Hungry for Fajitas

[tdombrow]

I could really go for some good fajitas. Any suggestions in the North Austin/Round Rock area? Don't say Baby A's. You can say anything but Baby A's

[ilovit]

I enjoy Maudie's at North Lamar for their Chicken Fajitas. Can be spicy but that is the way I like them. You can order without the hot peppers if you prefer.

[slowcoooked]

I will third the polvo's guajillo fajitas as my favorite in town. But I also give at the risk of sacrilege a very close second to the shiner bock beef fajitas at Hula Hut. Always well seasoned and flavorful and moist.

[amysuehere]

How is it that the Chuy's fajitas smell soooo good going by on the sizzling plate, but are sooo bland?

[elpaninaro]

On the Tex-Mex catering thread of last week I gave Chuy's a thumb's-up for a more basic approach, if not inspirational. After dinaofdoom's reply to the original poster giving a thumbs down on Chuys- this weekend I dropped in there after a run at the lake and it turns out my information was a bit outdated!

Dinaofdoom was right- the food is not good here anymore. I never thought the beef fajitas were especially well spiced/marinated, but a good solid choice anyone could live with- and I enjoyed them well enough.

But not now. They are using a lesser cut of meat I think- and when you are not adding much else, that kind of move has a huge impact. These fajitas were not just bland for me- they were also chewy and just awful. A shame!

[dinaofdoom]

sorry, elpaninaro. i am definitely open to being wrong when it comes to bad food :-)

a friend's husband left shortly after the buyout. i was kvetching about how things like the meat and cheese seemed lower quality and he confirmed those were exactly the cost cutting measures they put in place.

bummer. most of them are great locations, and have a solid menu.
and the boom boom sauce is good.

[achtungpv]

Because Chuy's sucks.

[karma belle]

Years ago, I worked for a national chain of Mexican restaurants (not located here in Austin), and they would drizzle soy sauce on the hot, cast iron fajita skillet just as it left the kitchen. This would create a lot of smoke/steam and would smell awesome as it moved through the dining room.

[slowcoooked]

hmmmm, I guess I'll have to go back and inspect their fajitas again, it's been several months at least since I've eaten at the Hut. For the most part we only go there to take out of towners to the lake and drive around to see the waterfront homes we'd never afford. I have to give props to the jalapeno / cilantro / ranch dip whatever it is.

[dinaofdoom]

soy sauce. interesting.

[danny_w]

I haven't had them but a coworker swears by the fajitas at Enchiladas y Mas (I only get the cheese enchiladas with onions).

[tdombrow]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I guess I have a lot of eating to do. :)

[missmitzi]

I haven't been but it has been reported that the La Brissa Restaurant on Bratton Lane (off of Mopac) is the Polvo's north location. It apparently has the same menu as Polvo's and the name is supposed to change soon. So perhaps give that a try. As other's have said on this thread, Polvo's has excellent fajitas.

[thrackle]

I can't say I noticed any difference in the entrees. The salsa bar is much smaller, but it still has the same options. The service was incredibly slow when I was there (late on a Sunday night, IIRC) because there was only one server.

[Mike B]

North Austin is getting Lupe Tortilla, a Houston fajita chain, soon in the Arbor Walk shopping center. I don't know if it's any good. I think Austin may be there first expansion outside of Houston.

[ieathereforeiam]

I'm a sucker for that place in Houston. It was similar to ninfa's if i remember right. papas/ninfas environment. Badass tortillas. 90's style tex-mex, but I have a taste memory for that stuff and I sometimes make exceptions to my "no chains" rule for houston chains.

Thanks for letting us know.

[elpaninaro]

That is great news indeed! I lived a good bit of my life to date in Houston and Lupe's is a favorite spot of mine for beef fajitas. To be totally honest- a big part of it is that primal love of salt and citrus and nothing to do with the meat itself.

The fajita meat is tenderized (looks like strips of cube steak) and then soaked in a marinade heavy with salt. The texture comes out great- but on the palate the meat itself is almost overwhelmed. 99.9% of the time I HATE this- but the way Lupe's does it, it works for me- big time.

Flour tortillas are huge and extremely thin. Very sharp grated cheddar cheese and fatty refried beans are the perfect match to the meat. Queso is velveeta- yuck- but if you find that you like the beef fajitas, then you will like this place a lot, just for them. Everything else, you can do better in my opinion.

FWIW- my favorite approach to Lupe's is to dine-in and wrap meat and cheese only in the flour tortillas, and then take home and reheat a bowl of the refried beans, chopped up fajita meat and a good dose of that sharp cheddar cheese. Your mileage may vary- but I really love these combos.

[addlepated]

They will also be opening in West Lake Hills in the old Macaroni Grill location. Here's hoping they're yummy!

[elpaninaro]

Even better- close to home for me. Any idea when they open?

[brentwood]

West Lake Hills, sounds about right.

[danny_w]

Anybody know when they will be open?

[amysuehere]

Far as I know, I think they are. I saw a whole bunch of people milling around outside this weekend.

[Alan Sudo]

I used to work in Round Rock, and they actually have several old school Tex-Mex joints I can recommend.
When I was craving a place that still uses yellow cheese and respects both the Tex and the Mex parts of Tex-Mex, I'd head over to Rio Grande, El Mariachi or Casa Garcia. Any of the three will transport you back to a time when Tex-Mex ruled. For fajitas specifically, I'd probably go with Casa Garcia. (In fact, I'm not certain El Mariachi serves fajitas on a sizzling platter - they do have fajita enchiladas).

[Rptrane]

My girlfriend like's Papados or Papasitos

[ericthered]

If you don't mind the drive then La Playa on Williams Drive in Georgetown is really good and moderately priced. Good margaritas too.

[tom in austin]

Habanero Cafe at Oltorf and 1st has the best fajitas in Austin, at lest as far as I can tell.

http://habanerocafe.com/menu.html

[chispa_c]

Agreed. I haven't found beef as tender and flavorful as they are here. If I recall, they serve their salsa warm. I love that.

[popvulture]

I'll wait for someone else to ring in for the north austin/RR area, but if you ever happen to be in the central area, I'll say that Polvos' cerveza fajitas are hard to beat.

[amysuehere]

Guajillo gajitas. 1/2 beef, half pastor. Dats da bomb!

[tdombrow]

1/2 pastor? Like in a minister? That's WAAAAYYYY too Sweeney Todd for me. :)

[amysuehere]

hehehe....

al pastor....not zedonk.