Polvo's North

Polvo's is officially one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Austin. I'm talking about the North location, I've never been to the one on 1st Street, but I hope they do things just as good. We had been to this spot twice for dinner but never tried their breakfast. So when Easter weekend rolled in and we wanted to avoid all the busy brunch spots. Polvo's was the place to go.

14735 Bratton Ln, Austin, TX.

One thing I really dig about Polvo's is the free chips and salsa bar. Now, I heard the 1st street location charges for their chips and salsa, but I'm not sure, so don't quote me. They have 3 fresh homemade salsas (regular, roasted, and verde) available at the bar. Try them all and find your favorite. We checked out the menu and were happy to see plenty of Mexican breakfast staples, and some new ones as well. Everything from migas to huevos rancheros. I decided to be a little adventurous and tried something that caught my eye. The trash can plate. Sounds a little funky, but everything in it sounded great to me. Two scrambled eggs mixed with bacon, ham, potatoes, cheese, pico de gallo, spinach, sausage, mushrooms, chipotle, machacado, and chorizo! Served with a side of refried beans and homemade potatoes. Now that's a breakfast fit for a king.....or should I say Rey! I had everything in that, sans the mushrooms. You all know I don't do fungi! Lisa decided on her all time favorite, the migas. For those who don't know, it's scrambled eggs with corn tortilla chips topped with cheese. Good stuff!

Trashcan Plate

Migas

Our waiter was attentive and kept our iced teas topped off. I also decided to order on of my favorite drinks, the michelada. After awhile our waiter arrived with our steaming hot plates and we commenced to chow down. My plate was a pretty interesting, a mix of different flavors and textures that collided with every bite. I'm not sure I would ever order this plate again, but I know they know what they are doing at Polvo's. Lisa's plate was top notch. Cooked properly with lots of gooey cheesy goodness and crispy chips all in the mix. And their homemade potatoes cooked in a flavorful tomato sauce is just like my abuelita made when I was growing up. Polvo's also makes their own tortillas, and they do an awesome job!

Michelada

Overall, Polvo's is a big WINNER! I would definitely recommend it for all your real Mexican food cravings! I am a fan and I will continue going back.

Takoba

This weekend the girlfriend and I were looking to hit up East Side Austin for some brunch. We also had plans to catch up with our friend and fellow dog-centric business owner, Kristen. We decided on Takoba. This was our third time visiting Takoba, but our first for brunch. 

1610 E. 7th St., Austin, TX
Photo: austin.eater.com

We arrived at 1:00 and were quickly seated indoors. The place was packed, but there was no wait - always a good thing! We ordered our drinks and perused the menu while we waited for Kristen to arrive. She did and after a few minutes we were all ready to order. I decided on the chilaquiles, scrambled eggs with fried tortilla chips tossed with onions and red chile sauce, topped with queso fresco. All that with a side of potatoes and refried beans. The girlfriend decided to go with her all time favorite, Migas. Scrambled eggs with fried tortilla chips tossed with onions and monterey jack cheese. Also served with a side of potatoes and refried beans. Similar to the chilaquiles, sans the red chile sauce. Kristen was a little more adventurous, and decided to go with the Barria De Borrego Estilo Aguascaliente. Which was braised lamb with lime, cilantro, and onion. This was served with warm tortillas and a side of consomme. We caught up and talked dog business while we waited for our food to arrive. 

Chilaquiles

Migas

Birria De Borrego Estillo Aguascalientes

Our food was soon served and everything looked appealing to the eye. But would we be disappointed with the taste? I tried my chilaquiles and they were pretty good. Definitely not the best I've had, but pretty damn good. The red chile sauce was great, not to hot, but rich in flavor. My girlfriend's migas were pretty good, but she said she'd rather have my chilaquiles, go figure. Kristen's plate looked good, the girlfriend and I aren't fans of lamb, but we had to try it out. Not too bad! But i'm just not into anything that tastes to gamey.


To sum it all up, we all enjoyed our food and the service was good. I do have to say in my opinion I think their dinner is much better than their brunch. But it is definitely worth trying at least once.

Casa Chapala

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with my Hispanic roots, but I live with a never ending craving for delicious Mexican food. And most of the time that void can't be filled with the run of the mill Tex-Mex that can be found around Austin. So during one of my recent rants about not finding good Mexican dishes in town, someone suggested I visit Casa Chapala. I had never been, so I decided to pay them a visit on Sunday.

