Guero's Taco Bar

On our last morning in Austin, we decided to have breakfast at Guero's Taco Bar.  My wife was in the mood for Mexican food and she told me that this place was supposed to be very good.  Parking is sometimes an issue on South Congress, but we were fortuitous and found a parking spot less than a block away from Guero's.

Our party of four was famished so we ordered quite a bit for breakfast.  Below are my thoughts and opinions of what we ordered:

Queso - Regardless of the time of day, I have to order queso when I see it on the menu.  Unfortunately this queso was very bland and tasted similar to what one would get at a concession stand while watching 7th grade basketball.

Breakfast Tacos - Basic breakfast taco that was nothing special.  I only tried the chorizo and bacon, but neither were very flavorful.

Migas-Decent portion, but could have used a little more pico de gallo.  The flour tortillas were the only bright spot of this dish

Huevos Mexicanos - Like everything else we tried, this dish was super bland.  We got corn tortillas with this dish and I didn't like them as much as the flour tortillas.  Everything was once again tasteless, from the  eggs to the potatoes.

I ate some outstanding meals while I was in Austin for this particular weekend, but this meal was not one of them.  In addition to the bland food, the service was super slow too.  I would not go back here for breakfast and I cannot recommend it.  This might also be the last time I let my wife pick a restaurant while we are on the road!

Guero's Taco Bar
http://www.guerostacobar.com
Livin the Good Life=1

Mexican Sugar

Prior to having children, The Shops at Legacy used to be one of the go-to dining destinations for my wife and I.  Since having children we don't go nearly as often, but still like to dine in that area when we have the opportunity to get a babysitter or a grandma that wants to keep the kids.  In November, a new restaurant called Mexican Sugar opened it's doors at The Shops at Legacy.  As soon as I heard about it, I knew I had to try it because it was opened up by the folks at Whiskey Cake (which happens to be one of my favorite restaurants in Collin County).

On a recent Saturday, my wife and I visited Mexican Sugar shortly after 5:00 p.m.  Despite the fact that this time of day is usually designated for dining with the blue hairs, my wife and I like going to eat early because we usually beat crowds.  It worked out great on this visit, because we were seated immediately in one of the last remaining booths.  If we had arrived fifteen minutes later, we would have had a serious wait on our hands. 

The crowds arrived early on the evening we visited Mexican Sugar.

Our server recommended that we start out with the queso blanca and roasted salsa.  Since the wife and I consider ourselves to be connoisseurs of queso, we took her up on her recommendation with anxious anticipation.  We dug in as soon as the queso arrived and it was certainly top shelf with plenty of cilantro and chili powder on top.  Perhaps even better than the queso, was the roasted salsa which was served warm.  The warm salsa was not very spicy, but it was extremely flavorful.  It took us two and half baskets of their very good tortilla chips to finish off the queso and salsa.  

Queso Blanca and Roasted Salsa

I would have been perfectly content just having the chips, queso, and roasted salsa as a meal, but we went ahead and ordered entrees anyway.  I ordered the Lomo Tacos, which had ancho roasted beef tenderloin, pickled radish, chimmichurri, epazote, manchego cheese, cilantro, and tomato-mango chutney (which I requested on the side because I was unsure of how that flavor would taste on my tacos).  The first bite of the taco was an explosion of flavor and it turns out the tomato-mango chutney was a perfect flavor to add to the beef tenderloin.  The pickled radish was the only ingredient I could have done without.  I can honestly say that this was one of the top three tacos I have ever had.  I quickly devoured all three that were in my order.  For my side, I substituted the Brussels sprout shred for the poblano rice.  The rice was not your typical rice served at Mexican food restaurants, but it was absolutely perfect.

Lomo Tacos and Poblano Rice

My wife ordered the Brasas Tacos, which had roasted chicken, salsa, roasted corn pico, queso fresco, cilantro, and a chipotle cream sauce.   She was kind enough to give me one of her tacos and I was happy she did.  It was not as good as the Lomo Tacos, but it was also terrific and had a very different taste than my tacos.  The chipotle cream sauce really rounded out the flavors well.  She had the Brussels sprout shred with hers and it tasted very much like Cole slaw.

