On the lot sandwiched between the Greater Denton Arts Council and the empty space we have lovingly come to know as 'The Hive' there sits a brightly colored shack that has gone through its fair share of restaurants. This time however, Chef Andres Meraz and his partner are bringing enough flavor and soul to the food that we are completely addicted to what he's dishing out and serving up. Read on to find out what we love about Boca 31, and why you're going to ditch your afternoon Sonic for some of their aguas frescas.
Read MoreFLATLANDER'S TACOS
Down the street, around the corner, and up a tiny alleyway lies a little taco shop that we seriously dig. Flatlander's Tacos moved in just around a year ago as they made the leap from food truck to brick and mortar. Now that we don't have to track them down on twitter, we've been working our way through the menu, trying everything out just for you. (Okay, also because tacos.) Read on to find out what our favorite thing between two slices of bread is right now and why your life sucks if you aren't eating their churros on the regular.
Read MoreJIVE FIVE: BREAKFAST TACOS
Breakfast tacos at La Estrella.
As most of you already know, we're pretty taco crazy. We especially love the fact that tacos can be served three times a day, even more if you count a taco as a snack. We've talked before about a few of our favorite tacos around Denton - namely, our guide to the East McKinney Taco Corridor and how to hunt down a good taco in town - but we have a special place in our hearts for the breakfast taco. A thousand times better than a stale bagel from Kroger, and way more satisfying than that bowl of Lucky Charms you had this morning, a good breakfast taco can improve your morning tenfold.
That said, "breakfast" tacos aren't just for the AM. Flour tortillas, eggs and greasy meat are pretty much the best hangover cure at noon on a Saturday, and they're equally excellent after a long night of playing bags at Oak Street Draft House. So take a look at our recommendations below. Keep in mind, this is by no means encyclopedic knowledge of all things breakfast taco. This is a primer; something to help you step away from Taco Cabana. We know this will be a highly contestable post so get your angry comments ready now.
TACO-RIFFIC
Show up at La Estrella at the right time, and you’ll have some of the best breakfast tacos this side of the Rio Grande. Be careful, though, you might be met with Denton’s version of the “soup nazi” whom we will dub the “taco fascist.” We love her pan with the inverted handle she uses to prepare meat for your breakfast tacos. She’s actually pretty darned awesome. Just don’t be overly gringo and things will work out okay.
Casa Galaviz has the softest scrambled eggs. They're so soft, they’re almost delicate. They serve them on hot handmade flour tortillas alongside some incredibly tasty salsa. Plus if you bring your own jar you can get a bunch of their salsa for only a few bucks to take home and put on everything you make for the next three days.
Most of the taco facilities we're recommending aren't the same places we'd recommend you grab a coffee. If you're going to grab a beverage, grab some horchata. Horchata, Mexican rice milk, is delicious, slightly sweet and normally has a faint cinnamon flavor. We can't recommend Taqueria Guanajuato's horchata enough. To go along with that tasty beverage make sure you grab some of their barbacoa breakfast tacos and cover them with salsa.
Be adventurous. Beef tongue (lengua) sounds kinda gross, but it's an awesome cut of meat and is great on a breakfast taco.
Taco Tuesday, y'all. Mi Casita has a good basic potato egg and cheese breakfast taco. While it might not be as good as some of the others, they’re still fresh and fast and not greasy and cheap as heck. Also, we love eating chips and salsa in the morning, and the spice on the chips at Mi Casita is great. Plus, they have a few different locations so you're sure to be able to get to one even if you're off of the EMTC.
TACONO
Fuzzy’s may be cheap and there all the time, but they are so incredibly greasy and the egg is more of a rubbery mound than a soft scramble. Plus, their hot sauce can’t even begin to compare to fresh salsa. It mostly just takes like vinegar with a little kick.
Anything at Sonic that is labeled a 'breakfast taco' inside of a chewy, thick, and tough tortilla with tater tots and an 'egg mix' should not be consumed nor should it be called a breakfast taco.
While we normally love us some corn tortillas, when it comes to breakfast tacos, we're gonna have to always go with flour.
We have mixed opinions on Rusty Taco’s breakfast tacos - some of us love ‘em, some…don’t. Sorry Rusty's. We all dig your cheap tequila margaritas and your Baja shrimp tacos with that habanero sauce, though. But some of us can't give a thumbs up to your breakfast tacos. They're good sometimes, but inconsistency isn't good for our mornings. We are happy that you open up before 11am now. And we'll keep visiting for lunch with a margarita on your great patio.