3010 Anderson Lane, Austin
Photo: foursquare

We visited the original location on Anderson Lane, and as soon as we entered the place, I felt right at home. This is the kind of place I enjoyed eating at back in the Rio Grande Valley. On our way to Casa Chapala we placed a call to see what time breakfast cut off time was, the lady on the other end told my girlfriend 2:00 pm. It was 1:30, we were good. We arrived and were quickly seated, no wait! A server took our drink order and in no time another guy arrived to prepare a small batch of salsa in a molcajete according to our personal heat preference. We chose mild. The salsa was wonderful, with the warm tortilla chips. When our waiter arrived we asked to see a breakfast menu. He adviced us that breakfast cut off time was 1:00 pm, we told him we called in. He said he would check. After a few minutes he arrived with the breakfast menu and told us we could still have our breakfast. YESSS! After browsing through the menu for a few minutes, we were ready to order. I decided on the Asada and Eggs, which is carne asada and two eggs cooked to your liking. My girlfriend chose the Chilaquiles Rojos, diced bell pepper, onion, and crispy fried tortilla chips scrambled with egg and topped with salsa. Both were served with rice and our choice of either refried, charro, or black beans. My asada plate also came with my choice of corn or flour tortillas. I'm a flour tortilla fan. While we waited, we decided to have an appetizer: shrimp and mango ceviche. Oh yeah!

table side salsa

Shrimp and Mango Ceviche

After a few minutes our waiter arrived with the ceviche. It wasn't exactly what we were expecting but it was still very good. It was full of small salad sized shrimp, but they went really light on the mango. So much that that don't think I had more than two bites with a taste of it. Anyway, the true test would be the actual plates. When they finally arrived, I couldn't believe my eyes. These plates were served just like back home, nice big plates of deliciousness. My Asada and eggs were amazing! Plenty of well seasoned meat topped with scrambled eggs. The meat was thinly sliced and cooked to perfection. It was moist and melted in my mouth, no toughness at all. The rice and beans were great as well. My girlfriends Chilaquiles were pretty good too. The chips were crispy, as they should be. Her only complaint was that they weren't really full of flavor and seemed to be missing any seasoning. But after using the salt and pepper shakers on our table, they were good to go. 

Asada and Eggs

Chilaquiles Rojos

I have to say that Casa Chapala is officially my new favorite Mexican restaurant in town. As a matter of fact we are going back tonight to have dinner. If authentic Mexican food is what you are craving, look no further than Casa Chapala. 

Taco Ole (Rio Grande Valley)

2620 W. Freddy Gonzalez, Edinburg, Tx.

Last week I spent Thanksgiving with family in the Rio Grande
Valley. When Sunday rolled around, I thought of maybe taking a week off from my Sunday brunch....couldn't do it! So I found myself visiting one of my favorite spots for Mexican food in Edinburg, TX:  Taco Ole.

Taco Ole, is one of the reasons I miss The Valley. Authentic Mexican food made from scratch - hand rolled tortillas, caldos, enchiladas, and of course my top can't-find-this-in-Austin favorite....the botana. But that's another story for another time. Today, BREAKFAST. So the girlfriend, her parents, and I decided to see what their menu had in store. I immediately set my eyes on the chicken fried steak plate. My girlfriend, as some of you may know by now, is a migas fanatic. So migas for her, and her parents as well.

Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs Plate

As soon as our plates arrived, I was in love. My plate consisted of a good sized chicken fried steak with country gravy, two eggs, hashbrowns and my texas toast. And let me tell you, it was a proper meal! My chicken fried steak was seasoned and breaded just right. And their country gravy was perfect, not to thin, not to thick.  The migas plates on the table were legit as well. All were the same, except my girlfriend chose yellow american cheese, her mom went with the queso blanco. Excellent choice! All the plates were awesome and the service was excellent.

Migas a la Mexicana 

Besides a delicious breakfast menu, Taco Ole has a regular menu with all the mexican dishes you can think of, but too many to list here. They also have three other locations - two in Sharyland and another in Mission. So if you find yourself down in South Texas, stop by Taco Ole and tell them The Brunching Bloke sent you. I guarantee you'll love it!

