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….
As I sit at home on this wonderful Sunday before Labor Day, on one hand, I look back on 2020 – so far, 8 months have been completed, 6 of which have been under the duress of COVID. March and April we were under quarantine, then things slowly started reopening and to this day, we have to wear masks. My favorite sport, college football, is a shadow of its former self – conferences like the Big 10 and Pac-10 have shut down for the season, while others (including my own graduate alma mater’s Big 12) have now postponed games yet another week. My own kids are in virtual classrooms, wondering (as their parents are) whether things will ever go back to normal. Pretty depressing, huh.
Well, yes and no. On one hand, this has truly been a year for the books (and we’re only 2/3rds of the way through!). On the other hand, though, this pandemic has been a blessing in disguise. First off, after a rough 2019 (from a work and health point of view), I got to spend much more time with my family. It was a great way to rediscover and reconnect with them, after a very tangential relationship the year before, due to work-life balance, or near-complete lack thereof. It also allowed me to really think things through – my own life, my career and what I want to do, both in the short and long haul. In fact, I will venture so far to say that were it not for the pandemic and the extra pensive time it gave me, Heataholic may not have been born. And this pandemic has also given me the ability to speak to other companies and I recently accepted an offer with one of them, in what I hope will be a better experience, at least for the near future!
So, in short, while things this year have been, well, …challenging, I have a lot to be thankful for (and still 2-1/2 months to Thanksgiving where it all becomes formalized!) – family, friends, health, finances and so many little things. While I have always known this, Heataholic has really allowed me to parse my memory and what is around me fully to realize just how blessed I am to be surrounded by so many good places to eat and how fortunate I have been to have eaten in so many wonderful places in my lifetime. When there are so many out there less fortunate who often struggle to eat every day, I am thankful that I have the ability to be close to and the means to have so wonderful options for the meals I can consume and then live to tell about them.
And with that, I move to one place I am so grateful for having opened in my neighborhood – Santiago’s Tex-Mex and Cantina. Santiago’s is a newcomer to my neighborhood. It opened up in the summer of 2017 and our family has made great use of it! Due to both its convenience, its freshly made food and for your truly, its ability to provide more than adequate heat, Santiago’s is our go-to place when we need either quick and delicious takeout in response to our weekly schedules of work, kids’ activities and the normal stresses of everyday life or when we simply want a nice family dinner without driving too far and have a craving for some delicious Tex-Mex! The inside is average for a typical Tex-Mex in suburban Austin – TVs galore, nice Southwest decor and a full bar. With COVID, unfortunately, we haven’t had much of a chance to enjoy Santiago’s in person, but still order takeout, usually once a week.
And yes, Santiago’s does serve breakfast tacos, but only on weekends and we’ve never been there during that time, but rest assured, it will happen soon! So in this review, I will review their core Tex-Mex and why I, Heataholic, love it. Simply put, it’s the salsas!
Santiago’s provides 4 different kinds of delectable sauces, and while two of them are not spicy, all four of their flavors are something to rave about! For me, it doesn’t matter what I eat – I just get enough of my favorite sauces! Lots of carnivorous items on the menu at first glance, but they can customize everything. I usually go either for either a Quesadilla with cheese, mushrooms and pico, Cheese Enchiladas but with a substitute sauce (any of the ones I’ll be discussing), Enchiladas Vegetarians, Veggie Nachos or the Veggie Fajitas. And of course, who can forget the endless chips and salsa!
The salsa, my friends, is why I love Santiago’s! Simply put, there are 4 kinds of salsas you can have:
Regular Salsa – comes with every basket of chips
Chipotle (Diablo) Sauce – the spiciest!
Green (Ranchero) Sauce
Creamy Jalapeno Sauce
The regular salsa is what comes with every basket of chips and you can always ask for more. It isn’t obscenely spicy, but does give a good kick, and together with chips, is a great prelude to an even better meal. Freshly made every day, it provides a robust blend of tomatoes, onions and green peppers to enhance your taste buds. And those green peppers are so finely cut – as I’ve stated before on different posts, the greater the surface area of your spicy items, the more intense the spice!
The Chipotle (Diablo) sauce is just as it name says – it is diabolical! Yours Truly can handle it with ease (had to insert that shameless pitch!), but it can pack some heat! Fire-roasted chipotle peppers with a hint of smoke comprise this creamy, reddish-orange sauce. I often get this on the side or as the topper on my cheese enchiladas.
The Green (Ranchero) sauce lets you taste the fresh peppers, onions and vinegar that comprise it. Like the regular salsa, not obscenely spicy, but does have a good kick.
Last, but certainly not least is the Creamy Jalapeno. In Austin, anytime anyone mentions creamy Jalapeno sauce, the first thing that comes to mind is Chuy’s! And yes, Chuy’s is awesome (don’t worry, they’ll get their own post soon enough!). While this does not have the “addictive” and ubiquitously known characteristics of Chuy’s famous sauce, it is its own masterpiece. More creamy than spicy, you can still taste the Jalapeno flavor as it stands out.
Every time I go to Santiago’s, I make sure to get all 4 of these salsas and they never disappoint! It doesn’t matter which entree I go with – these sauces are a great addition.
In due time, I will try their breakfast tacos, but given the quality so far, I know ahead of time it won’t disappoint!
