A blog for anyone who loves spicy food – we discuss sauces, restaurants, world travel, recipes and basically anything else involving the pursuit of spicy food. So whether you're like me who's a "heataholic" and dumps an entire bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce on his pizza or just want a sample, this site is for you!
Today is somewhat of a short post. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not a knock on the restaurant in question – Duck Donuts. On the contrary, I love Duck Donuts and would go back in a heartbeat, but 1) it’s just been a LOOOONNNNGGGGG work day and it’s only Monday with 4 more days to go and 2) not a whole lot in the spice arena, but one I do want to make mention, as it was a good experience!
As I’ve written before in my mother of all pro-tips and since alluded to several times in other posts, spicy food offerings can be found in the most unusual of places – TO THOSE SEEKING THEM OUT! In other words, you have to be proactive and look and not just expect that things will just fall in your lap. However, on occasion, things will fall in your lap when you least expect them. And this is what happened with Duck Donuts.
For a sweet tooth (such as me, to an extent, but my first love is always the spice!), Duck Donuts can be a Seventh Heaven. With its decadent offerings and the ability to customize and make your own donuts (just like pizza), anyone with even the slightest inclination for sweetness will go GAGA – and I am no exception. I loaded up on their Salted Caramel, Cookies & Cream, and plain Glazed. But wait- there’s more! I also ordered an egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches with hot sauce! Being vegetarian, I had them make it for me without sausage or bacon.
Was it one of the best spicy sandwiches I’ve ever had in my life? No, of course not, and I was never expecting it to be – with a name like “Duck Donuts”, I knew going in that hot and spicy dishes were not their specialty. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised. Having well done eggs and a slice of cheese in between a sliced glazed donut, all with a side of dipping hot sauce (resembling either Frank’s or Texas Pete) was a unique, but well-done combination. Provided me with the best of both worlds – sweet and spicy!
And while, Duck Donuts will still be my go-to place to satisfy my sweet tooth for a weekend morning fix, I know I can still grab something to fulfill my first love!
Oh how I love food trucks! My very first review was on Cedar Pork – a lovely BBQ joint for carnivores that served up this heat-seeking vegetarian with some deliciously spicy breakfast tacos. I discovered a new one this morning – this one comes onsite Thursday – Sunday during breakfast and lunch hours at Cedar Park’s Red Horn Coffee and Brewing and yes, it does serve great breakfast tacos! (Doh! Another breakfast taco review!).
Breakfast tacos are a favorite of mine (well, duh!), but they are not a commodity by any means. Each place cooks and serves them differently. There is so much variety, it is impossible to make blanket statements. And while there may be a wrong way to cook them, there is no right way in how a breakfast taco comes out.
It’s all about:
How the eggs are cooked (if there are any)
How the beans are cooked (if there are any)
How the potatoes are cooked (if there are any)
How the tortillas are heated
What kind of tortillas are used – flour, corn, wheat or some fusion
What other ingredients are added (onions – grilled or plain, tortilla strips – grilled or plain, Jalapeno peppers, type of cheese, etc.)
And last, but certainly not least, the spicy salsas and sauces that come with it!
So that said, a breakfast taco is like a snowflake in that no two are ever alike. And with me, Heataholic, I just cannot get enough breakfast tacos – no matter how great the ones I am fortunate enough to try, I just like to keep trying more of them!
Onto TacoNMaye...Literally translated, it means “delightful or badass tacos.” TacoNMaye is a Mexican food truck, started in 2016 by a chef Carlos from Coahuila, Mexico. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it (is it “Taco-N-May”, “ta-CON-may” or something completely different) – 18 years and counting in the wonderful state of Texas, yet sadly, the only Spanish words I can muster are “Hola”, “Gracias”, “Por Favor” and numbers from 1 to 10! Slacker, I am, but I am so grateful to my Spanish-speaking friends for providing me the backup, so it’s one less thing on my plate! TacoNMaye is based in neighboring suburb, Georgetown, TX, but their truck comes to the Red Horn Coffee and Brewing Company in Cedar Park, TX.
Note: Red Horn is an alcohol-serving bar (what other kinds are there?), and as of the date of this post, bars in Texas are still officially closed due to COVID-19, but there are loopholes by which many can operate, such as if a food establishment is right by it, i.e., a food truck. Don’t ask me all the rules and regulations – I’m not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, and half the time, even I can’t decipher what the rules are – I just play it safe! Net-net: The TacoNMaye food truck comes Thursdays to Sundays typically during 8-2 PM, with more limited hours on the weekend, but double check the hours with Red Horn as these can vary and change, and once the restrictions are lifted, it may not come there, but you can always go Georgetown to enjoy.
