Amazing ladies at this spot are serving up some of the best barbacoa tacos in town--fresh,…read moreflavorful, and only $2.99! You can taste the love and tradition in every bite. Whether you're grabbing a quick bite or stocking up for the weekend, their tacos are an absolute steal! Perfect quick bite spot before getting your haircut next door at Rob's. Nice service, great food, and unbeatable prices. This place is always spotless inside, think market, meat counter, and a small restaurant all in one.

I ended up eating here due to a big fat lie told to me by the La Mexicana cashier…read more But my meal turned out to be really good. So, to the cashier, all is forgiven. * * * I was down on Stassney looking for Carnitas Guero, which is hidden in the back of the neighboring gas station/convenience store. The sign for Carnitas Guero is miniscule and is located at knee height. So lost as hell, I stick my nose into La Mexicana. I ask the cashier where Carnitas Guero is. The cashier could have told me the truth and said that Carnitas Guero is next door. Instead, the cashier points to her own taqueria and says that is Carnitas Guero. There is a huge line of people waiting to order at the La Mexicana Taqueia. A place that is good enough to have people lined up to order is probably good enough for Samuel C. So I ordered too. I'm glad I did. The real Carnitas Guero will just have to wait. * * * La Mexicana is kind of a funny place. It is a GAMA store which means Pakistani. And some Pakistanis work there, notably in check cashing. But the cooks and most of the workers there are Mexican/Central American. * * * It is a medium size Mexican grocery. It is kitty corner from Fiesta, the best and largest Mexican grocery in town. That is tough tough tough tough competition. Fiesta will beat them on price, selection and quality on most items hands down. However, tons of people pour into the place. La Mexicana has some advantages Fiesta does not have. One huge stream is to use the check cashing service. Fiesta does not do that. The other stream is to eat at the Taqueria. Fiesta has a taqueria too, but La Mexicana's is much better. La Mexicana's Taqueria is packed with happy customers. There isn't an Anglo in sight. * * * La Mexicana's play is meat. Lots and lots of plain ordinary well cooked meat. They got tripa, lengua, carne asada, pollo, carnitas, bistec, and about six or eight other options. You can get these on a plate or in a taco. The taco servings are huge. They put three tortillas on every taco, so it can hold all the meat they are piling on to your taco. The meat dishes are very simple and very minimalist. But they are good for what they are. They give you onions, cilantro and lime on the side. There is red sauce and green sauce in squeeze bottles on your table. I played around with various combinations of condiments. However, the best choice usually was just the meat straight up with onions to give it kick. I had bistec, tripas and carnitas. All of them were fine - with a special shoutout for the carnitas. And when I was done, I had eaten one whole helluva lot of meat ... And a whole helluva lot of tortilla as well, since each taco had three of them. * * * You may want to take a look at the bakery case for dessert. Frankly, the baked goods at Fiesta are not always wonderful. (The tortillas at Fiesta are never wonderful. Shoppers at La Mexicana were making frequent runs on a thermal chest carrying packages of warm freshly made tortillas. La Mexicana tortillas clearly had the vote of the people.) For dessert, I picked out a small frosting-less cupcake with a variety of sprinkles - in colors never found in nature. Baked goods with colors never found in nature often don't taste so good. This cupcake was magnificent. It was not at all sweet ... and it was flavored with anise. When was the last time you had an anise-flavored cupcake? I thought so. Me neither. It was just small enough to give you a taste of the really good stuff ... but not so big that you felt like you had pigged out. Dessert was at least as interesting as my taco lunch - Where I really DID pig out. * * * So now you know four things. a) Carnitas Guero is NEXT to La Mexicana Market, not in it. b) La Mexicana hires some fine meat cooks and some fine bakers. c) La Mexicana's taco servings are generous - generous with the good stuff. d) If the cashier at La Mexicana ever decides to stop being a cashier, she could have a great great career in politics.

I'm a huge fan of Central Market and this location doesn't disappoint. The finest cheese selection,…read moreorganic fruits & veg, baked goods, pantry staples, and so forth. Friendly service. Clean store. Easy to navigate even when it's busy and filled with shoppers.

I come here primarily for their loose leaf "tea wall" where all the bulk stuff is, and occasionally…read moreto have little lunch dates at their cafe with my husband. As a tea aficionado, where else can you find a wall of affordable loose leaf teas of all differing brands and tastes? I've gotten to try so many different types of tea since discovering this since I can chose the amount I want and don't have to buy a pre-packaged specific amount. I've gotten all kinds such as black, oolong, green, and herbals. Deeeef recommend if you're a tea lover like me. They also have the same kind of thing but for coffee. Their cafe is also pretty decent! Recently came here and got their Mediterranean salad. It includes dolmas, pita, and hummus, as well as the salad. And went and got a side of soup and a roll at their self serve soup area to have alongside it. Everything was very yummy! I do wish they had slightly more plant based/veg options, but they do have a small handful so I don't wanna complain too much. Parking is generally easy and getting out ain't difficult either. All in all, this is my closest location, and I like it a lot!

