The Best Breakfast Taco in Austin, Texas.

I ask people questions. 
It's like a bad party trick. 

I ask people questions like:
Do you believe in God?
And how do you pray?
And what does it feel like to be young?
And have you been in love?
And what does that feel like?
And how many people have you kissed?
And where do you find the best breakfast taco in Austin?

Because I have wanted to know the answers.

I wanted someone to explain God to me.

And I wanted to be shown how to pray because praying confuses me. 

And I wanted to know what people thought youth was, so that I would understand my own lack of comprehension. 

And I wanted to know love like it was a fact.
And I wanted to know how many people you kissed because it's a fun question to ask.
And I wanted to know where to find the best breakfast taco because really that's the most important question of all.



I don't feel like asking these questions so much right now. 
Because here is the thing.
I have been learning how to love the question itself.
Because these are blessed unknowns: God and prayer and youth and inexperience and love, it is all just a perpetual question mark.
There is no definite answer.
No finite conclusion to come to.
Maybe time is the only real answer.
I don't know.

That said.
There is one conclusion that I have come to.
One unalterable, finite, perfect truth: Austin, Texas is the best place in the world to eat a breakfast taco.
Without doubt.
Without question.
Below are some of my favorite tacos in this gorgeous city. 
When it comes to this, there are no question marks.
Only full stops.

All my love,
m


Tamale House

5003 Airport Blvd
Austin, TX 78751

Phone number(512) 453-9842

Tacodeli 

4200 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78756

Phone number(512) 419-1900

Bouldin Creek Coffee House & Cafe

1900 S 1st St
Austin, TX 78704

Phone number(512) 416-1601

Counter Cafe

626 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703

Phone number(512) 708-8800

Maria's Taco Xpress

2529 S Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704

Phone number(512) 444-0261

Papalote Taco House

2803 S Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704

Phone number(512) 804-2474

Torchy's Tacos

1311 S 1st St
Austin, TX 78704

Phone number(512) 366-0537

Dan's Hamburgers

5602 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78751

Phone number(512) 459-3239

Caesar Salad

When I was 16 years old, I saw the movie An Education, and it changed my life. I over-identified with the heroine, played by Carey Mulligan, to the point that it almost scared me. Because the character had this longing to really LIVE in the world. And in all of my adolescent angst I completely understood. 

In the very last scene of the film, she’s riding a bicycle through the streets of Paris. And she’s happy. She’s not longing to live her life, not wishing things were otherwise, but actually present in the moment, actually living.

I have been riding my bike a lot lately. With friends and alone. 

And there have been moments, silent, except for the sound of peddling and my own breath-- when I’ve sped under orange street lights late in summer night-- and I have thought to myself-- appreciate this. Because in those rare fractions of seconds-- 

I was so present that I didn't want to be Carey Mulligan. 
I didn't want anyone's life but mine. 

I wonder if everything can be this way. That the life you dream about can be yours always. That everything, from the clothes you wear to the food you eat, if it can all be of a piece. 
That all the tiny things can add up to a beautiful life, a present so wonderful that sometimes you can only recognize how fucking glorious it is in retrospect. 

I think so. 

I hope so. 

So I am quietly building a life. Or trying to.
I’m eating caesar salads with homemade dressing and attempting to delight in bike rides, lunches, conversations, swimming pools, coffee shops and dancing in the grocery store. 

Because right now, I am so young, and so much feels so possible. 

I think so. 
I hope so. 

XOXO

m

Caesar Salad Dressing 

from foodnetwork.com

Note: The recipe asks for six cloves of garlic. Which seemed just illogical to me. So I used four. Do as you like. And of course, I am a big proponent of anchovies. They really make it that much better. Also, this recipe is unusual in that it doesn't call for a raw egg, which is typical of many dressings.  

6 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 cup olive oil 

salt

pepper

lemon juice 

minced anchovy fillets (optional) 

2-3 heads Romaine lettuce

Parmesan cheese

Combine garlic, mustard, vinegar and two pinches of salt in a blender and mix thoroughly. Add mayonnaise and blend together to form a thick base. In a slow stream add olive oil through hole in lid. Scrape dressing with spatula into a bowl and season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. If desired, add anchovy to dressing to create a deeper, saltier taste.

Wash and dry lettuce. Chop leaves if desired. Combine dressing with lettuce and toss gently. Top with parmesan. Salt and pepper again as desired.