first look
Austin City Taco Co. Where
517 University Dr, 817-945-1234
Don’t-Miss Dishes
Cheat Day! Queso, eastside brisket, gulf coast shrimp, and chorizo & egg
Vibe
Bright, funky, warm, fast-paced
Taco Prices $3-$5
When
7am-10pm Mon-Wed, 7am-11pm Fri-Sat Rodriguez: “It’s an inviting, welcoming environment.”
Austin City Taco Co. Fort Worth’s newest restaurant concept transports diners south on I-35. BY ERIC GRIFFEY PHOTOS BY CRYSTAL WISE
This partnership was sealed, fittingly, over dinner. Chef Juan
Rodriguez –– a Reata alumnus who owns and operates the outstanding Magdalana’s Catering, Events, & Weddings –– said Cam Powell hired Magdalana’s to cater an event and Powell approached him about collaborating on the idea that would become Austin City Taco Co. Powell invited the chef to his home for dinner and wine. As the two families shared a meal together, Rodriguez said he felt “a good vibe” from Powell. Powell, Rodriguez said, “already
had the names of the tacos, which we’ve changed quite a bit. I took that and threw him ideas and recipes. We changed 80 percent of it since we first started.” Powell wanted to recreate the atmosphere and flavors of the nationally lauded Austin taco scene, which combines two beloved styles of cuisine that are hardwired into the DNA of every Texan: Mexican food and Central Texas-style barbecue. “If you want to classify it, I guess I’d call it gourmet tacos,” Rodriguez said. “We’re somewhere in between
8 ZEST EIGHT ONE SEVEN zest817.com
Velvet Taco and Torchy’s, but we’re doing most everything in-house. We’re smoking our own brisket.” That all-important brisket, he added, is made using upper twothirds choice certified Angus beef, smoked for 12 hours. As you enter the funky, attractive storefront of Austin City Taco’s University Drive stand-alone building (in the lot that formerly housed The Grotto), you’re greeted by vibrant splashes of yellow and sea-foam blue and a green Aztec mural painted on a brick wall. Floor-to-ceiling windows
May 2019