HEY WISEGUY: TACOS
Breakfast tacos from La Estrella.
Hey Wiseguy,
I just moved here from up north cuz Denton seems awesome. Anyway, I keep hearing about how good the tacos here are from people. Like they're better than cheeseburgers or something crazy like that. Even the Little Guys Movers dudes who helped me move in made a series of catchy videos where they smashed tacos into their faces. Then yesterday, I saw this girl on campus wearing this taco-cat shirt. Am I missing something? When did tacos become a thing? Maybe this is just a dumb question, but are tacos actually culinarily advanced enough to be a cultural phenomena? Normally, I just grab some lunch tacos from Taco Bell or Del Taco, or some breakfast tacos from Taco Cabana if I wake up early enough, but with all the talk of tacos going around, I feel like I might be missing out. I don’t know, though, I can’t see tacos getting much better than that.
Sincerely,
No-Taco Terry
No question is a dumb question, Terry. Aside from your taste in you tube videos, however, you’re pretty much a gigantic doofus (no offense - my friend-base primarily consists of doofuses and idiots). You have no clue about the wild world of taco-dom that exists all around you. Before we delve into that, however, we need to address something. You said the phrase “lunch tacos.” That’s not a thing. Sure, there are breakfast tacos. We all know them, love them and eat them any chance we get, but aside from the “breakfast” variety of tacos, all other tacos are just “tacos.” Chocotacos don’t count. Still not getting it? When you receive a taco, ask yourself this question, “Does my taco have egg in it?” If it does, you are about to chow down on a breakfast taco. If not, it is just your general, garden-variety taco and there’s not a damned thing wrong with that. If we hear about you using the term “lunch taco” again, though, we’re gonna have a problem, buddy.
Anyway, back to what you’re missing out on. There are multiple levels of tacos that exist in Denton. You have the authentic tacos, the gringo tacos and the cheap fast food tacos you’re already used to. Don’t eat those anymore. Your new diet should be primarily composed of authentic, Mexican tacos with the occasional gringo taco thrown into the mix every now and then. Let’s hit those two up and expound upon that a bit.
Denton has it’s share of authentic, Mexican taco places. McKinney St. is lousy with them. Hit up La Estrella over there for some life-changing breakfast tacos. If you’re buying what I’m saying, I’d also encourage you to stop by Taco Lady and try something you’re afraid of such as lengua (tongue) or chicharrón (some tasty part of a pig - maybe pork groin?). La Sabrocita on Dallas Dr. is also delicious and open very late. Start with those. Eventually, you’ll start to notice these taquerias more and more and your smeller will sniff them out when you drive by one.
As far as gringo tacos go, Denton only has a couple spots from which to sample. These fancy, interestingly-filled taco places are a (mostly) recent development in the taco world. Denton is usually pretty far behind the curve as far as trends and crazes go, though. After all, we got cupcakes after everybody was already tired of eating Sprinkles and our frozen yogurt places showed up long after the name Pinkberry was laughable. Fancy-ass tacos will be no different. They’ll be here eventually. While Dallas already has it’s fair share of taco-centric restaurants in Velvet Taco, Good 2 Go Taco, Torchy’s, etc... we basically just have Fuzzy’s and Rusty’s. God, what we would give for a Good 2 Go Taco to open up here. Digg’s Tacos was going to open up a storefront last year, but they were scared away by the likes of Scott Brown Properties. That’s our loss because that place is wonderful, too. Oh well, though. Time will change things. In the meantime, go eat at Rusty’s and avoid Fuzzy’s like the plague. Some people will swear by it, but canned chicken, salad-filled guacamole and red-tinted vinegar will never make be the basis of a great gringo taco facility (I will admit to a once-a-year craving for their nachos, though). Rusty’s is more bang for your flavor-buck. Their fried chicken taco and their brisket taco are both righteous. Throw one of their specialty margaritas with ‘em and you’ve got a great meal to take out on their patio.
We hope that helps you in your taco journey, Terry. While nothing really compares to the feeling of smearing some Taco Bell hot sauce on a quesadilla at two in the morning, that isn’t something you should be doing to your body. Nothing good happens after midnight, after all. Now, I’m must go and prepare for the onslaught of the taste bud-impaired Fuzzy’s defenders. See ya in the taco wrappers!
Wiseguy fields questions whenever he can. Sometimes he answers questions, sometimes he just rants and rambles. Maybe you'll get lucky. If you have a question you'd like to ask "Hey Wiseguy," please send him an email.