Personal Faves (I will likely be adding breakfast tacos once I try them!):
Cheese Quesadilla with Mushrooms and Pico de Gallo
Vegetarian Fajitas
Cheese Enchiladas
Vegetarian Nachos
Enchiladas Vegetarians
The Regular Salsa – just look at all those fresh peppers, tomatoes and onions (both regular and green)! So thick, so chunky, so spicy, so delicious!The other three salsas – (Top Right) Creamy Jalapeno, (Bottom Left) Ranchero, (Bottom Right) Chipotle Diablo. Also on the upper left is the Pozole sauce (not really a favorite of mine, but wife and kids love it!).
(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!
I did a review of Torchy’s Taco’s a while ago – this was before I started my standard review posts that I have now. I did not even label it as a review, but discussed their fantastic tacos and their homemade, trademarked Diablo sauce – a fitting name – which you can buy in bottles at Torchy’s, and yes, I have consumed an entire one in a single sitting! 🙂
Why I’m revisiting Torchy’s on Heataholic – because from now through the end of August, they are having a special menu for spice connoisseurs like myself and i want to make sure that you, my dear readers, know all about this!
I tried the Daredevil Queso Blanco, except had to order with regular tortilla chips instead of the chili lime salted Chicharrones, as I’m vegetarian. It’s a fiery sensation for your mouth – the extra roasted Jalapenos and Serrano peppers along with the extra Diablo sauce provide for that jolt my tastebuds were desperate for. And it was a great opening act for the main course – the “shrimpless” Bottle Rocket Shrimp Taco.
Hats off to Torchy’s for accommodating my unique request – I had them substitute eggs (though they also gave me the option of beans) in lieu of shrimp, but everything else was still there. Phenomenal heat! My mouth was on fire and the Mexican Coke I drank helped put it out – somewhat. It didn’t help that I put on so much extra Diablo sauce, but I’m used to the Diablo and dumping it on in copious amounts – but not used to this new Bottle Rocket flavor.
Unfortunately, I did not try the Ring of Fire margarita – gave up that bottle 5 years ago and have not looked back. No, I was never an alcoholic, but as I aged, I found I could not handle it anymore like I could when I was much younger. So cannot give you a good review of it, but if it’s anything like the queso and taco, it will give you a burning sensation so intense you will need another “normal” drink just to put it out! 🙂
Bottle Rocket Shrimp Taco (limited time – I had mine without the shrimp)
Diablo Sauce (they’ll give you plenty for free and they sell bottles of it)
Regular Queso (they put Diablo sauce in it, but not as much and no Jalapenos or Serranos like the Daredevil Queso Blanco)
Street Corn (They dust with chili powder and will add as much as you want)
Personal Faves:
Breakfast Tacos (served all day)
Damn Good Tacos (Fried Avocado, Independent, Brushfire – without the chicken but with eggs substituted)
Queso (Daredevil and Regular)
Guacamole (Not spicy, but I love how they load it up with Cotija cheese)
Street Corn
Lil’ Nookies (for all you Sweet-Toothers)
Ask and thou shalt receive – when I ask for “extra” Diablo sauce, they are very generous!You can purchase this Diablo sauce to take home! I love how it’s in a bottle similar to old-school alcoholic flasks – seems like they know people like me have and are always tempted to drink straight out of the bottle! Just try to control yourself (I keep telling myself that)!Delicious Bottle Rocket taco with eggs, in lieu of shrimp. Always love those nice criss-crossed lines of Diablo sauce!
Top: Regular Torchy’s queso. Yellow colored, has Diablo. Bottom: Daredevil Queso Blanco. Notice the whiter color, the extra Diablo and the submerged Jalapeno and Serrano peppers. Spot the difference?
For someone who moved to Austin in 2002 and has seen this city grow by leaps and bounds, I often marvel at just how dramatically things have changed in the Live Music Capital of the World from a generation ago. But the one thing that has not changed is – trying to identify who has the best tacos in Austin?
Asking that question is like asking – Who has the greenest pasture in Ireland? There are just way too many!!!
So sorry, my dear readers, but I won’t be answering that question – not in this post and not in any future ones. Not because I’m trying to be coy, but simply because I can’t answer it – some days I’m in the mood for one place, some days another, and there are so many I simply haven’t tried with one new place after another opening shop.
What I will tell you about today is ONE of my favorite spots in Austin for getting my spicy taco fix – and that would be Taco Deli. Plenty of veggie options and if you get there (usually before 11 AM on weekdays or 3 PM on weekends) early enough, some great breakfast tacos.
But what I crave the most when I go to Taco Deli are their two spicy salsas. There’s the well known one (the Salsa Dona – sorry for leaving out the tilde!) and the lesser-known and even spicier orange habanero (again, no tilde!). The former is a creamy green mixture of jalapenos, garlic and salt that is a tamed level of spice. It is so well-liked that you can buy a package of it at Whole Foods. Unfortunately, as of this post’s publication, I have not been able to find it on Amazon.
The latter is a much more ferocious (and delicious) salsa that will challenge your taste buds. It’s orange with the fiery habaneros that will make you wish you had filled your water up early on! Not as popular as the green stuff to most, but to me, I love ’em both!
Anytime I go to Taco Deli, you’ll always see me as the guy who’s loading up cup after cup after cup of both salsas. One time, in a Seinfeldesque way, someone said to me – “Hey, the farmers called. They’re running out of jalapenos.” (Such nerve of some people! Ha!) My response – “Tell them to grow more!” And to answer your question – Yes, I have done shots (multiple, in fact) of both these salsas and I usually pour both onto my tacos.
So the next time you venture to Taco Deli (as of this publication, there are 10 including the Austin Bergstrom Airport), be bold and try both! Your spicy taste buds will thank you graciously!
Note: The orange salsa is not found at all locations, e.g., AUS Airport.
