunity to go to San Antonio for a day trip, that's exactly what I did.
El Norteño y Los Puffy TacosWalking into Taco Taco Cafe reminded me of the cafes in El Chuco like the Good Luck Cafe. These joints look like regular cafes/diners but they're all Mexicano! I sat down & ordered my diner coffee, just the way I like it, and ordered the 3 tacos the muy simpatica waitress recommended. I had the Carnitas, Machacado y Chilaquiles tacos. When I got my tacos, I was definitely impressed - they were huuuge! The tortillas were made in-house and the ingredients looked and tasted fresh. Okay, back to the tortillas - seriously, I haven't had tortillas like these in a while. They were so big and so good (that's what she said!). It took me back to when my abuelita used to hook it up at 6 in the morning and that's the smell you woke up to. So not only were these tortillas good, they made the tacos. The carnitas (thin cuts of carne con pico), machacado (dried shredded beef w eggs and pico) and Chilaquiles (that's Migas to you) tasted as fresh as the tortillas. And to top it off, the tacos were big and cheeeeeeeaaaap ($1.45 for starters), it completely made my trip worthwhile. I tell you, if you would bring that taco to Austin, the places around here would easily charge 10 bucks for just one taco. Austin, te quiero pero your peeps just don't have good tacos like these. Why? Because it's all about the tortillas and they know what they're doing down in S.A.
So in honor of one of the best tacos I have ever eaten, I made a short 3 minute video. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll salivate!
Check it out!
Taco Taco Cafe - 4.5 Estrellas - El Mundo de Mando
Taco Taco Cafe
145 E. Hildebrand Avenue
San Antonio, TX 78212
Taco Taco Cafe
11 comments:
years ago on the way home from a trip to Hermes Music in S.A. we stopped at a restaurant that had hands down the best tortilla i have ever put in my face. homemade corn tortillas that were so good they almost made me cry. sadly i didn't write down the name of the place, and so it is lost forever in my memory, haunting me. sigh.
That's my hometown! I told you S.A. is all about the tortilla. Without a real tortilla you have an Austin taco. -Bea
...oh and BTW for those traveling to S.A., you can't really go wrong with most places (except riverwalk nasty tex-mex restaurants that cater to tourist- I shall someday blog about these bastards!) for the most part they all make their own tortillas. Here are a few recommendations: For the norteños go to Taco Tote on Ih10 (that's where all the Monterrey folk eat when in the country- shopping of course), Tommy's on Wurzbach, Taco Riendo (hahaha great name) on San Pedro, Guajillos for the best Fideo in TX and the best interior/northern food and if you still want to see white people around you and eat a decent taco then go to the Guenther House. Its the old Pioneer Flour Mills and estate in the oldest historical district in Texas, King William (south part of riverwalk). It is a well known place amongst the affluent, so very few people know about it. The restaurant is in the basement of the founding families stately home. You can order anything that has flour in it! I would give a longer list of places but it would be too long! -Bea
im just wondering how this gets 4.5 stars and the greasy shack olivias gets five i think you need to revamp your star system and there is no way the al pastor stand is 5.5 stars ate there the other day and it was so greasy i could have fried a chicken dinner in it when i was done
al pastor can be a bit hit or miss, i agree.
Re: stars: different taco journalists have different star systems and tastes. It's kind of like the New York Times movie reviews: Stephen Holden is a lot pickier than A. O. Scott; but it really depends from movie to movie. Regardless, if a taco warrants 4+ stars, the reviewer really, really liked it.
Thanks for the S.A. rundown Bea! I love your taco philosophy. if you have a fake tortilla, all you have is an Austin taco.
Yes, taco ratings are very complex. You should try eating 100+ tacos and coming with a good rating system. It's sooo hard and good!
ive been telling my friends for years that if they want a good taco, they need to make a trip back to SA with me. thanks for giving me something to show them.
i agree with you completely -- the best tacos i've ever had. i think, though, that i had a better experience than you did eating at the taco taco cafe. i got to watch a bunch of angst-ridden goth teenagers come in and stand dumbfounded when one of them passed out from low blood sugar. she was revived with some dr. pepper. so the taco taco cafe not only makes life worth living for their tacos but also saves lives. go taco taco!!!
I am proud to be born in S.A. wooohooo! This video made me and my daughter drool. Come on to UAE! bring it here!!!!
Yeah, how are these one of the best tacos you've ever had and it only gets a 4.5 star rating?? One of the best tacos would imply to me a 5 star rating. I demand a change in the score!!! :)
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