Brasas Tacos and Brussels Sprout Shred

Even though we were both extremely full, we decided to have dessert.  We were torn between the Cinco Leches cake and the Chocolate Avocado cake, but chose the Cinco Leches.  I am a huge fan of Tres Leches cake, but why have Tres Leches when you can have Cinco Leches.  Dos Mas Leches has to make it even better, right?  The Cinco Leches had almond milk, rice milk, heavy cream, goats milk, and was topped with their version of a Mexican cream whip.  It was so good, that my wife and I finished it in less than one minute.  It was the perfect ending to our meal.

Cinco Leches Cake

After dining at Mexican Sugar, I now have a new favorite Mexican food restaurant in Collin County.  The appetizer, meal, and dessert were all excellent.  The waitstaff was amazing and fawned over us all night long.  The ambiance at Mexican Sugar is very high energy and this would be a great place to dine with friends.  We can't wait for our next trip to Mexican Sugar so we can try some of the other menu items.

Mexican Sugar has some excellent food…No bull!

Mexican Sugar
http://www.mexicansugarcocina.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating = 5

Rusty Taco

Restaurants that specialize in tacos seem to be popping up everywhere in DFW these days.  It seems like every time I turn around, a new Tin Star, Fuzzy's, Torchy's, etc. is opening up.  Another joint that seems to be expanding rapidly in the last couple of years is Rusty Taco.  On a recent Saturday, I decided to pop in and see how good this place was.

I was in Plano a few days ago, so I stopped at the Rusty Taco on Coit Road around lunchtime.  The place was very busy and I had a short wait in line at the counter.  When I finally got to the cash register, I ordered Chips and Salsa and 3 different tacos.  I then went and got my drink as I waited for a table to become available.

Chips and Salsa

About the time two people left their table, my order was up.  I grabbed my order and sprinted to the table before someone else took it.  I then sat down to start eating.  The chips and salsa were somewhat disappointing.  The chips were okay, but the salsa was very bland and did not have much "kick" to it.

Brisket Taco

The first taco I tried was the Brisket Taco, which was shredded beef topped with queso fresca, onion, and cilantro.  It was very good and the ingredients blended well together.  The next taco I tried was the Picadillo Taco that included seasoned ground beef, potatoes, onion, and cilantro.  The beef was not seasoned enough to my liking, but once again the ingredients meshed well.  The cilatnro really gave it a lot of flavor that was lacking in the seasoned beef.  

Picadillo Taco

The final taco I tried was the BBQ Brisket Taco and it was spectacular.  It had the same shredded brisket as the other brisket taco, but it was topped with barbecue sauce and cole slaw.  The sauce was really good and had a hint of both chipotle and Dr. Pepper. This particular taco was by far the highlight of the meal.

BBQ Brisket Taco

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Rusty Taco.  Although I was not impressed with the chips and salsa, the tacos were very good.  It was very busy when I dined there, but the staff gets your food out very quickly.  I will be going back, because I want to try some of the other tacos and get another of the BBQ Brisket Tacos.

Rusty Taco
http://www.therustytaco.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating =3

Torchy's Tacos

I stopped by Torchy's Tacos for breakfast a few days ago.  I was running errands in Allen, Texas and I was hungry for breakfast tacos.  I used my AroundMe app on my phone and it located a Torchy's Tacos just a few blocks from where I was.  I had never heard of Torchy's before, but I was ravenous and decided to give it a try.

The Devil Baby at Torchy's

The first thing I noticed when I walked into Torchy's was a huge devil baby with a fork hanging from the ceiling.  Did this mean the tacos were sinfully good?  I couldn't decide what kind of breakfast taco I wanted, so I ordered three (one bacon, egg, and cheese, one chorizo, egg, and cheese, and one potato, egg, and cheese).  They were surprisingly decent and the tortillas were very fresh.  My favorite was the chorizo, egg, and cheese, but the potato, egg, and cheese was a close second.  The thing I liked best about the breakfast tacos at Torchy's, was that the bacon, chorizo, and potatoes were cooked into the egg, rather than just being added after the eggs were cooked.  The salsa was not very hot, but it was flavorful.

One chorizo, egg, and cheese and one potato, egg, and cheese breakfast taco.

I would rate Torchy's a 3 on my 5-point scale and will eat hear again.  While eating breakfast there, I noticed that their lunch/dinner menu of tacos looked good as well.  Since this place is close to my house, I can definitely see myself going back here.  These tacos aren't the best I have had, but they are very good!