30 Days of Tex-Mex: Day 11: Torchy's on Burnet

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Day 11: Torchy's on Burnet

Oh I love Torchy's. I love the tacos and I love the rags to riches Austin success story of the place. I also love the branding and the devilish 'tude that Torchy's has.

The tale began in a little trailer in South Austin at the very beginning of the food truck revolution. Some guy wanted to make crazy tacos but he didn't have money for a store front. Everyone loved his tacos and then he opened store after store all over the city and in five other cities too. The end.

Torchy's tacos are so good and so well-know now that it's hard to remember a time when fried avocados and tacos called "Dirty Sanchez" weren't the norm, but there was such a time not so very long ago.

I typically go to Torchy's every couple weeks and, unless the Taco of the Month tickles my fancy, I get a Baja Shrimp taco and a Fried Avocado taco. The Baja Shrimp taco is a meal close to perfection in my opinion. Sitting on a small bed of crispy cabbage slaw, the shrimp is lightly breaded and fried and topped with pickled red onions, a mound of cilantro, and a sprinkle of queso fresco. You then squeeze on a slice of lime and slather on a creamy, slightly spicy chipotle sauce. I love all things tangy and citrusy and pickled. I also love me some seafood so this taco is heaven for me. The hot shrimp pops as you bite into it and your mouth simultaneously experiences the tang of the pickled onions and lime and the creamy, smokey chipotle sauce. Then you get the crunch of the cabbage and the herby freshness of the cilantro. OM NOM.

Then there's the fried avocado taco. The novelty of a fried avocado still hasn't worn off on me, though each time I go to Torchy's I wonder, "Will I still like it?" And I always do. This taco really is very simple. All we've got here is some basic refried beans and the fried avocado topped with shredded iceberg lettuce, a simple pico de gallo, a bit of grated cheddar cheese, and a creamy poblano sauce. But the combo of crispiness and creaminess, hot and cold, does it for me every time.

Maybe Torchy's will open up in Western Massachusetts...

www.torchystacos.com

Torchy's Tacos - 5119 Burnet Road

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About this Blog and Its Author

Tex-Mex is a daily ritual in Austin, TX. We Austinites eat breakfast tacos, salsa, enchiladas, and guacamole, as much as Italians eat pasta and Koreans eat kimchee. That's why the prospect of leaving all this scrumptious Tex-Mex behind, made me, Cecil, a 10-year resident of Austin, and a lifelong Texan, fearful for my tastebuds. I'm moving up to Western Massachusetts with my husband at the end of August and I want to be sick of Tex-Mex when I get there. Then, at least for a little while, I wont daydream about cilantro and lime mingling with barbacoa or ceviche.

And so this blog was born. I am not endeavoring to create a "best of" list, nor am I even trying to hit up all the most iconic Tex-Mex restaurants in Austin. I will eat (at least) 1 meal per day for 30 days at a different Tex-Mex, Mex-Tex, Mexican fusion, or legit Mexican restaurant. Inevitably there will be some readers who say "I can't believe she didn't go to X restaurant!" or "such-and-such place is so much better than where she went." There are so many amazing (and mediocre) Tex-Mex joints in Austin, there is no way I can go to all of them. I am going to go to 30 restaurants that strike my fancy. Many of them will be well-known Austin hot spots, and many will be divey holes in the wall. Some will be phenomenally delicious and, alas, some will fall short of greatness. This project only promises to be a great adventure, accompanied by lots of beans and rice, so I hope you will read along and perhaps go sample some of the deliciousness yourself.