We were expecting a sit-down restaurant, but it’s really, in its current form, a bar and coffee house with food slung up by a Ranch Hand trailer out back. Further complicating matters is that this is really a hotel bar or, more accurately, a hostel bar associated with Native Experiential Hostels. But don’t let these little facts dampen your plans: Native is a hip place that oozes with interesting people, great drinks, and decent eats.

Whether you call it the Iliad and Odyssey of taco quests, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn down a river of salsas, or the Heart of Darkness (and High Cholesterol), you will find inspiration, delightfully head-scratching fusion, and, perhaps, the taco of your dreams.

One of the golden rules of restaurant reviewing is not to evaluate an eatery during its opening weeks. There are always bugs (hopefully not literal…) to cleaver as new staff learns new processes with new clientele. Nonetheless, we stopped into District Kitchen+Cocktails mere days after they debuted in the hope that, since this ain’t their first buffalo burger, they know what they’re doing. We were not disappointed.

The catfish was perfectly prepared: crunchy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. We also enjoyed the Cajun corn delivered in a bag of sauce of your chosen pain level and flavor profile.

My first plate at El Bruno’s, at their original location in Cuba, New Mexico, some 20 years ago, is on my list of top-ten memorable meals.

The salsa is blissfully blisteringly spicy, and the squirter is an efficient way to dress your chow.

we generally see 40 to 50 bands over three days and try new food downtown

Although I've made slight (but factual) fun of Paleo and The Woo, Picnik is an excellent restaurant and is now one of our neighborhood faves.

The tagliatelle was truly an amazing dish. The pasta, made with local flour from Barton Springs Mill, was earthy and perfectly al dente. The sauce was deep with flavor and savory.

Ever since I ate tacos for 50 meals in a row a few years ago (and lost weight!), my friends see me as a taco maniac, which, I reckon, is true: I love me some tacos!