REVIEW: Christan's Tacos #3

The idea for this blog all started a few months ago when we saw an article from the SA Current about five excellent Westside breakfast establishments. The challenge - to see if these critics knew what they were talking about - was accepted.

So we (Julián joined us too, but he really had no choice) finally went to a restaurant on the list, Cristan's #3, on W. Hildebrand. Here is our first in-depth analysis:

Ambience - Puro Westside. The building is pink on the outside and most of the parking lot is caliche. Inside, we found some requisite Spurs paraphernalia (none of it very new), old wood tables, and seating for about two average-size Mexican families (with the abuelitos, tíos, and cousins). There is even a tribute to la Virgen de Guadalupe by the checkout table. 5 Tortillas.

Service - it takes a village to serve patrons. Our order was taken by one lady and was served by another. When we needed more, there was no need to find "our" waitress, just make eye-contact with someone. And finally, as is needed by every proper Westside establishment, a cashier. There is a division of labor on the Westside; the waitress CANNOT be your cashier. However, I was not asked for a tortilla preference and had to ask for an extra. 4 Tortillas

Menu options - Excellent. Every permutation of breakfast taco is available. No need to order off the menu, because it's there. There was also an exhaustive list of huevos rancheros options - just huevos, with papas, with chicharron, with beans, with bacon, etc. There were 15+ options here. Also, there were plenty of other breakfast choices. 5 Tortillas

Food - Teno ordered a plethora of tacos. (One was bean and egg and the eggs were on top of the beans, a point of contention for us Valley boys, as we've mentioned before - see our post from 5/12) He was satisfied, but disliked the thinness of the tortilla  (it broke apart before the taco was fully consumed). Julián ordered a bean and cheese taco. (”There are over forty different tacos here and you're ordering bean and cheese?" Then he ordered a pancake, too. Further SMH.) I gave up tacos for lent (yes, they are a problem for me) so I opted for huevos rancheros with chicharrones and beans. The chicharrones were saucy and squishy - in other words, perfect. The salsa on the huevos was good, but the beans were runny, as if they were blended rather than mashed. Julián made the initial observation as most of his taco had fallen on his plate. Having asked for my eggs sunny-side up (rookie mistake on my part - should've gone over medium), plus the salsa and beans meant I had a soupy mess on my plate. No problem, because a good tortilla can clean that up. (See above) The corn tortilla was quite good, though it seemed I had to make a special request. 3 Tortillas.

 

Overall Taconacity - Food is everything and perfection is elusive.  The ambiance, service and menu options helped make up for the tortilla quality.  3.5 Tortillas. Definitely recommended, but only to those that can handle caliche parking lots and runny beans.

Christan's Tacos #3

1401 W. Hildebrand Ave.

San Antonio, TX 78201

WE TACO BOUT IT SCORE: 3.5 Tortillas