Thursday, February 7, 2013

Tacodeli Lunch


I eat a lot of tacos. Really, I love tortillas and hot sauce, so if I can have those, with some tasty fillings between them, I'm very happy.

Tacodeli, which now has 3 locations in Austin, is one of my absolute favorite places to get them.

I can't speak to the deliciousness of their meat tacos, but their vegetarian options are stellar. On weekends, they serve breakfast tacos all day, with lunch starting at 11. So on weekends, choosing only two (my usual portion) is not easy. They have tons of ingredients, and they're all very fresh and flavorful. It's tough to pick just a few.

Usually, I start with their excellent roasted portabellos, and go from there. Seriously, they're thick cut, juicy, and earthy. Their eggs are really good too. They're from Vital Farms, a sustainable, happy-chicken-raising operation, which I definitely like.

At lunch, there are two mushroom-based tacos: the Space Cowboy, with corn, peppers, fresh guacamole, and queso freso; and the Frontera Fundido Portabello, with onion-and-poblano rajas and Jack cheese. I love them both, but I go more often for the Space Cowboy.

Then there's the Heather, one of my favorite tacos served anywhere. It's got smooth black beans and crisp lettuce, fresh tomatoes, guacamole, and its crowning glory: a big slab of griddled queso fresco.

They don't mess around with the guacamole here, either. It's obviously fresh, and they pile on plenty.

The Papadulce is another frequent choice. It's got roasted sweet potatoes, corn, toasted pumpkin seeds, and a sweet-spicy sauce.


And everything is even better when topped with their Salsa Dona, a creamy jalapeno sauce that's pretty spicy, but super-flavorful.

We get Tacodeli for lunch or brunch once or twice a week, and if they were open for dinner, I'm sure we'd be there twice as often. The food is fresh, local when they can get local ingredients, and pretty cheap for two people to have lunch.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We love their breakfast tacos! They really do a wonderful job -- and I'm so pleased to learn how local their ingredients are!

Anonymous said...

I love taco deli too! I wish there was one closer to my office so I could go every day!

Christine said...

I wish I could eat them every day too.

And the folks there are always so nice, at least at the Spyglass location, where I usually go.

Recipeas4u said...

I think they make the best tacos in Austin. And the Dona sauce is amazing. Think I figured out the recipe if you're interested in making it at home. It's on my blog: recipeas4u.blogspot.com.

Christine said...

Deborah,
I will check it out. I've made homemade Dona too, but it wasn't quite the same.

I'm pretty sure I didn't use enough garlic. Will have to try again!