The Vitals: the spot: Cuantos Tacos 108 E 12th St, Austin, TX 78702 the eats: Lengua, Buche, Cachete, Suadero, Carnitas, Longaniza, Champioñes - basically all the tacos but in that order the bucks: $2.50 a taco - 5 will do you right so plan on $10 a person the full nelson: the best "street tacos" in Austin TX

*Cuantos Tacos has moved since I first wrote this story. Updated address is listed above Tacos in Austin are different. When I moved to Austin in the summer of 2015 from LA, my first late night tipsy thought was "where the cheap street tacos at?" Sure you have spots like Las Trancas and if you start looking up north or down south, you start to find the spots where "La Gente" be at. You know, where everyone orders in Spanish. But street tacos are not what Austin is known for, especially for those who dwell outside of Austin's city limits. For better and for worse, it's the breakfast tacos of Torchy's and Taco Deli, the diner style Tex Mex barbacoa at Mi Madres and the loose interpretations of tacos you find at Tyson's Tacos, like the Pork Belly with Mandarin orange, that define Austin's taco scene. And as for the oh so celebrated taco truck turned brick and mortar, Veracruz All Natural? While they hit the right notes of an Abuela making tacos for you when come you home after school, they most certainly miss the mark when it comes to getting late night street tacos on the cheap. Then I discovered Cuantos Tacos and the Austin taco scene changed. And it was on accident. (more…)

ACL Eats is as a big draw as the music is for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. My last post was all about burgers and this one  . . . is all about the tacos. Now Austin has a rep for "keeping it weird" and some of the more noteworthy do just that. Torchy's Tacos rethinks comfort food in a tortilla, East Side King brings you Asian street food in a tortilla and Taco Deli slings it farm to table via a tortilla. Still, out of 5 taco offerings at ACL Eats, only one is straight up street tacos. A bit surprising, even for unconventional Austin. So which taco took the cake? Read on and find out! (more…)

The Austin City Limits Music Festival, or just ACL, because that's just a whole lot easier to say, is just about fav thing to do in Austin. Wandering around the gorgeous grounds of Zilker Park with Austin's downtown skyline in the background, beers in hand and amazing music at every corner, makes me feel like its Christmas Morning - my wife calls ACL "Christmas for adults". As if that wasn't enough of a reason to go, there is also the draw of ACL Eats: a diverse lineup of Austin's food scene that makes for just about the best food court you can go to unless you are somewhere in Asia. Last year I posted a day by day play by play of my adventures eating at ACL. This year, thanks to Sandee Fenton from ACL's media team, I received a media pass and went in deep on a mission to taste the competition by categories. If you haven't figured it out by now, this post is all about finding the best burger at ACL Eats. Yeah, a full on burger battle royale and the winner is . . .  well, you're gonna have to get through this post to find out! (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Leroy and Lewis 121 Pickle Road Austin TX 78704 the eats: Barbacado, pulled hog, beef cheeks, barbacoa the bucks: $20 a person for a hefty plate, $12 for a respectable lunch. the full nelson: why Austin is the capital of bbq in the 21st century

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