Food Lit

Austin Breakfast Tacos: Book release on the most important meal of the day

According to Jarod Neece and Mando Rayo, one good breakfast taco can change your whole outlook on life. And they should know; they're the guys behind Austin Breakfast Tacos, a new book dedicated to the tasty Texas tradition that will be released on July 19.

The book, subtitled The Story of the Most Important Taco of the Day, recounts the authors' journey through the multi-layered culture and history of the breakfast taco in Austin. They explore the origins of the breakfast taco, delving into the legend and lore of the vaqueros and Texan cowboys, and introduce us to the first Mexican immigrants to arrive in downtown Austin.

"The book is more than just about tacos. It's about Austin, our community and how the breakfast taco just brings all of it together," Rayo says. "We cover Austin's history, why they're so 'hot' right now, over 40 recipes, 24 restaurants and the people of Austin, as well."

The book came about because of the team's blog, Taco Journalism, founded in 2006. Neece created the blog with Justin Bankston, spurred by their desire to share their love of the breakfast food with the world. "This was pre-yelp, early blog days and we wanted a way to let people know where the real tacos were and what tacos to avoid," Neece says. "We quickly added Mando to the mix and we have been eating and talking tacos ever since."

Rayo adds that until he came onto the Taco Journalism team, he was just a "lowly taco guy" who loved the combination of simplicity and options that tacos provide, along with the comfort they give our bellies. "It's the taste of the old and the new, filled with our favorite sabores and carnes to yes, even veggie style. Basically, it's food for the soul in a warm folded tortilla."

The guys say that the book deal with The History Press naturally evolved because of the blog. "We always said that is we just stayed true to the tacos and wrote from the heart, good things would happen," Neece says. "This book is the ultimate expression of our taco love."

Neece's lifelong love of the taco started early, growing up in East Texas. He recalls that some of his earliest memories were of dipping rolled flour tortillas into queso and chowing down on tacos in Beaumont. As for Rayo, he claims his passion started at birth. "I was born with a tortilla in one hand and meat in the other."

According to Neece, tacos are the perfect food. "You can hold them in one hand and eat as many as you need to be satisfied. One for a snack or three for a meal."

So, what are the taco experts favorite tacos in Austin, and where to get them?

Neece's favorite breakfast tacos can be found at Joe's Bakery (Bacon, Egg, Bean and Cheese), Porfirio's (Carne Guisada and/or bean & cheese) and Papalote (chorizo & egg).

Rayo also counts Joe's Bakery and Papalote among his favorites. His other choice picks are Tacodeli (Vaquero with sausage) and Taqueria Chapala (Tacos Dorados de Barbacoa).

In Austin Breakfast Tacos, readers will discover breakfast taco recipes and stories from East Austin families (Lonnie Limon, Jose Velasquez), foodies (Addie Broyles, Paul Qui, Aaron Franklin, Hoover Alexander, Dorsey Barger), creatives (Tim & Karrie League, Adrian and Celeste Quesada, David Alan and Joe Eifler, Sara Hickman) and many more. A sampling from the book reads:

Austin: the Breakfast Taco Capital of the World? Hell yeah it is! And why not? The people of Austin love their breakfast tacos; they love them in the morning, for lunch, when they’re hungover, at midnight, on the streets and in abuelita’s cocina! Wherever you go in Austin, you’ll find taqueros creating a plethora of the breakfast creations that are part of the culture of Austin.

When in Austin, do as Austinites do. Eat barbecue, listen to live music, hang out in the East Austin bar scene (yeah, just ask los hipsters) and eat lots of breakfast tacos.

Part Mexican, part American and 100 percent Tejano, breakfast tacos are a unique food that can only be found in Texas, and we love to tell the world about them. Just like with pizza in New York, hot dogs in Chicago, cabrito in the Rio Grande Valley, puffy tacos in San Antonio, Chico’s Tacos in El Paso and Dallas’s Gas Station Tacos, it is the people’s love of the food that makes them and their cities popular. Now, the breakfast taco may not have originated in Austin, but it’s the love affair that Austinites have with the handheld food that makes it so popular. People of Austin love it so much that they’re broadcasting it to the world, and now anyone visiting Austin—from New Yorkers to TV show celebs to Californios—have to have breakfast tacos. It’s the many breakfast taco options and plethora of people who love them that really make Austin the Breakfast Taco Capital of the World.

