A list of places compiled via thorough research, always cross-referencing reliable blogs, top lists, and Yelp. The following are Victor’s review of each place we went.
Loro
$$ | Smokehouse, Asian Fusion, Cocktail Bars
2115 S Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704
Rating: 5/5
In all the places I’ve been to in Austin (Veracruz, La barbeque, Terry Blacks, etc) Loro was the best hands down.
The vibe was so amazing. It’s upscale food, at very affordable prices, and you don’t get waited on so it seems like a very classy cafeteria almost.
You can get Franklin’s brisket here without the wait (what???). We also go the corn fritters, karage, kale salad, and bavette.
The worst one by far was kale salad. It was fresh no question, but we just got this and ate it for the veggies since it’s hard to get veggies in Austin.
The karage was good, a very generous portion, same with the fritters. I personally thought the fritters were a little too doughy, but others thought otherwise.
The brisket was amazing, super soft, flavorful, and just makes you want more.
The best dish of the night though? Hands down the bavette. Never heard of that cut before, but the way it was cooked it was just amazing. It’s not like a super fatty piece, but it’s a piece that really hits you with the steak taste. It comes with this acidic sauce and it was a perfect combination. You can’t not get this one if you come here.
Truly affordable classy food here
Veracruz All Natural
$ | Food Trucks, Mexican
1704 E Cesar Chavez St
Austin, TX 78702
Rating: 4/5
The breakfast tacos here are delicious. I especially love the migas tacos. I ventured outside of it (la reyna), and was wondering why didn’t I just get more migas tacos. I like my taco tortillas double layered a bit more, but this was good still.
I loved how simple it was and the tortilla chips in the migas tacos. Felt light, simple, and focusing on the limited ingredients. It’s not super complicated, but it sure as hell is delicious.
The agua Fresca was also great (and huge!). I would recommend getting one for every two people.
Ray’s Drive Inn
$ | Tex-Mex, Tacos
822 SW 19th St
San Antonio, TX 78207
Rating: 4/5
As far as puffy tacos go, this seemed to be more crunchy than the others and more oily. Objectively I liked them better. Came here to try the fish and shrimp puffy tacos. Shrimp ones I’ve had better, but I loved the shrimp ones. Love how simple and soft the shrimp was.
4 stars for just the shrimp taco!
Terry Black’s Barbecue
$$ | Barbeque, Sandwiches
1003 Barton Springs Rd
Austin, TX 78704
Rating: 5/5
First: preorder. The definition of a pre order here is that they will cut up your meat and have it in a tray at your reservation time.
We got the beef ribs and brisket here. The brisket here was much better than the one at la bbq imo. It was much more tender and fatty.
La barbecue has much better beef ribs though. The ones here were just as tender, but I thought the flavoring and smokiness wasn’t quite as strong and addicting as the other one. I still very much enjoyed it though!
Also there were free sides like pickles and bread here, was a nice touch. An even better touch? You can go look at the smokers outside and see all the meat inside!
I would recommend this to anyone. I know Franklin’s is the place, but having this and not franklins is not blasphemy.
Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ
$$ | Food Trucks, Barbeque, Tex-Mex
11500 Manchaca Rd
Austin, TX 78748
Rating: 4/5
Came here since I heard such good things about the tacos. Got the breakfast taco (spicy pork), brisket taco, and the carnitas.
My favorite surprisingly was the breakfast taco. Loved how the fluffy eggs and some pieces of potato balanced out the more heavy and thick pork.
The brisket was a bit overhyped imo. It was delicious still, just not mouthdropping like others were saying.
The carnitas was also good.
My favorite thing about the tacos was probably the tortilla. It was more fluffy than any other tortilla I’ve had and that was amazing.
Probably ate one of my favorite tacos here (much due to the tortilla)
Henry’s Puffy Tacos Express
$ | Mexican, Tex-Mex
3202 Woodlawn
San Antonio, TX 78228
Rating: 4/5
Came here for the puffy tacos, got the 3 taco plate with shredded chicken, picadillo, and spicy beef.
First off, I just want to say I don’t think I’m fully onboard the puffy taco train. The outside is a bit crunchier, and it’s multilayered. Did it add too much to the experience? I don’t think so.
My favorite taco was the spicy beef. That beef was in nice small chunks, but still big enough where you had to work to chew it, and that’s how I like my beef in my tacos.
Overall solid tacos, idk if I needed them to be puffy though