TacoNMaye’s logo is that of a very happy man in a sombrero jumping with joy! One taste and it is easy to see why! For a vegetarian spice addict like me, TacoNMaye offers Potato, Egg and Cheese breakfast tacos which are so overflowing that the tortillas can barely contain them! So many of the core three ingredients, but let’s not forget those highly delectable grilled onions and tortilla strips. But relax, lunch-lovers! They also offer (for vegetarians) grilled veggie tacos, chips and salsa, and chips and queso blanco.
And now…the SPICE! There are four kinds of salsa they have. Two are average in heat capacity, while the other two are an adventure for your mouth! All four are made in-house, so you know they are fresh. The regular (red) and verde (green) salsas both have good flavor, but the other two are the true treasures (alliteration!) for heat-seekers far and wide.
First, the orange sauce – given its bright orange color, one can only assume this has a strong Habanero base. A quick sample taste and this is confirmed. There is likely some sea salt, vinegar and garlic mixed in, among other things. Then, there is the cream, almost-beige-colored sauce. It, too, has a Habanero taste and kick, so given this taste and the color, my gut feel is that it is the other bright orange sauce, with possibly sour cream or mayonnaise mixed in (it has a creamy texture too). I just need to verify if I’m right on this.
Both these salsas go great and provide a spicy kick with their Potato, Egg and Cheese tacos and illustrate again why some of the best food can be found in small, unheard-of places, like food trucks!
Other: This food truck comes to Red Horn Coffee and Brewing, but possibly a seasonal or temporary schedule in light of COVID-19 and bars being shut down in Texas. Contact either them or Red Horn to determine actual times. If you cannot go to Red Horn when they are there, I highly recommend going to their Georgetown location – you will neither regret the drive, nor leave hungry!
Spicy Flavors:
Orange Habanero Sauce
Light orange, creamy Habanero Sauce
Personal Faves ((since this was my first time, I will likely add to these after repeat trips):
Potato, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Taco
Potato, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Tacos – so much overflowing goodness. I love those grilled onions!Just looking at this (especially in mid-September) makes me think about football! Like an offensive line, going Left-to-Right, you’ve got the Orange Habanero sauce as your Left Tackle, the two Verde Salsas as your Offensive Guards, the regular red salsa as your Center and your creamy Habanero sauce as your Right Tackle. The only question remains is – Where’s the Tight End? Hmm….
(Dislaimer: The menu can vary somewhat by location, so before heading to one closest to you, verify availability.)
(Sorry, but starting off with some gratuitous bragging here) One of the things I take great pride in as Heataholic is my ability to not only search for, but find treasure in the most unexpected of places (and then tell you, my dear readers, all about it!). Of course, in this context, “treasure” refers to high quality, heat-laden food. And as I’d mentioned in one of my long posts, you can find great treasure if you look and do your homework, take nothing at face value and go with an open mind no matter where you are or what type of cuisine you’re trying. For me, a spice-loving (no wait, spice-ADDICTED vegetarian) to be able to go into one of the South’s premiere BBQ chains (yes, I love chains, mom-and-pops and everything in between as long as the food is good) and find an addictively heat-laden sauce can speak volumes. OK, enough of the self-aggrandizing!
Enter Rudy’s. Rudy’s is known far and wide as being the “worst BBQ in Texas.” That’s been their signature line since as long as I’ve been in Texas (since 2002). Being a veggie, I can’t really speak to their BBQ, but given how popular and ubiquitous they are and how they’ve grown from a small Texas establishment to a multi-state empire, all I have to say is “if this is what being the worst is, imagine what being the bestor betteris! And a unique thing about Rudy’s is that while they have several standalone locations, 1) they have many locations as extensions of gas stations and 2) all their locations (including standalone) are spacious on the inside, but the decor is simple. Simple, yet unbelievably satisfying!
So what is it about Rudy’s that makes me, a spice-addicted vegetarian, go ga-ga – simply put, their potato and egg breakfast tacos! I know my last few reviews have been on breakfast tacos, so I’m sure many of you are probably sick of hearing about these, and rest assured, I will try my best to refrain from doing at least my next few on these, but as long as there’s great Tex-Mex, there will be great breakfast tacos, and I will keep eating and writing about them!
The tacos are made first thing in the morning – dozens and dozens of them, hot, fresh, wrapped and ready to be scarfed down once you’ve paid. Once they’re out of tacos, they’re out for the day and you have to wait till the next day to get any (Early to bed, early to rise!). For me, the only tacos I can consume are the potato and egg ones, but I can never tire of these. Roasted potatoes and eggs cooked to perfection, all on a warm flour tortilla. But la pièce de résistance for my taste buds is not the tacos themselves (as heavily delectable as they are) – rather, it is…wait for it…the awesomely spicy Verde (green) sauce/salsa!!!!
