Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Ode to the Breakfast Taco

Austin is a breakfast taco town: eggs, cheese, maybe some bacon or chorizo or potatoes, in a tortilla. Simple, fast, tasty, and cheap! You can eat it on the go. Hearty, and filling, I try to eat as many breakfast tacos as I can while I’m in Austin. But not all in one sitting, of course. The New York Times also recently published a piece on the mighty breakfast taco.

For quick and easy tacos near the Convention Center, there’s a Taco Shack located in the Frost building (402 Brazos, at 4th Street). It’s a fast food restaurant without table service, but it’s quite convenient. But they cater to the weekday breakfast and lunch crowds, so if you sleep in, you’ll miss out. Monday through Friday they’re open 6:30AM to 2:30PM, and on Saturday, they’re open 7AM to 1PM. And they are closed on Sundays.

Many coffee shops around town also get breakfast tacos delivered in the morning and keep them warm in a steam table for your enjoyment. I’ve definitely grabbed some breakfast tacos to go from the Hideout (617 Congress Avenue, at 7th). I’ve also read that they are available at Downtown Jo’s (242 West 2nd, between Colorado and Lavaca), Progress Coffee (500 San Marcos St at 5th), El Chilito Dos (918 Congress Ave, at 9th), and El Sol y La Luna (600 East 6th, at Red River). Unfortunately, one of my favorite breakfast taco joints downtown, Las Manitas, closed.

And if you have a fever for breakfast tacos in Austin, check out Taco Journalism’s list of the best breakfast tacos in town (will require a ride to get out of downtown Austin).