I was down in the Lower Rio Grande Valley recently for a conference, which allowed me a shot at trying out the half dozen Top 50 tacos as listed by Texas Monthly‘s taco editor, José R. Ralat. Among the six is the purported #1 taco in the state.
So far, my tour of the Top 50 has been hit and miss, with several tacos seemingly on the list more for their uniqueness than their taconess, and at least one that wasn’t even a taco. However, the first taco I tried from the list, a simple bean and cheese number, was biblical, so all in all my tour has been worthy. What’s better than hitting the road for tacos?
After taking notes on location and opening hours, it became clear that I was not going to be able to hit all six unless I made the 1.25 hour drive from McAllen to Brownsville twice. I love tacos, but that was going to be a bit much. Also, based on my start time, I would be hitting four of the five joints close to closing time. Finally, I wasn’t sure my stomach could take all those tacos for a late lunch and dinner in the same day.
Vera’s Backyard BBQ (Brownsville)
TM’s Taco Man noted that you have to arrive at Vera’s Backyard BBQ early to get one of the coveted barbacoa eyeballs, so I didn’t ask. Based on the sign on the front door (“por el momento no hay sesos”), you have to get there early to get brains as well. But I was there for the Barbacoa de Cabeza de Res Taco, and, even though I arrived 15 minutes before closing time, they still had ’em.
The taco arrives as a pile of meat in a tortilla with fixings on the side, so the photo below is dolled up for the camera. And it was darn good: rich, flavorful beef wrapped in an off-site tortilla. Best barbacoa taco I’ve had! They had the pit roaring as I left, getting ready for the next’s day’s menu.
La Vaquita (San Benito)
My next stop was the Trompo Taco at La Vaquita. I arrived about 40 minutes before closing time, and the place was still hopping, with all but one table full when I ordered. Trompo means “spinning top,” in reference to the vertical rotisserie used to roast red-hued pork a la the Greeks or Turks. The tortillas are house-made and unlike any I’m had before (and the most delicious to boot). I bought a package on the way out. When warmed on the comal, the tortillas smell a bit like savory waffles, and that ain’t a bad smell.
I may have ordered the wrong tacos (TM recs the small versions on corn, something I didn;t notice until writing this post), but this taco was simply spectacular. There appear to be other Vaquitas in the region, but this is the recommended one.
Taqueria Borrego Pinto (Pharr)
After the two previous (large) tacos, I debated, during the one-hour drive back toward McAllen, whether to catch my second wind after a nap at the hotel or keep going, but once i reached town, I headed south to order the Barbacoa de Borego from Taqueria Borrego Pinto. These appeared to be on store-bought flour tortillas and were good but not spectacular.
Ana Liz Taqueria (Mission)
After the previous joint, I retreated to my hotel room and took a nap. I woke up nowhere near hungry. I worked for a bit, watched a couple shows, and then, as the clock struck 8, my stomach gave the slightest of grumbles. It may have been indigestionm but I hit the road anyway to partake of the Number 1 Best Taco of Texas, the Chile Relleno Taco from Ana Liz Taqueria.
As I mentioned in my first foray into TM’s Top-50 list, what is good and great is subjective, not to mention TM’s taco man did not eat EVERY taco in the state (not judging; just stating FACTS). And so far, there have been hits and misses on the list. So while I was eager to try this taco, I was also prepared to be underwhelmed.
I was not underwhelmed.
After three bites in, after reviewing my life in tacos, I could not identify a taco I had eaten that had been better which meant, by default, this taco was indeed the best I had ever had. The house-made flour tortilla evoked the one I loved from La Vaquita, and the fillings were as flavorful as a Cuban disco on Saturday night. Just epically good. Savory and soft with a twang from the chile and a luxuriant richness usually reserved for kings and queens. AND, similar to La Vaquita, I screwed up the order by not ordering corn tortillas. Regardless, this is one fine taco. A pal was also in town for the same conference and was able to sample the menu deeper and was similarly impressed. “Why can’t we have a place like this in Austin?” his wife asked.
Indeed. I will be back to dive deeper in this menu (and tortillas).
¡Tacos! Mi Gente
My last stop was to try the Chicharrón Taco from ¡Tacos! Mi Gente. According to Google and Texas Monthly, their hours extended to 10 pm, but those must have changed because, as I pulled up, one of the proprietors (Jaime Elizondo) walked out to my car to tell me that they had shut down the kitchen for the night (seeing their web page now, the hours stretch to 9:30 pm). “Ah man,” I ah manned, bummed that I hadn’t arrived in time.
I had backed my car into the rear of the parking lot because one of the trailers and the TACO sign made a nice taco tableau. I apologized to Jaime for parking a distance away and explained that I did that for a photo. We chatted about this and that and it came up that I was hitting all the taco joints in the valley on the Top 50 list. He asked some questions that further revealed that I was from Austin, was leaving the next morning, and did not know when I would be back. Jamie paused, gazing afar, deep in thought. He looked up, his face resolved. “I am making you tacos.”
“No, no, no!” I protested. I hadn’t intended, through my answers to his questions, to make him feel guilty. Jaime is a friendly dude, and we were just chatting. The last thing I needed was more tacos in my tummy.
“I’m making you your tacos. What you’re doing, visiting all these places on the list, is what we need.” And off he went!
I first had chicharrón when I was on my taco diet (50 meals in a row of tacos: I lost weight!), and I was not impressed and vowed to never eat another one. But given that these were on the Top 50 list, I was obligated to give these tacos another try and the hand of an expert. And I was not disappointed. Whereas the first chicharrón I had (it was in Austin) was a gooey, sloppy mess of pig fat, Elizondo crisps them up a la scrunchions in Newfoundland along with slivers of savory pork. Topped with housemade pickled onions and salsa, these tacos single handedly redeemed chicharrón for me. And I am forever grateful to Elizondo for reopening the kitchen for me, a taco memory that will be with me forever.
coda
All in all an immensely successful trip! If I had to do this over again, I would have (1) brought a knife to cut the larger tacos in half to save stomach volume and (2) brought the Yeti to store the uneaten halves. Be aware that only ¡Tacos! Mi Gente spoke in English. So brush up on your Spanish! If you’re heading down to the Valley to hit all the joints, I recommend staying in the Brownsville area. And finally, get ready for some dang good tacos!
austin wanderlist 