Marcelino Pan y Vino is a simple neighborhood restaurant at the corner of Tillery and Lyons, across the street from St. Juila Catholic Church in a residential neighborhood in a former house, painted brown.
Inside, you walk up to the counter and order from a very short menu of tacos and lunch specials. Today the restaurant owner was sitting down to lunch with a group of nuns and an Austin fire fighter was chowing down on some tacos. This is the type of genuine, hipsterless scene (if you don't count the photographer and company) rarely found in Austin these days.
My sister ordered the lunch special of cheese enchiladas and I got the two most popular tacos: carne guisada and fajita beef.
Unfortunately for us, Marcelino Pan y Vino didn't quite live up to the raving reviews on Yelp. The cheese enchiladas were just fine, but the rice was a bit dry, and the beans were awful - bland and burnt.
I had never had Carne Guisada before so after eating it and consulting Wikipedia I can inform you that it's a stewed beef in spiced gravy, and it was certainly the highlight of the meal. The beef was tender and the gravy was rich and smooth.
When topped with onions, cilantro, and orange salsa it made for a scrumptious meal.
The fajitas were pretty dry and honestly I only took a few bites. It seemed like even though it was only 1:00 and other customers were arriving after us the lunch rush had already come through and gobbled up the freshest stuff. Behind the counter there were more than a dozen small hot trays filled with meat and rice and other toppings that looked like they had been rocked.
But really, it doesn't matter if my sister and I loved the food here. That's not the point of Marcelino's. From the clientele, the decor, and the location Marcelino's is clearly a neighborhood restaurant intended to satisfy the locals. And from the tirelessness of the chefs stirring massive 60 quart pots of meat and chopping arm loads of peppers and onions, and the influx of smiling customers, the neighbors are clearly satisfied.
Marcelino Pan y Vino - 901 Tillery St
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