Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Surly Horns

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Featured Replies

I have not lived in Austin since 97 so I never had Torchy's until they opened one near me in SA.  Loved it.  Tortillas were shit, like Taco Bell quality, but the variety of non traditional fillings more than made up for that.  My favorite ever was the Creeper.  Trailer Park Trashy and Ace of Spades after that.  The burrito, as others have pointed out, is also great.  When Covid shut everything down I stopped getting Torchy's because their tacos don't travel for shit.  

We got a Velvet Taco last year in the same area-ish, The Rim.  I think it crushes Torchy's at its own game.  Also they don't recycle their WTF nearly as much as Torchy's does their Taco of the Month.  I went back to Torchy's for the first time in years last Summer or so and they have definitely upped their tortilla game, at least the two locations closest to me, Rim and Stone Oak.  They seemed scratch made vs the Sysco shit they used to use.

  • Replies 519
  • Views 59.1k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Most Popular Posts

  • UTPhil2006
    UTPhil2006

    Only in Louisiana..  I kindly let them know we would destroy this taco in Texas too..This exclusive, Cajun-inspired taco is *ONLY* available at Louisiana locations and features fried crawfish, andouil

  • Brisketexan
    Brisketexan

    I hate Torchys. That taco probably sucks. But…I do miss the tortilla fried catfish con queso at Shady Grove. It shouldn’t have worked, yet it was fantastic.

  • Only reason I go to Torchys is when I'm craving a missionary style green chile pork with extra pickled onions. Comes with both a flour and a fried corn tortilla.

Posted Images

I started eating Torchys when it was a food truck outside of little Woodrow’s on west 6th. I knew a couple of the owners and many of the original staff from my time waiting tables at Hul Hut; really good people who knew wtf they were doing and worked incredibly hard and cared deeply about their product.  For the next decade, a Mr Pink on corn and a half queso with a Maine Root Cola soda was a staple of my diet.  For most of that time, the total for that order was $10.  
 

Like most things it touches, private equity fucking killed Torchy’s.  Within a year of that $400M injection, literally zero of the things on my recurring order were still on the menu; the Mr Pink kept shrinking until it disappeared entirely.  The half queso, which was basically just a half priced full queso because it was served in the same sized bowl, got downsized and upcharged.  Coke replaced Maine Root.  My go-to order went from a $10 dream to a $20 bag of trash.

I haven’t eaten at Torchys in years.  Fuck private equity.

I'm sitting in the Denver Airport and someone just walked by wearing a Buc-ee's hoodie and now I want a brisket taco from there. 

  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/12/2020 at 12:36 PM, UTPhil2006 said:

Feb TOTM - Scallywag

spacer.png

Feb TOTM ‘23 Scallywag 

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
March TOTM - Sanchez (I think its new)
EDB2717C-AF76-46A5-B10C-CF64C835FBD7.thumb.png.b47a56fd04c59c96422dd164def8a8da.png

Fuck that. March should always be the Roscoe.
On 3/3/2023 at 5:33 PM, Hermanator said:

Ha, that drink of the month is a fancy name for a lime margarita 

now tell us how a lime margarita is different than a margarita

Had Torchys on Saturday. One taco, one chips and queso and it was $17.  I can't be doing that.   I'm outpriced.  The meat on my taco was small.  Gonna be a while before I venture back in. 

Had Torchys on Saturday. One taco, one chips and queso and it was $17.  I can't be doing that.   I'm outpriced.  The meat on my taco was small.  Gonna be a while before I venture back in. 

I haven’t eaten torchys since they overhauled and totally fucked up their online ordering.

Jalapeños do not appear as an available addition? Fuck. That.
On 1/15/2023 at 9:57 PM, Snake Diggity said:

I started eating Torchys when it was a food truck outside of little Woodrow’s on west 6th. I knew a couple of the owners and many of the original staff from my time waiting tables at Hul Hut; really good people who knew wtf they were doing and worked incredibly hard and cared deeply about their product.  For the next decade, a Mr Pink on corn and a half queso with a Maine Root Cola soda was a staple of my diet.  For most of that time, the total for that order was $10.  
 

Like most things it touches, private equity fucking killed Torchy’s.  Within a year of that $400M injection, literally zero of the things on my recurring order were still on the menu; the Mr Pink kept shrinking until it disappeared entirely.  The half queso, which was basically just a half priced full queso because it was served in the same sized bowl, got downsized and upcharged.  Coke replaced Maine Root.  My go-to order went from a $10 dream to a $20 bag of trash.

I haven’t eaten at Torchys in years.  Fuck private equity.

I think you may have solved a mystery for me. I had moved out of Austin and had people tell me they loved Torchy’s. Then they expanded. Finally a few years ago tried it. Sucked. Tried it again. Sucked. Then a third time. Sucked worse. Gave up. 

I could never understand how Austinites thought Torchys was good. Maybe they fell in love with what it used to be. 
 

