Walking in Bourdain’s Footsteps…. in East Austin
Sometimes you have to work for your food: the quail was boney, but it was good.
Today was supposed to be Meat Day – my friend and I were going to go to JMueller’s BBQ and celebrate the long weekend with delicious ribs and brisket. However, meat was apparently not in the cards for us today and JMueller’s was tragically closed.
Devastated, heartbroken, and hungry, we frantically racked our brains for somewhere we could get lunch and have a meal that could come close to being as special as a JMueller meat plate. And naturally, in our moment of need, we turned to foodie hero Anthony Bourdain. What would he do? Well, because we had both seen his episode to Austin from a couple weeks ago, we knew what he would do: go to El Taco Rico.
How Bourdain found El Taco Rico, I will never know. Situated next to a laundromat in East Austin, it looks just like a million other tiny taco shacks in Austin. After only a little trouble interpreting the menu and talking with the non-English speaking woman behind the counter, I ordered a chicken and fajita taco while Max ordered what we think was a quail enchilada.
The tortillas of my tacos – I ordered both corn and flour – were hot and fresh tasting although I have had better homemade tortillas from taco trucks. Both my tacos were rather simple with only cilantro and onion seasoning the meat, but still delightful.
Max’s enchilada was quite a sight and a plate I was not expecting from such a small truck. On top of a bed of cabbage, avocado, corn tortillas, tomatoes, radishes, and cheese was a crispy little quail. It took Max a while to get a grip on how bony the quail was, but he did. I will let you listen to him on this post’s podcast for more on his enchilada.
In the end, tacos are always a good backup and you can always trust Tony in moments of need.
As for JMueller’s, we shall return soon and there shall be a blog post on it. So stay tuned.