Migas a la Mexicana (queso blanco)

Sazón

1816 South Lamar, Austin

I love South Austin. The food, the people, the vibe. So today I thought I'd take a trip down past the river for some brunch. After some deliberating, the girlfriend and I decided on Sazon on South Lamar. This wasn't our first visit, I had their dinner once and was pretty impressed, so thought I'd give the breakfast a try.

Sazon has a small breakfast menu featuring some standard Mexican dishes as well as some more adventurous ones. I had the Envuelto De Huitlacoche, which is an omelet with queso fresco and corn truffle. For those who don't know, corn truffle is basically a fungus that grows on corn. While most american farmers hate the thing, it is considered a delicacy in Mexico and other parts of the world. Personally, I'm not a fungus type of guy, I really don't do mushrooms - but I thought I'd give this dish a try. The plate came with my choice of beans and a side of potatoes.  My girlfriend had the migas, a standard dish at any Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant, but I was curious to see what Sazon would do with them.

Envuelto De Huitlacoche

My dish arrived and it looked appealing to the eye. But after taking a bite I realized one thing...I just couldn't get past the taste of the truffles. The omelet was prepared well and the queso fresco was excellent. And I gotta give Sazon kudos for using fresh ingredients, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I also felt that the omelet could of used a little more queso fresco and less truffles. But then again I'm a huge cheese fan and that's just a matter of opinion. I really did enjoy the side of refried black beans and the breakfast potatoes were also pretty good served with sauteed onions. I do have to say that while my truffle eating experience wasn't a great one, my girlfriend enjoyed taking them off my plate and adding them to her migas. Which gets me to her plate. Now I enjoy a good plate of migas, but I have to say I wasn't too impressed with Sazon's version. Again, the ingredients were fresh - diced veggies and corn tortilla chips, and it's really hard to mess up a plate of migas. But at the end I have to say they were just ok. Definitely not the best I've tried, but not the worst either.

Migas

Overall, the service was good and I'd like to visit again and try some of their more adventurous dinner items. But I think I'll pass on the breakfast.

Papi Tino's

1306 E. Sixth Street, Austin

Today I decided to hit up East Sixth Street for my weekly brunch spot - Papi Tino's to be exact. This place is a little hard to find, as the restaurant name is nowhere to be found outside. Look for an old white frame house, the address is posted on a small wooden sign hanging on a tree.

Papi Tino's is a really cool spot, and I'd say a cute place to take a first date for brunch or dinner and make a good impression. There's a choice of indoor or outdoor seating, or you can also order and eat at the bar. It was a nice day and all outdoor seating was full, so we found a table inside. A piano player banged out some tunes as we entered...very nice!

Michelada 

The waiter was prompt and quickly asked if it was our first visit (it was). He proceeded to tell us how Papi Tino's uses fresh and local ingredients and took our drink order. While most folks enjoy mimosas or a bloody mary with their brunch, I'm more of a michelada kind of guy. My girlfriend went with the mimosa with agua de fruta and I went with the michelada with a Pacifico cerveza, served on ice. I get laughs when I say I'm a connoisseur of things, but I'm dead serious when I tell you that I'm a connoisseur of micheladas. I've had them all over the state of Texas and Mexico, and let me tell you Papi Tino's makes a MEAN ONE! So if they are your thing, you must try them here.



The Brunch menu is simple but effective. A few egg dishes, chilaquiles, enchiladas (suizas, rojas, de mole) and ceviche of the day. I was here for one thing - the chilaquiles. A few days ago my girlfriend showed me a picture of them that someone shared on twitter. I was sold, hence the trip today! Papi Tino's serves a traditional take on chilaquiles, and offers them tossed in your choice of salsa verde or roja. They are served with their homemade tortilla chips, cheese, chicken and mexican cream. Both my girlfriend and I had the same thing in mind, so she went with the roja and I went with the verde. They were both great! The chips were crisp and tasty, and not soggy, which is a must for real chilaquiles. The cheese was nicely melted and the chicken was tender. The only thing I'd like to note is that the verde version is a little spicier than the roja, but if you don't mind a little extra heat, I'd choose the verde which is tomatillo based. Either way you can't go wrong, it's just a matter of preference.

Do yourself a favor and check out Papi Tino's. I'll be stopping by for dinner soon!

Chilaquiles with salsa verde

Chilaquiles with salsa roja and huevos