18th Jan 2007
Tacogasm Tour 2007 – Tacodeli
While North Austin ( or South Dallas?) doesn’t instill the same memories of Mexican food as other parts of Austin, I found myself at Tacodeli off Mopac ordering the “Cowboy Taco” as reviewed by Texas Monthly. Personally, I love tacos that have as many ingredients in them as possible in which the flavors all come together in unison to provide a flavor unique to the taco and that is just what happened with this particular taco. Your first bite can confuse you, as you get a little hint of the spice, and being almost gun shy about hot stuff from growing up in the Rio Grande Valley , the thought of “Here comes the pain” would enter my brain and then the onslaught of some crazed cooks’ affection for habañero peppers would lay siege to my poor taste buds. Not so with the Cowboy Taco! A little spice and that’s it, emphasizing the flavoring of all the ingredients which included beef tenderloin, caramelized onions, grilled corn, roasted peppers, guacamole, and queso fresco. The grilled corn was interesting as that’s not a super common taco ingredient but it wasn’t obtrusive. I must say that while the beef was extremely well prepared , I am not a “chunk” guy, which was the way the meat was presented in the taco, opting more for a long cut, preferably the exact length of the tortilla if I’m making them myself.
This was the first time I had been to a Tacodeli and I am proud to say that I will be back again to sample more of their offerings. Don’t let the restaurant’s north location in a strip mall off the highway in fool you into thinking there isn’t good Mexican food to be had here, but order in Spanish if you can…just to keep ‘em honest 
.
Taco Deli: Cowboy Taco –Boy howdy!
And we’re back… The second stop on the Taco Tour made my day, and if you count just thinking about the meal and considering returning for more tacos afterward, the following couple of days had some nice moments as well.
In a taco with so many various ingredients, it was nice to be able to taste each component distinctly. Savory spice-rubbed beef (and lots of it!), slightly sweet caramelized onions, smoky roasted peppers and corn kernels that hadn’t lost their bite, and a sprinkling of slightly salty queso fresco. The taste of the taco bites varied slightly depending on which flavors you happened to combine in each bite. As fresh and well-prepared as the ingredients were, they definitely owe some of the overall success to the tortilla that was the perfect host to all of these contrasting flavors. Not too thick and not too chewy, assuming the, ahem, supporting role a tortilla is designed to take in this particular dish.
Looking back at the description of the taco, I missed the guacamole in mine. Maybe it was just a dab and also, avocados tend to have a less distinct flavor than the other items. A dab of the nicely hot jalapeno salsa was great, but would have overpowered the already wonderful flavor of the taco.
I also tasted the mole taco, which was one of the best moles I’ve had in Austin. Definitely fresh – someone spent time with a big simmering pot of sauce to arrive at this flavor.
After perusing the regular menu and reading about the “special†tacos posted on the chalkboards, it would be safe to guess that I will soon be a regular aficionado of my neighborhood Taco Deli. Less than three miles from my house – lucky me. (Yes Edward, I have already driven by twice without you, only to be thwarted by the bad weather closure!)
I’m so hungry for a taco. Any taco will do. Really don’t make them anywhere else like they do in Texas. Someone feel like Fed-Exing me a frozen one?? Manuels machacado a la mexicana with beans, in case anyone is interested! hahaha!
I LOVE TACOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!