Veracruz All Natural

Welcome to Veracruz All Natural.

After two foiled attempts, my excitement was high for the third try, the sure thing. I was finally going to enjoy what droves of Austinites laud as one of their greatest breakfast taco purveyors, Veracruz All Natural. The original location of the family operation of two trailers and a forthcoming brick-and-mortar sits adjacent to a party store and a barbecue trailer on Cesar Chavez Street, cordoned off by chain-link fencing. Within the confines of the fence, the ground is a mix of broken bottle glass and gravel on which plastic toddler playground equipment, a slide, a picnic table, sat. The rest of the seating was a re-purposed industrial wood spools shaded by straw umbrellas to give the place a coastal feel—the owners are from Veracruz, Mexico—and lawn furniture.

As soon as my large order with tortilla choices up to the cook’s discretion was ready, a friend and I drove five minutes—the maximum tacos will travel without being destroyed—back to his house in East Austin. That’s when the disappointment began.

The ordering line moved quickly.

The flour tortillas, which I was told by the woman who took my order were more akin to northern Mexico’s thin lard-blessed discs, were indeed closer in style to the border style than to the dense, dusty kind so prevalent in Central Texas in that they were only thinner than the latter. They, like the corn, were made in the trailer. Unlike their corn counterparts, though, the flour tortillas peeled as the meal progressed.

A plate of Veracruz All Natural’s tacos.

The saltiness of the migas taco, a conglomeration of scrambled eggs, tomato, fried tortilla squares, cilantro and avocado, startled me. While the eggs in the other tacos were seasoned perfectly—even if they were a bit dry—extra salt added to the migas’ other ingredients sent the nosh over the edge.

The potato and egg taco, with a nice peppery bite, was among the best I’ve ever had, but cheese added to another potato and egg didn’t add much. Nor did the inclusion of cheese benefit the all-too-firm chorizo and egg. But it was fantastic paired with refried beans, creating a comforting classic that is hard to screw up.

The bacon was just shy of crispy enough to not shatter, while the sausage and egg was as forgettable as morning tacos can come.

All in all, the meal left me underwhelmed by its unevenness. The breakfast tacos were more disappointing than usual because of the emphasis placed on the style in Austin. The city has built a temple to the breakfast taco with anointed vendors administering sacred rights to believers. Austin and its people swear everyone deserves to hear the good word, is hungry for it. (Breakfast tacos are revelatory.) Moreover, Austin insists it is the true keeper of the breakfast taco. Consider that two books heralding the awesomeness of the Austin’s breakfast tacos have been written. This cult-like dedication is why I hold Austin’s breakfast tacos to a higher standard. This standard is upheld by Joe’s Bakery, Tacodeli and Tamale House East and the old Tamale House on Airport (RIP) before it. Veracruz All Natural, however, falls short.