Tacodeli — Restaurant in Austin

I get tacos for my office (~50) about every 8 weeks or so. Normally, everything is fine, but after today I think I'll be switching spots permanently. Usually, the only hurdle is actually placing the order. If you leave a voicemail for catering, they won't ever call you back, so don't bother. I should note, 50 tacos is too many to order online, but that's fine. When you can get someone to answer the phone, and I have tried calling at all times and over several days because I know they're busy, often they'll tell you they're too busy and call back. But if you keep trying, eventually someone will take the order. Cool, no big deal. But today I knew something was wrong and I wished I'd trusted my gut. When I arrived, the tacos were ready but not packaged like normal. When the cashier finally got someone to package the order, I watched as she put them all into a large paper bag instead of the normal white sack with a handle. Now I know this wouldn't be a big deal for everyone, but that bag is HEAVY and awkward for me and carrying a large paper bag with my backpack and purse, walking to work, getting my badge to open the door, it's just a big pain instead of a sack that distributes the weight with a handle and she only used that bag because it was right there and she didn't want to walk to the back to get a white sack. Ok, frustrating but whatever. What really made me nervous was watching her not check the order as she put all the tacos into the bag. I regret not speaking up, because of course, I got to work and realized that not only am I missing tacos (on a $165 order), but as coworkers started to eat their tacos, they were completely wrong and upset some of the vegetarians here. Overall, dealing with this location is always a bit of a pain and I think it's finally time for me to switch...

This is a review of Tacodeli in general, but also of this location in particular. I have lived in the Austin area for 15+ years, and I only eat at Tacodeli whenever I forget how Blah it is, which is approximately every 3 years.

Each time I have eaten here I have lowered my expectations, and each time I have been disappointed. One of my chief complaints is that the flour tortillas are awful: Tiny (in both diameter and thickness), undercooked, and cold. Y'all brag about selling these at Whole Foods? Who on Earth would buy this? The pre-bagged chips they use aren't great either (why are they in sealed in plastic)? Another related complaint is that the portions are skimpy and the prices are high, especially relative to competitors.

What I do like: The hot sauces (I hesitate to call them salsas: they are more like taqueria-style hot sauces, and they are all pretty decent, and furthermore, free). The queso is meh, but not bad. The vegetarian/vegan options are great in principle, but have never been very good in practice (I got a recommendation for one today that ended up being a clammy tortilla with a few grilled veggie pieces for $5).

I know this review won't impact anything, but I am feeling the need to give voice to almost 2 decades of dismay with Tacodeli. It's fine, but it's not good. I wish it was good, because it's an Austin institution, but it's objectively only fine (and certainly not...

I tried two tacos: frontero fundido sirloin and puerco verde.

When I read the ingredients to the frontera fundido sirloin (grilled sirloin, jack cheese glaze, and sautéed poblano-onion rajas) I got excited. Growing up in a Mexican household, rajas was a dinner staple. For anybody that’s never heard of them, rajas are roasted poblano peppers with caramelized onions and cream. The peppers are roasted until they’re blistered and blackened all over; the skin is then peeled off, and you’re left with soft strips of poblano peppers. The cream is important, as it tones down the heat of the peppers and gives rajas its signature creamy texture. The taco I got didn’t quite have rajas; instead, it had strips of peppers and onions that appeared to have been quickly sautéed, not roasted and caramelized until soft, and with no cream. Was it still good? Yes, just not quite what I expected. I do wish the onions would’ve been cooked longer.

The puerco verde taco consisted of pork shoulder, salsa verde, queso fresco, cilantro, and onion. It was the perfect amount of spicy for me, but came with a little too much raw onion that I should’ve just taken off.

Overall, I thought both tacos had good flavor, and I would definitely order them again (maybe taking off some of the onion next time). It’s a solid “fast food” place to get tacos with quality ingredients, and they have many options to...