The Next Pig Thing: Pork Belly Tacos

So. I’ve been in Austin for just about three months now, and I’m sure y’all are just DYING to ask me this one burning question: Emily, what is the best taco you’ve eaten so far?!

Well, I’ve dutifully done my research. Of course we have the classics: al pastor, barbacoa, chicken tinga. We can’t discount the ATX-ubiquitous breakfast tacos, with their myriad combinations of eggs, beans, cheese, chorizo and potato. Seafood tacos have made an appearance in my meals: grilled fish, spicy scallops, even shrimp katsu. Okay, I’m making myself hungry just by recounting all of these. Let’s cut to the chase. What is THE BEST?!

May I present… the DeliBelly from Tacodeli.

I’m not the only one who carries a torch for these amazingly flavorful pork belly tacos. Yahoo! recently named Tacodeli‘s DeliBelly as one of the ten best tacos in the country. That’s a pretty tall claim in Austin, where a taco stand lurks on every corner, but hey, they were on to something.

The pork belly is sourced from Richardson Farms at a local farmers market. Crisply braised on the outside, it’s not mushy and fatty on the inside, but meaty and toothsome. But it’s not just the pork belly itself that makes these so enticing. It’s the thick slabs of perfectly ripe avocado and the serrano-tomatillo-Goodflow-honey salsa topping. It’s the hot, fresh flour tortilla and the addition of Tacodeli’s cult-followed, pastel green doña sauce. All together, it’s salty, smoky, spicy, creamy, cool, crunchy, rich, savory… how many adjectives can I use here?! It’s basically every delicious flavor and texture you’d want in your mouth, all at once.

The only thing keeping me from eating DeliBelly tacos all the time is the fact that Tacodeli likes to play hard to get. DeliBellies are only available on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Tacodeli closes at 3:00pm every day, meaning you have to purposely seek these porky treasures out. Maybe even leave work early to score one. It’s definitely worth making the time for, and even worth waiting in a pretty long line, though. Promise.