Snowy-Southern Saturday

This snow the past weekend could not have come at a more perfect time. After a whirl wind 5 day New York tip followed by a weekend of 65 + degree temperatures in Denver (Read: getting day drunk and eating  4 dinners) and an insanely busy work week I was a zombie. The snowy weather helped facilitate my hibernation and I couldnt have been happier. I woke up feeling awesome and well rested on Saturday morning which allowed me to start the day off with what could possible be the best thing on Earth: BREAKFAST TACOS

Now for those of you who grew up in the land of dunkin donuts and egg mcmuffins here is a little break down: The term "breakfast tacos" is really more of a blanket term. Upon hearing it you would simply think tacos with egg and bacon that are eaten sometime before noon. This is soooo not the case. Some of my favorite "breakfast tacos" have made of brisket and fried avocado and have been eaten at 1:30 pm on the way back from ranch parties where I slept for approximatly 30 mins on a random surface before high tailing it back to San Antonio. Breakfast tacos arent so much a food as they are an insitutionI dont expect most people to understand this. It is a concept that is quintessentially Texan. Texans dont brunch. They taco. Everyone has their "special place" which they will swear has the BEST TACOS EVER. This is not a love to be messed with.  I have gotten into legit, full on fights with people about which San Antonio establishment has the best bean and cheese (Taco Taco vs. Cristans...as if its even a question).  

When my girlfriends and I are home for the holidays we dont even text each with our arrival plans. We just text each other "tacos" .  You know how in "Eat, Pray, Love" Liz Gilbert struggles with what her "word" is? Well, this Liz knows her word. And it's tacos.

While Denver has an amazing brunch scene its no surprise that it has a serious lacking of breakfast tacos. So imagine my delight and surprise when my friend Emily alerted me to the fact that two CU graduates from Austin, Texas had just opened a taco place a mere 5 blocks from my house. CU?? AUSTIN?? TACOS?? like I could stay away.

This said taco establishment is called Moontower Tacos .While taco joints in San Antonio tend to be more traditional, Austin is known for their unique, fun, and delicious spins on Tex Mex and this influence can be seen all through out the menu. It took us a bit of time to narrow down exactly what we wanted but eventually we decided to split the queso and each get two tacos. Belen, being a vegetarian  decided to build her own breakfast tacos, while I opted for the Jimbob and the dogfather (pictured above).

All I have to say is....HOLY AMAZE BALLS. The queso was delicious, creamy (gross word, sorry), and with a kick of spice from the crunchy green peppers mixed in. The queso normally comes with guacamole and pico de gaio but since Belen hates avocado and I hate cilantro we skipped this part. It was still delicious and a far departure from the bowl of melted cheddar that most Denver establishments give you when you order queso. As good as the queso was, the tacos were definitely the star of the meal. I started with the Jimbob which is a magic concoction of brisket, egg, smashed potatoes,cheese and house-made BBQ sauce. I was a little apprehensive about ordering this because I am a huge brisket snob. I've had way too many experiences ordering "brisket" only to get a pile of chewy, over sauced, tasteless meat. Not so was the case here. The brisket was true Texas style: lean, smokey, and cut to just the right amount of thickness. I chose to get the BBQ sauce on the side because as delicious as it is its not usually my condiment of choice unless I'm at a true smoke house. I tasted the BBQ sauce and it was pretty good (very sweet) but I was more intrigued by Moontowers other sauces. I decided to top the Jimbob with a little bit of jalapeno ranch which sounds weird but proved to be really tasty. 

After the Jimbob it was time to tackle the Dogfather. The Dogfather isnt really something I would typically order. I tend to prefer beef to chicken and I'm not a huge fan of "sweet" breakfast options like french toast and waffles. Since "chicken and waffles" are currently experiencing their 15 minutes of fame (see here for proof) I decided to be trendy and give it a go.When I ordered it I assumed it would just be chicken tenders wrapped in a small ego waffle. Not.the.case. As you can tell from the picture above, the Dogfather isn't really a taco. It's a full on plate of chicken and waffles. I was presented with a waffle the width of a small dinner plate that had the thickness of two iphones stacked on top of one another (yes, I measured) that was then topped with three breaded chicken tenders, three slices of bacon, and sides of franks hot sauce, apple butter, maple syrup, and candied jalepenos for toppings. So large was this plate that when it was served to me they automatically brought me a to go box, which was a good thing since I was not even able to take one bite after eating the Jimbob and the queso. So I packed this baby up and ate it a couple of hours later. The verdict? Deep fried paradise. I'll admit it wasn't the easiest thing to eat. Right off the bat I ditched half of the waffle. It was good but just too much for me. It was hard for me to decide what toppings to use and what combinations to make (a bite with apple butter, chicken, and jalapeno? or with waffle, bacon, and syrup?) but every different component was delicious.  The chicken was crispy but not over fried. The bacon was honestly cooked to such perfection that I don't think I'll ever be able to go back there without just ordering a side of it. The candied jalapenos and apple butter were so delicious that I actually wound up saving some and using it on a biscuit I made for breakfast the following day. One of the best things about this "taco" was the price: $3.25. Amazing.