Cool ranch

South Austin's new drive-thru taco joint gets the P. Terry's treatment

Taco Ranch aims to do for tacos what P. Terry's did for burgers.

Rendering by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

In a little over a decade, P. Terry’s Burger Stand has redefined fast food in Austin with its signature retro brand aesthetic and mindful sourcing. Now, owners Patrick and Kathy Terry are looking to revolutionize the taco joint with the opening of Taco Ranch on Wednesday, January 24, at 5033 W. Hwy. 290 in Oak Hill.

Taco Ranch aims to provide an alternative to chains like Taco Cabana and Taco Bell, keeping the price point low (in the $2-$3 range for most items) while offering better ingredients — like organic eggs and humanely raised beef and chicken — than national chains. That formula took off for P. Terry’s, which quickly expanded to 14 area locations after opening its first stand in Austin in 2005.

Like P. Terry’s, the menu at Taco Ranch is kept simple. Five mains are available for lunch and dinner: tacos, burritos, chalupas, quesadillas, and taco salads. The tacos are available with a choice of flour or corn tortilla or a crispy shell, and all dishes are customizable with a choice of protein (beef, chicken, refried beans, or veggie crumbles), as well as lettuce, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. Sides include classics like chips and salsa, guacamole, queso, and ranch dip, plus churro brownies for dessert.

Breakfast is served until 11 am and will feature breakfast tacos with fillings like all-natural bacon, sausage, chorizo, potato, cheese, and refried beans; cinnamon rolls and coffee cakes are also available.

The space, designed by architectural superstar Michael Hsu, boasts a brown, yellow, and blue color scheme that harkens back to the ‘50s and ‘60s fast-food boom. The restaurant features a covered outdoor dining area, spacious indoor dining area, and — of course — a drive-thru.

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Peak Plates

7 Austin restaurants make OpenTable's top 100 for 2024

Jeffrey's Restaurant/Instagram

Jeffrey's Restaurant is a great example of the type of fancy, well-established restaurant that made the list.

Restaurant reservation website OpenTable has issued its new list of the top 100 restaurants in America for 2024, and seven Austin restaurants have made the list. That's already impressive at a glance — 7 percent of the entire national list in just one city — but compared to other Texas cities, it's huge. Austin is the only Texas city to have more than one restaurant on the list.

The "2024's Top 100 Restaurants" list is a compilation of the most sought-after and top-ranked restaurants in the U.S. based on 14 million verified reviews on OpenTable from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Restaurants are not ranked, but arranged in alphabetical order by state.

Austin's seven restaurants (including several repeats from OpenTable's 2023 list) are:

Aba: Known for its laid-back, yet fancy patio and being a popular spot for visiting celebrities
J Carver's: Known for a commitment to the classic steakhouse experience and legitimately fancy dining
Jeffrey's Restaurant: Known for fine dining, a connection to Austin before its boom, and a fantastic wine program
Red Ash Italia: Known for approachable, yet high-quality Italian food with rustic touches
Sammie's Italian: Known for its romantic take on the archetype of an East Coast Italian joint
Uchi: Known for bringing Austin into the national sushi conversation and defining the scene
Uchiko: Known for a cool atmosphere and getting creative with sushi and other small plates

Austinites will probably not be surprised by this list, which names some very well-established restaurants that are all upscale. These qualities tend to appeal to similar lists, regardless of who's curating them.

It is interesting, given that the list was democratically based on user ratings, that there were not more beloved food trailers or casual spots. However, other factors that led to high rankings included alerts set and reservations made ahead — things that don't really apply to even the most awesome taco truck.

Mediterranean food was a trend among the Austin picks. Red Ash Italia and Sammie's Italian are, as the names would imply, completely dedicated to Italian food, while Aba covers a wider swath of the Mediterranean. There were also two steakhouses: J Carver's and Jeffrey's Restaurant.

As list-perusers may have guessed, Uchi and Uchiko are in the same family of restaurants, with Uchi being the more formal and Uchiko being a bit more accessible for drop-in meals and cocktails. But are two more incognito duos of sibling restaurants on the list: J Carver's and Red Ash, and Jeffrey's Restaurant and Sammie's Italian.

That could be a coincidence. It could also be a reflection of the utility of money and experience in opening a good restaurant, or a lesson about the effects of good (and expensive) marketing. Whatever it is, it doesn't sound like hospitality groups had any direct sway on how OpenTable made its choices.

This list was different from the inaugural list of OpenTable Icons, which launched in 2024. The "Icons" list chose restaurants that are getting a lot of buzz, which ended up being more subjective. It also seemed to let in — as a side effect of the process, rather than a hard eligibility rule — more new and Mexican restaurants. Two restaurants are on both lists: Red Ash and Jeffrey's.

Restaurants outside of Austin that made the Top 100 list, organized alphabetically, are:

Hudson House — Dallas
Steak 48 — Houston
Signature — San Antonio

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