Texans love tacos, and luckily for us somewhere along the way, someone created the beauty that is the breakfast taco so we can actually make our dreams of eating Tex-Mex for every single meal a glorious reality. And no town seems to love breakfast tacos more than Austin — there’s almost a breakfast taco shop on every street corner, each with its own tasty take. We’ve partnered with the Austin Area Chevy Dealers to create this Breakfast Taco Trail to 5 of Austin’s classic breakfast taco shops for the ULTIMATE start to your morning.
Here’s Your Breakfast Taco Trail
You’re gonna want to start out early because you’ve got quite a few tacos to get through. However, you don’t need to be too worried about missing taco service at any of the stops, because every stop on our list serves breakfast “all day,” but they also all close at 3 pm…so plan accordingly and pace yourself through these monstrous tacos!
We’re starting off this Taco Trail in East Austin at Tamale House East, part of a taco legacy started by the Vasquez family in the 1950s and carried on at this location. Now before we begin, prepare yourself for a whole lot of migas-themed breakfast tacos because — besides the breakfast taco — it’s Austin’s favorite breakfast dish. Grab a table on the peaceful patio and start off with a spicy twist on the classic meal: the Chipotle Migas & Queso Taco — because everyone knows that cheesy wake-up calls are the best! Wash it down with a Mexican Iced Coffee: a beautiful, cinnamon-symphony of cold brew, horchata and soy milk.
Next, you’re headed to Joe’s Bakery, an Austin mainstay since 1962. Now you can order another migas taco if you’d like (it’s a favorite here, too) but it’s the bacon and egg taco that really has people raving. And for good reason — the extra crispy bacon is battered and deep fried and wrapped in a homemade tortilla so fluffy, you could cover up in it for warmth on a cold day (if Texas ever had any of those…)
Continue your breakfast taco education at the next location, which is fittingly housed in a school bus-turned-food truck. I hope you’re not tired of migas yet (I’m not sure that’s even possible), because Veracruz All Natural’s Migas Taco was named one of Food Network’s Top 5 Tacos in America in 2015. If you wanna try something different, their signature La Reyna taco is stuffed with a veggie mixture of roasted carrots, spinach and mushrooms you’d be hard pressed to find in another breakfast taco. Either way, order an Agua Fresca with your meal — after all, they did start out as a juice truck and serve up 8 fruity flavors!
If you don’t know Juan in a Million than you don’t know the Austin breakfast taco; it’s been a local favorite since it opened in 1980 and it’s your next stop. Don’t let the line wrapped around the building scare you off, it moves pretty quickly and these tacos are more than worth it. While each taco on the menu is flavorful enough to hold its own, the Don Juan El Grande taco stands out the most — if not just for its massive size! Enough bacon, egg, potato and cheese for at least 4 tacos are piled into a homemade flour tortilla for a whopping $6. Ask for extra tortillas and share with your friends because you’ve gotta save room for one last taco stop!
If by the time you’ve reached Tacodeli, it’s late in the day and you’re tired, don’t worry — this is the taco finish line! The tacos you’ve gotta try are the vegetarian Vaquero taco, which is piled with grilled corn, peppers and cheese, and the Jess Special, because why just have a migas taco, when you could have a migas taco with avocado? Whatever you get, douse it in Salsa Dona, because this garlicky green stuff is straight up heavenly — but be warned, it does bring the spice.
Alright, taco-lovers, rejoice for you have made it all the way through the Austin Breakfast Taco Trail! It wasn’t for the faint of heart or the small of appetite, but YOU DID IT. You beat the taco odds and ate some of Austin’s finest. Now go take a nap — you deserve it!
If by some chance you still have any room in your stomach, combine this road trip with the San Antonio Taco Road Trip to literally have tacos for every single meal. The dream, right? (Seriously, if anyone attempts this — we’re impressed and you’re the most Texan. EVER. Send us pictures of your taco trippin’!)
Happy Taco Trippin’!
