How Austin Became the Spiritual Home of the Breakfast Taco

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A popular breakfast meal in Texas is the breakfast taco. Soft and warm tortillas loaded with scrambled eggs, chorizo, bacon, cheese, or any preferred breakfast ingredients like corned beef hash or bratwurst sausage.

This Tex-Mex tradition is a combination of Mexican culinary influence and Anglo-Germanic ingredients commonly found in the lone star state. The breakfast tacos were said to be created in the 1970s by immigrant Mexican families living first in New Mexico. It was however in Austin that the phrase breakfast taco was born.

The breakfast taco is now associated with Austin though several cities such as San Antonio and Corpus Christi have professed their strong affinity to breakfast tacos and have contested Austin’s claim. But many consider Austin as the spiritual home of the breakfast taco. It is that taco that defines the city’s food culture (well aside from barbecue and food trucks). And many consider Austin the breakfast taco capital of the world.

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The breakfast taco has endeared itself to many Austinites. It is considered the pillar of Austin’s culinary landscape, effortlessly interwoven into its culture. It is here that the dish became iconic from being just a morning meal to becoming a popular all-day taco.

Essentially it is a delicious meal since your favorite morning comfort foods (like bacon and eggs) are piled into soft and warm tortillas, it is also a relatively affordable meal, easy to prepare, and where you can take and eat anywhere. It's simply a food so easy to love.

There are so many taquerias here in Austin which serve breakfast tacos and every Austinite has their favorite taqueria for breakfast tacos, not just residents but there are also visitors and tourists who are joining into this taco obsession and making a beehive into these taquerias.

A Pilgrimage to the Breakfast Taco Places

A trip to Austin is not complete if you are not going to try their iconic breakfast tacos which are sold in a multitude of places here. These are among the Austin taquerias you might want to go and try these tacos and discover why it has been embedded into the residents' way of life and culture.

Tamale House East

One of the highly-rated places where you can get great breakfast tacos. This Taqueria has existed since 1958, established by Moses and Carmen Vasquez. Tamale House East located on East 6th Street and which opened in 2012 is currently being operated by Diana Valera (Moses and Carmen’s daughter) and her children.

Tamale is considered a Tex-Mex institution in this part of Texas and is well-known for its breakfast menu. One of their popular breakfast variants is the chipotle Migas taco which consists of crispy corn tortilla chips, scrambled eggs with queso, and smoky chipotle salsa. Migas are known as the leftovers (leftover foods, tortilla chips, eggs) that serve as sumptuous fillings.

Veracruz All Natural

Their Migas Taco was named by the Food Network as among the Top 5 Tacos in America. This food truck established by sisters Reyna and Maritza Vazquez is very well-known not just across Austin but also they are now nationally and internationally recognized, bringing the glory of Austin breakfast tacos into the spotlight.

For those not familiar with Migas Tacos, a trip to their five locations is a worthwhile initiation to this popular breakfast taco variant.

Tacodeli

A taco chain that originated in Austin way back in 1999. There are now 12 locations ( 7 in Austin, 2 in Dallas, 2 in Plano, and 1 in Houston).

Their selection of breakfast tacos is simply out-of-this-world and won numerous acclaim. One of my favorites is their chorizo, egg, and cheese breakfast taco.

Cisco Restaurant and Bakery

This iconic Austin restaurant established in 1950 by Rudy ‘Cisco’ Cisneros (originating as a bakery at East 6th Street in 1930) is one of the oldest Tex-Mex food establishments in Austin.

Its patrons once included Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, George W. Bush, and actors Kevin Costner and Willem Defoe. During your visit, a must-try breakfast taco is Cisco’s Chorizo and Egg.

El Primo

This family-owned food truck located on South Austin (South First Street) is getting the raves for its Mexican-style tacos.

Their breakfast tacos are also considered among the best in Austin. Their customers' favorite breakfast staple is their bacon, egg, and cheese taco.

Tyson Tacos

Another highly-recommended taqueria for breakfast tacos is Tyson Tacos located along Airport Boulevard. Here at Tyson Tacos, you will have the option of building up your breakfast tacos. And if you earn enough points (every dollar equals a point) your breakfast taco will be featured in the already extensive menu.

Each taco variety has its narrative as created by residents who have frequented the place. Taco varieties at Tyson’s might reflect the old and the traditional while others are weird, eccentric, and conceptual. If you’re curious about their breakfast tacos, put this into your destination list.

Granny’s Tacos

Granny’s Tacos ranked fourth among the top 100 taco spots in the United States based on crowd-sourced Yelp ratings. Opened in 2016 by Maria Rios in a repurposed ambulance, Granny’s Tacos churns out one of the best homestyle tacos in Austin.

One of their best-seller breakfast tacos is the Chilaquiles Taco ( your choice of red, green, or mole sauce with corn chips (how long do corn chips last?), onion, cheese, cilantro, jalapeno, and sour cream on a warm flour tortilla).

Torchy Tacos

Torchy Tacos is another taco chain that originated in Austin.

Their well-loved breakfast taco is the Wrangler and is an irresistible force that pulls you to make a pilgrimage to any of their locations. The Wrangler consists of eggs, cheese, and potatoes plus its pièce de résistance- the smoked beef brisket. (What wine goes well with beef brisket?)

Joe’s Bakery and Coffee Shop

Another breakfast taco institution in Austin is Joe’s Bakery and Coffee Shop located at East 9th street.

Established by Joe Avila in 1962 which he spun from his parents’ La Oriental Grocery and Bakeshop, they are regarded as having the best Tex-Mex breakfast in Austin and one of the crowd’s favorite breakfast tacos is their Bacon, Egg, and Cheese.

Valentinas Tex Mex BBQ

A marriage between two of Austin’s beloved culinary icons barbeque and Tex-Mex, the Real Deal Holyfield breakfast taco combines grilled meat (mesquite smoked brisket) and tortillas, for added punch; it also has fried eggs, bacon, and tomato serrano salsa.

This makes Valentinas Tex Mex BBQ a destination for those wanting to try the best-selling breakfast tacos here in Austin. The trailer is located along Menchaca Road.

These are just among the taquerias in Austin that you can visit for a hearty meal of breakfast tacos. The culinary conflux of Mexican, Texan and other influences has created this incredible taco dish. Over the years the breakfast taco has captured the hearts of many Austinites who have elevated it into an icon that they have identified as their own, and with which the world agrees.

Looking for the best brunch restaurants in Austin? Click here.

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How Austin Became the Spiritual Home of the Breakfast Taco

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