Austin: Breakfast Tacos

By Tara C.

Breakfast tacos are really popular here in Austin. You'll find them at just about any morning event or meeting and they're sold almost everywhere--from sit-down restaurants to the corner gas station. Sometimes I forget that breakfast tacos are not ubiquitous in every American city. Then I'll hear from a friend who has moved out of state and laments the lack of breakfast tacos in her new town. Even the New York Times claimed a few years ago that Austin trumps all other American cities when it comes to the breakfast taco.

Around here, breakfast tacos are almost always of the Tex-Mex variety and served with salsa and/or pico de gallo (onions, tomatoes, chilis, cilantro). Most of the time breakfast tacos include eggs and cheese. Popular add-ons include potatoes, bacon, sausage, or beans. All wrapped up in a flour or corn tortilla, of course.

(photo from: CC Chapman via flickr)

I consider myself to be a bit of a breakfast taco connoisseur. That is, if eating a whole lot of something can make you a connoisseur. Okay, so I'm not entirely sure about that but I can tell you that I've lived here a long time and eaten my fair share of this stuff. Ergo, I thought I would share some of my favorites with you. Some are very popular while others are a bit more off the beaten path.

Elsi's Restaurant

Elsi's is a Mexican and Salvadorian restaurant that serves a variety of breakfast tacos. Their migas tacos include eggs scrambled with corn chips, topped with ranchero sauce and cheese, served with potatoes and refried beans. Edited: It looks like Elsi's has closed! One of the commenters mentioned this so I went to check. Sure enough, their number has been disconnected.

Maudie's Tex-Mex

At Maudie's, I like Pete's Tantalizing Tacos with sausage, egg, potato,cheese, serranos and onions. It's got some kick and is delicious with a cup of hot coffee. I've never had Tatiana's Tamale Tacos (eggs scrambled with a pork tamale and cheese) but they sound intriguing.

Taco Shack

Taco Shack's egg, potato and cheese breakfast taco was a staple of my diet when I was pregnant with my daughter. I was nauseous all the time. Something about the grease and protein settled my stomach. I don't know why, but it helped and I ate them all the time.

Texas Honey Ham Company

Texas Honey Ham Company may not be the first to come to mind when you think of Austin breaktfast tacos, but, oh my, their ham, egg, and cheese breakfast tacos are so delicious I would be remiss to leave them off my list of favorites. Although it's served with salsa, this is not your traditional Tex-Mex taco. But it's so, so good in its own right.

Torchy's Tacos

Torchy's started in a food trailer and now operates several wildly popular restaurants around town. Their breakfast tacos definitely veer to the side of the unusual and decadent. The Dirty Sanchez sounds, well, dirty, but it's delicious. It has scrambled eggs with fried poblano chilis, guacamole, escabeche carrots, and cheese. This isn't actually on Torchy's breakfast menu, but it has eggs in it, they serve it in the morning, so why not? Torchy's migas tacos are also fantastic. They include scrambled eggs, cheese, crisp tortilla chips, green chilis, pico de gallo, and avocado. I haven't seen avocado in migas very often, but they are a welcome addition as far as I'm concerned.

Comments

[Erica]

I am determined to make you a Tacodeli believer. You don't have to get the weird potatoes!

[Tara C.]

Erica--I know! Tacodeli is conspicuously absent here. I did not like those weird potatoes. Tell me what you recommend and I promise I'll try it.

[J]

I live in Austin too but have only been here around a year, so this home town week is awesome! I am loving hearing about all the neat places. Thanks for this series, ladies!

[Mike]

Enchiladas Y Mas' chorizo, egg and cheese taco won a very scientific "taco taste-off" I conducted at work back in '06. It defeated Arandas, TacoDeli, Taco Shack, Magnolia, Kerby Lane, TacoXpress, ... and I think Maudies was the 8th.

Also, Elsi's is closed.

[Kim]

Tamale House on Airport holds a very special near and dear place in my heart for their breakfast tacos. Their salsa is to die for and I haven't more fresh, delicious, mouth-burning salsa anywhere. Personally, I think Torchy's is a scam. Any Texan and, more importantly, Austinite that charges that much for a breakfast taco is not the real deal. The perfect breakfast taco requires two essential foods: fresh tortillas and fresh salsa. All those other fancy, expensive ingredients are for the tourists. ;)

PS. I love your new blog!

[Jackie]

We really like the breakfast tacos at Julio's Cafe on Duval. They are always very fresh, really big, and fairly cheap!