El Naranjo

85 Rainey St.
Austin, TX 78701

It's been a long time since I've lived in Austin. While I've been able to get back almost every year, a whirlwind trip doesn't quite hack it in terms of keeping up with all the changes that have happened. One big development is Rainey Street, where a lot of food trucks popped up, and some of the more successful ones opened brick-and-mortar locations in what used to be houses. Since J and his wife were in town and wanted to visit El Naranjo, my mom and I joined them there for lunch. It serves more traditionally Mexican fare (as opposed to Tex-Mex, with its additions of cheese and sour cream to almost every dish). I was blown away by some of the flavors - I had the tacos de pescado - achiote marinated fish, shredded cabbage, salsa mexicana on corn tortillas, but my favorite dish was probably my mom's - the tacos dorados (a mix of chicken and potatoes) served with avocado green salsa, cream and crumbled queso fresco. Not a bum dish in the bunch though - my brother's enmoladas de pollo had a wonderfully deep mole sauce and his wife's pork tacos were fabulous as well. The best part is that we were all completely satisfied but not overly stuffed and weighed down - this is one of the few meals I ate out where I came away feeling moderately healthy afterwards! It will definitely make it onto my rotation of places to visit while I'm visiting home.