Neece says, "We have included most of the tacos we love in Austin, but some that got left out are at Taqueria Arandas, San Juanita's, La Cocina de Consuelo and so many more. Maybe we'll do a Breakfast Taco Book 2.0! Stay tuned."

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Austin Breakfast Tacos: The Story of the Most Important Taco of the Day is published by The History Press and will be released on July 19. You can pre-order your copy from Book People as well.

Austin Breakfast Taco book.

Photo courtesy of Joel Salcido

Austin Breakfast Taco book.

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Belles of the Ballroom

9 Austin bar and venue experts take over popular Old Austin space near UT

29th Street Ballroom/Facebook

Changes are coming at the 29th Street Ballroom, but the goal is to preserve what already makes it special.

The evolution continues at the 29th Street Ballroom, the music venue formerly attached to Spider House Café. It's no secret, Resound Presents CEO and co-founder Graham Williams says, that he and a large team of other industry pros are taking over the space; but now they're ready to talk about what comes next for the venue and adjoining bar.

Although Spider House Café closed in 2020, the Ballroom stayed open, and has continued serving University of Texas students and anyone else who wants to see a show outside of the ordinary: punk shows, burlesque revues, fundraisers, and more. It'll stay open through most of the renovations, scheduled through January of 2025, and is expected to hold a grand opening in March.

Now Resound — one of Austin's top live music organizers, which was itself born from the ashes of another Austin institution — is lending two of its co-founders to managing the space going forward: Williams and Ian Orth. They're joining seven other team members from venues around town, many of them overlapping: Amy Mullins, Brian Tweedy, Jason McNeely, John Yaklin, and Shannon LeBoeuf of Hotel Vegas, Chess Club, Kinda Tropical, Tweedy’s, and Yellow Jacket Social Club, in varying capacities; and Brian Buscemi and Mike Sanchez of the Little Darlin’.

Williams emphasizes that although things will be changing at the Ballroom, the goal isn't to change anything people already love.

"Over the next few months as we kind of ease into the spring, we're using this downtime to revitalize things, decorate, revamp some of the stuff in the venue and the bar, and just kind of get things moving in the right direction," Williams says, "taking what's already popular about the venue and just adding to it, really."

Bar updates
The biggest shift will be turning the bar from an accessory to live shows into its own entity that's open even when there's nothing else going on. Amy Mullins, best known as a co-owner of Yellow Jacket Social Club, is overseeing that transition. She's never operated a venue that is primarily focused on music, and has been enjoying learning more about how to do it; she even worked the door recently when a staff member called out sick.

Mullins echoes Williams in assuring that the change is more about logistics than tone. It'll still feel like Old Austin, but she does express a hope to run more than the "typical venue bar," handing out simple drinks as quickly as possible. She's working on a new menu that includes wine, beer, craft cocktails, and non-alcoholic options like tea, kombucha, or mocktails. Regardless of what's on the schedule on any given night, Mullins says the menu will stay the same.

"There's no drink too complicated for us to make, however busy we are," she says.

Food options
Another goal for the team will be making sure the space works when there's not someone onstage to crowd around. They'll expand the front and side patios and create a food truck food court that features the same trucks that are there now, plus one newcomer. All in all, that includes Yalla Burger & Wings, Gyro Center, Li’l Nonna’s Vegan Pizzeria, Guppy’s Indian Fried Chicken, Waylon J’s BBQ, and Ay Chihuahua Tacos.

The expanded patio will connect to Tweedy's Bar next door, which also has its own food trucks. The idea is to create a space to hang out after shows that feels fit for the purpose. It's possible to stick around after events now, but the layout does create a vague feeling of loitering.

Artist and fan-friendly tweaks
On the entertainment side, Williams says some of the renovations include putting in a new sound system, redoing the green room, updating the facade, and repainting signs. Since the winter is a slower time for live music, they'll be taking advantage of the extra time to work on things before packing the calendar with more events than before. Resound will handle most of the bookings in live music, comedy, and DJ sets, welcoming both national and local talent.

Whatever the details end up being, this team has proved to Austinites that they know how to run venues worth visiting. And since they're all friends and business partners on multiple levels, it sounds like having this many cooks in the kitchen just isn't an issue.

"Some of us have been roommates and known each other since we were young," says Williams. "It's a good mix of people who are all very like minded, so a lot is being brought to the table per decision. So yeah, it's it's really exciting. Sometimes that's not the case. .... But with this project, it's a lot of really great, creative people that are good at what they do [and] they trust each other."

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