And as someone posted earlier, the tortillas are bad. And rule number one of a good taco is that you can’t have shitty tortillas.

Torchy’s is the most embarrassing example of the new Austin. Torchy’s is the new Jan Brady from Brady Bunch.
 image.jpeg.28b1ecd327a4a07cf4e0983768295d58.jpeg

The matador is good. The green chile chips and queso is good. That's about it. 

13 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

I think you may have solved a mystery for me. I had moved out of Austin and had people tell me they loved Torchy’s. Then they expanded. Finally a few years ago tried it. Sucked. Tried it again. Sucked. Then a third time. Sucked worse. Gave up. 

I could never understand how Austinites thought Torchys was good. Maybe they fell in love with what it used to be. 
 

And as someone posted earlier, the tortillas are bad. And rule number one of a good taco is that you can’t have shitty tortillas.

Torchy’s is the most embarrassing example of the new Austin. Torchy’s is the new Jan Brady from Brady Bunch.
 image.jpeg.28b1ecd327a4a07cf4e0983768295d58.jpeg

Not the new Jan from the Brady Bunch Variety Hour?

 

TSDBRBU_EC024w.jpg

13 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

Torchy’s is the most embarrassing example of the new Austin.

I'm not defending Torchy's but the food in Austin has improved over the years. There's always been institutions with shitty food and even shittier service. 

  • 3 months later...
On 1/15/2023 at 5:01 PM, Hozz said:

We got a Velvet Taco last year in the same area-ish, The Rim.  I think it crushes Torchy's at its own game.  

I’ve never had a velvet taco, but Hobby airport is getting one soon and I’m pretty hopeful that it’ll be better than average airport food. 

Velvet Taco at the original in Ft Worth is better than Torchys and doesn’t have the attitude; its roots are from late night after drinking meals. Hope it’s expansion hasn’t fucked it up, a near impossibility.

On the other hand, hope you’ve enjoyed the real Velvet Taco in your life.

Well not in the middle of a crowded airport terminal. 

Can't speak for Fort Worth location but the Velvet Taco I tried in Austin is definitely not as good as Torchy's.  If Torchy's can be accused of sometimes trying too hard, then Velvet Taco is the try-hardiest joint around.

 

 

Tried Velvet Taco about 10 years ago in Dallas. It sucked. Haven't gone back since. 

The tots are Velvet Taco are worth the trip on their own.

The thing Velvet Taco and Torchy's have in common is their side dish is better than all their tacos. Give me Velvet Taco's tots and Torchy's queso and I'll be happy even if the tacos are worse than some indeterminate past.

Velvet taco is fucking garbage and they are all over Houston now. Torchy’s also generally sucks but I have a soft spot for a trashy trailer park. 

  • 4 weeks later...

Isn't the Scally Wag the usual August one?  Or is it the "hot gauntlet"?  Maybe they figure it's too god damn hot for that.

21 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Isn't the Scally Wag the usual August one?  Or is it the "hot gauntlet"?  Maybe they figure it's too god damn hot for that.

Yeah they used to release several, with increasing levels of heat throughout the month.  Scallywag, Brushfire Shrimp, and the Barn Burner.  I always enjoyed that progression.

But you're likely right that they decided it's just too damn hot for all that.

 

 

One thing Torchys has going for it.  They open before 11 and serve booze. 

That can be hard to find.

  • 5 weeks later...
1 hour ago, UTPhil2006 said:

September TOTM - Hogfather. I think it’s new 

image.png.bafff6d8878f16781f6ff94c8c3df96d.png

I'll give that a whirl

The "Naughty Santa" off the secret menu.

Grilled shrimp, Chorizo, Pickled onions, jack cheese, Avocado, Cilantro & Poblano sauce.

It is tasty.

  • 1 month later...

on a pathetic excuse for a tortilla 

On 8/1/2023 at 9:57 AM, UTPhil2006 said:

New TOTM August - Baja Fish

image.thumb.png.369e2ed06c3f054a0a37d07b73d63f97.png
 

Why the fuck is the Baja Fish Taco ad covered in Polynesian font/totems?

October TOTM (new?) - Raj
image.thumb.png.4a5b6c75d325dcd381d2b6110baa0d0c.png
 
image.thumb.png.671366a988bcd86e82877aa040991178.png
I've had this before, it's exceptional.
October TOTM - New - The Raj
TheRaj_Launch_02.jpg
TheRaj_Launch_03.jpg
TheRaj_Launch_04.jpg
And no, not new :)
  • 2 weeks later...

Let's be fair, Torchy's makes tacos for white people, and they seemed pretty white 

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

January TOTM - Chile Wagon

New Mexico red chile stewed chicken, fried poblano, diced onions, avocado sauce, cilantro, lime wedge, on a corn tortilla.

image.thumb.png.6621e4e473400221baf20ede9ff4f066.png

  • 5 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.