{"id":27353,"date":"2013-07-18T09:00:08","date_gmt":"2013-07-18T14:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?p=27353"},"modified":"2018-03-05T13:08:25","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T19:08:25","slug":"in-austin-its-tacos-for-breakfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/in-austin-its-tacos-for-breakfast\/","title":{"rendered":"In Austin, it’s tacos for breakfast"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tipsy

Tipsy Texan breakfast tacos. Yum. Photo: Courtesy of the publisher<\/p><\/div>\n

They may only be \u201ca couple of guys who love breakfast tacos,\u201d but Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece, the sturdy taste buds behind the Austin, Texas<\/a> blog Taco Journalism<\/a>, have published\u00a0the definitive guide to consuming the regional specialty.\u00a0Austin Breakfast Tacos: The Story of the Most Important Taco of the Day<\/em> <\/strong>(American Palette) is packed with taco history, taco confessions, taco recipes and taco tips from a slew of Austin taco specialists and enthusiasts, including Top Chef<\/em> winner Paul Qui, singer-songwriter Sarah Hickman, LBJ\u2019s granddaughter and Drafthouse Cinema founders Tim and Karrie League.<\/p>\n

We spoke with Neece, who juggles his stints of salsa-splashed investigative reporting with his day job as a programmer for the South by Southwest film festival, about the triumph of the breakfast taco.<\/p>\n

I understand the research phase for this book was quite intense. How many tacos did you eat?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sometimes we\u2019d eat at two or three places in a day. There were days of eating three or morebreakfast tacos for two weeks straight. On a weekend, we\u2019d get six or seven people over at the house and be making tacos. It was very taco-centric.<\/p>\n

Were there repercussions?<\/b><\/p>\n

Definitely! Some gym time afterwards was needed\u2014a lot of salads and we\u2019re good.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s so great about the breakfast taco?<\/b><\/p>\n

Being a taco instead of a burrito, the taco is more versatile. If you\u2019re hung over you can steer yourself to a chorizo taco. If you want to be healthy you can have egg and avocado. You can get different textures. It\u2019s the perfect amount of food, too. I love bagels and cereal and oatmeal and all that stuff but there\u2019s something about a breakfast taco that sets a good base for your day.<\/p>\n

Why is Austin the breakfast taco capital of the world?<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s just the people. Everyone endorses it and embraces it. The gas stations, the fried chicken restaurants. Any place you can have a breakfast taco there will be one. Everyone who comes here loves it. They\u2019ve adopted it like a bagel in New York. It\u2019s obvious: that\u2019s what you eat.<\/p>\n

When was the first breakfast taco served in Austin?<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think we found what the first one was. But before that a lot of people were selling tamales out of carts by the capital. I think somewhere around the 1930s or ’40s. People have been putting eggs in a tortilla for a long time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting that even fast-food burger chains in Austin sell breakfast tacos. Is there a revolution happening?<\/b><\/p>\n

We did an article with the New York Times<\/em> once, and one of the things the reporter found out is that the breakfast taco became popular in 1980s when Mexican restaurants tried to compete with the Egg McMuffin. It was hot, substantial and affordable. Everyone is eating at all these taco restaurants now and it\u2019s kind of the reverse. Getting breakfast tacos, pop culture-wise, is a huge thing.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the secret to a good breakfast taco?<\/b><\/p>\n

Homemade tortillas are always good. What type of cheese? How much egg? Some people overfill it. It\u2019s all about finding the good ratio and making sure the ingredients are good.<\/p>\n

Where do I start?<\/b><\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s Bakery and Coffee Shop<\/a> makes a great bean, egg, cheese and bacon taco. Beans are like the Mexican mayonnaise. The eggs are cooked really well, and they dredge the bacon in flour and then they fry it. The beans are like a condiment. The eggs are mushy. The bacon is crunchy. It\u2019s a perfect little bite.<\/p>\n

What if I want to put something crazy in my mouth?<\/b><\/p>\n

You can have a taco with brains. You can get tongue. I guess that\u2019s weird to some people. Papalote Taco House<\/a>\u00a0 has something called \u201cWeenie con Huevo Taco.\u201d Hot dog and eggs.<\/p>\n

Want to try an authentic Austin taco for yourself? Visit Orbitz for the best Austin vacation deals<\/a>!<\/em>\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s the most important taco of the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":27355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2709],"tags":[2667],"class_list":["post-27353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-austin","tag-food-and-wine"],"acf":{"api_active":null,"api_title":null,"api_excerpt":null,"api_featured_image":null,"api_lob":null},"posts_api_cpm_point":[{"name":"","description":"","thumbnail":"","address":"2803 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704, USA","latitude":"30.2435326","longitude":"-97.78189789999999","icon":"\/images\/icons\/marker.png"}],"yoast_head":"\nIn Austin, it's tacos for breakfast | Orbitz<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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