This is a spicy green sauce with Jalapeno peppers, vinegar and just the right pinch of garlic and salt (me thinks sea salt, but can’t be too sure). These remind me a lot of the Taco DeliSalsa Dona hot sauce I’d written about early on, but this is actually unique to Rudy’s. It is homemade. And they are very generous in giving these out to anyone who asks. Combine verde salsa with potato and egg tacos and you’ve got a match made in Heaven. And for those of you with sweet tooths out there, grab yourself some dee-licious banana pudding (with Va-Nilla wafers)!
(Left) That addictively spicy green verde sauce. (Right) The (non-leaning, straight up) tower of green verde sauce juxtaposed with a delicious potato and egg breakfast taco. Rudy’s gave me 6 after I had politely asked. And I only had two tacos and no salsa left over – you do the math!
“Recuerdos” – That is the Spanish word for memories. At least according to Google Translate! And for me, this was memorable. Of course, with memories, as we all know, there are varying degrees of memories. There are small memories like trying to remember where you misplaced the remote control. Then there are those huge milestone memories in your life – getting married, graduating college, the birth of each of your children, etc. No offense to the folks at Recuerdos, but this won’t rank up there with those latter memories. But, nonetheless, it was an experience worthy enough to warrant a review in Heataholic – after all, if I don’t have a good memory from eating your food, it was likely not worth remembering and not mentioning in this blog!
A typical morning (at least in the COVID era) – wake up, take the dog for a quick walk, get the kids ready to start (virtual) school after giving them breakfast, make coffee and then once the kids are squared away, realize – I’m hungry! And not just hungry for anything, but got a craving for breakfast tacos! But where? Lots of great Tex-Mex, including breakfast tacos in the Austin area, but I just didn’t feel in the mood to drive much – had a busy work day ahead and wanted something fresh and satisfying, yet fast and convenient. And despite the time crunch, I wanted to try something new – a place I could review for Heataholic. Again the million dollar question – WHERE?
Utilizing today’s high tech (back in my day – ha ha, the standard way to date myself – we’d have to use Yellow Pages), I simply entered “breakfast tacos” into my phone and voila! Recuerdos popped up. I’d never heard of this place in all my years living in the Round Rock (suburban North Austin) area. Popping it into Google Maps, I drove out there – only took a whopping 8 minutes to get there and turns out it is a small hole-in-the-wall establishment (and looks like it took the place of a restaurant called “Recession Cafe” my wife and I ate at nearly a decade before).
Hole-in-the-wall establishments are often hidden treasures just like I’d discussed previously about food trucks. They’re often small, thinly-staffed and the insides are typically plain with minimal seating. Home improvement/renovation is often needed both inside and out, the decor is not fancy by any means and the technology is not really “modern” by today’s standards (limited to no website, credit card machines that involve swiping as opposed to chips, etc.) but what these establishments lack in style and technology, they often make up for in food taste and quality – at least the good ones! And like food trucks, the low overhead in the restaurant, itself, can be tied to lower prices and sometimes, smaller menus. But, as with so many things in life, it’s not the quantity that matters, it’s the quality – I’d rather a restaurant (or other food establishment) with only 5 items, all of which are great, versus one with 50, with none. Usually, most places fall somewhere in between, but I’ve had my share of establishments that had nothing good.
While their menu is heavily meat-based, Recuerdos offered the one thing I went there for – breakfast tacos! Two, specifically, caught my eye. The first is their Miga taco with thinly sliced Serrano peppers and sweeter red peppers, giving Heataholic his much-needed desired morning spice. The second is the generic breakfast taco with eggs and the choice of potatoes, beans or cheese. I chose both potatoes and cheese, paying a little extra for the additional topping. And asked for their spiciest salsa – they don’t have different ones, but do have one salsa they make freshly in-house.
(As a point of reference, their beans do have a pork base, so if you are vegetarian (like me) or vegan, be sure to avoid them.)
The result – FANTASTIC! The Miga was the favorite of mine between the two, but it was a photo finish! Those Serrano peppers, as expected (as opposed to the sweeter, red ones), gave the Miga taco a YUUUGGEEE kick! But outside the spice, the eggs were cooked to perfection and the tortilla strips were crispy and had the adequate amount of oil and were blended in consistently with the eggs. The extra salsa, while it wasn’t spicy, was fresh and flavorful.
The egg, potato and cheese, was similarly hot off the grill and since it did not have the pre-built Serranos and red peppers, I added much more of the homemade salsa before gobbling it. Again, freshness dominates.
I washed everything down with a cup of home-brewed iced black coffee and voila – I was now ready to start my day and knock it out of the park! Recuerdos gave my taste buds some great memories!
Personal Faves ((since this was my first time, I will likely add to these after repeat trips):
Miga taco
Egg, Potato and Cheese taco
(Left to Right) Miga taco (with those wonderfully spicy, thin-sliced Serranos), Egg & Potato & Cheese taco and Recuerdos’ homemade salsa (Not spicy in and of itself, but goes well with everything).