Marigold is a hidden gem in my opinion, we've ordered Togo and you just can't beat the price and…read morequality of the food. We love their strawberry chicken salad and crispy beef tacos. This time I opted to try the chicken& cheese flautas which we would get again. It's packed with shredded chicken and comes with mild salsas. If getting to go, opt to add the sauces on the side to keep it crispy. Another first try is the Al pastor trio with added side of rice and beans which we might skip next time. The rice and beans are really simple with minimal seasoning. The pro is that the tacos are packed with lots al pastor and some pieces of pineapple. We're excited to keep trying other items on their menu!

I really like this little one-stop shop! Great breakfast tacos, and looking forward to trying some…read morefor lunch as well. I've had the flautas a few times-- they are crispy and just the right amount of heat. Large selection of baked sweets and they have a cool coffee machine where you can add all sorts of flavors to customize your own special drink. Cute seating areas as well as some outdoor spaces as well.

This place is awesome! The attention, service and food is great! The people are so kind. The…read moreenvironment is so peaceful. I recommend for everyone! Very Professional. Every time I go to Austin I wanna get a taco from there. Thanks everyone for your service and excellent tacos and salsa.

I love everything about this place…read more Understand that you can get specific and hard to find drinks in their cold case. They sell single beers. They have a full assortment of tobacco products and rolling papers. What I'm really enamored with here is the hot and ready food.case. Chimichangas, egg rolls, an outrageous assortment of burrito ingredients, fried fish and even gizzards are available hot and fresh and ready to go. My only complaint is the lack of burrito rolling technique. Mine was a bit messy on my last visit, but when you're sprung as hard as I am off of Best Stop, you are willing to make concessions.

Such a cool place!…read more This was my first time going here and I felt like a kid in a candy store! Not only because they literally have every kind of candies and snacks possible but because it's just so cool! From healthy to indulgent, they have it all. We ordered their coffee and their pistachio latte was amazing! Service could've been friendlier. They also have a great selection of pressed juices and they have tacos there which we did not try. Will be back whenever I am back in town!

The place, the myth, the legend! Yelp friends and I started a tour of east austin with an east…read moreaustin resident. Quickie Pickie has a reputation for being a one-stop location. Quickie Pickie blends a convenience store vibe neighborhood charm corner store. It is part convenient store, part café, and part neighborhood hangout. They even have craft beer y'all! It is a threefer - in one location you can grab a meal, a craft beer, and your grocery items. What you say?! It is a neighborhood vibe. You could see a variety of folks - ones coming in to grab essentials, others grabbing a bite to eat, at others chilling while being engrossed conversations. The staff is friendly and extremely efficient completing transactions at breakneck speed. The place appear to be where the staff knows your name and welcomes you upon every visit. They have a surprising large selection of wines. I was not expecting this. You can pick up snacks, drinks, or even local curated goods...not your typical convenience store. Overall, exceeded my expectations...

DO NOT SHOP AT THIS PLACE!!!!! They flat out stole money from me. I periodically come here because…read moreit's close to a lot of jobs we work. No issue. This last time I bought two Escobars (Nicotine Pens / $20 each). Before I left I opened them both up to make sure they worked. Occasionally these will come dead right out of the package but every other place this has happened has exchanged it no issue. This time one worked fine and the other was completely dead. When I asked for another one that worked they refused to exchange it or even give me a refund. They just said sorry that's how we do business here. They could have cared less that they sold me a faulty product.

Decent selection of beer and wine. Also offer ice cream, snacks, coffee and necessities. They…read morealso serve Boar's Head sandwiches

Place closes at 10p, I arrived at 945 and got told by the rude cashier in the front "está cerrado…read moreseñor". No wonder this place has lousy ratings.

One of my favorite lunch spots! The food is tasty and inexpensive. Nothing fancy here just rustic…read moreMexican homecooking-not TexMex. The ladies remind me of my aunts in Mexico. just say "yes" any time they ask you if you want... They will hook you up;) When I come I usually get the chile relleno. I'll post a pic next time I get it. Today I wanted caldo (soup) because it's in the 40s- I needed to warm my bones!

Pay no attention to the sketchy characters hanging around outside yelling at each other. Just walk…read moreon in to this fine convenience store and you'll find a grab and go food heaven. There's all sort of fried stuff, including really good chicken tenders (3 big ones for 3.69) that have just the right amount of breading and seasoning. They seem to only have chicken wings for bone-in, which I find disappointing. The tacos are also good, big, and cheap. It all looks so good I'll be back for further exploration. This place is also a solid convenience store, but the food is what makes it stand out.

THE SHACK has the best best BEST barbacoa tacos. Inside this humble convenience store in a…read moreoft-forgotten corner of East Austin, you'll find the sweetest Hispanic women making some great grab-n-go foods. Walk in, point at the taco filling you want, and bam! Taco time!!!!!! Let me repeat: BARBACOA TACOS. Get the barbacoa tacos. Get some for your whole family. **ALL TACOS INCLUDING BARBACOA ONLY SOLD BEFORE NOON! Go before 12pm if you want tacos!** + Prices are great. Like, old-Austin great. $2 for a breakfast taco. What. + For your fried food cravings, they also have grab-n-go fried chicken tenders, fried okra, potato wedges (!!!), and an array of other fried goodies. + For your intestine cravings, they have a very good menudo on the weekends. Check 'em out if you're on the east side. This is a hole-in-the-wall convenience store that serves its immediate surrounding community. Do not come here looking for any fancy hipster vibes. :-) Get the barbacoa tacos.