Review: Migas from Taco Palenque
Bottom Line: Taco Palenque is serving up some first-rate Migas, and the roasted peppers from the salsa bar kick it up nicely.
I’ve written before on this site that for breakfast I’m not necessarily looking for a meal that brings too much heat because spicy does not go too well with my morning coffee (and I will be drinking my morning coffee). And the fact is, the restaurant industry doesn’t put out too many spicy offerings on the morning menu. Yes, McDonald’s did the Spicy Egg McMuffin (you can read about that one here) and Chick-fil-A has the Spicy Chicken Biscuit (you can read about that one here), but there’s not too much fire included in most breakfast lineups.
I recently stopped at Taco Palenque in the morning (my new favorite Mexican fast-food place in town) and was debating what to get, leaning toward the scrambled eggs with chorizo plate. But I knew that they also had Migas—which wasn’t on the menu displayed up front for some reason—and I’m a big fan of that dish, so I ordered that.
Their Migas include corn tortillas that are cut up and cooked on the grill, then mixed with a generous portion of scrambled eggs. The plate comes with refried beans, potatoes mixed with chorizo, and three flour tortillas. So this is quite a big meal to start the day!
The tortillas in the Migas have a nice chew, and the eggs are light and fluffy and cooked well. This dish isn’t at all spicy by itself, but it’s crying out for some garnish to kick it up, which Taco Palenque’s well-stocked salsa bar handles quite well. I grabbed one of the roasted peppers along with some onion, cut that up, and added it to the dish. That brought in a nice roasted pepper flavor along with some sweetness from the onions, blending perfectly with the Migas. And while it amped things up a little hotter than I prefer for breakfast—going above Medium on my scale—it was so good that I endured. I also added some pico de gallo, which did not deliver much heat, but brought a nice freshness to the dish.
Also bringing some burn are those potatoes. The chorizo is savory and rich with maybe a touch of smoke, and it definitely brings a kick. I would put those above Mild on my scale, but not quite getting to Medium. The beans are obviously cooked with bacon, and their mildness acts as a nice counter to the heat from the other items. The flour tortillas are thin with a bit of chew, and they’re great for scooping up the beans, which I did between bites of the spicier selections on the plate. That turned out to be one heck of a satisfying breakfast, even if it did exceed my usual morning heat tolerance.
The Migas plate clocks in at 1,040 calories (!), and that doesn’t include the three flour tortillas, which add 130 cals each. Fortunately, the jalapeño and pico de gallo don’t add much in the way of calories, but this was still one hefty meal. I should have split it into two portions, eating half the Migas and potatoes along with all the beans and one tortilla for the first meal, then saving the rest for breakfast tacos the next day (seems like I’m putting way too much thought into this!). But I was hungry that morning and finished the whole thing, which carried me until almost dinnertime (and yes, I did some penance on the treadmill).
Taco Palenque has several other breakfast plates on my list to try, including Chilaquiles, Eggs Rancheros, and Chorizo & Egg, all under ten bucks a plate (though if you get the Chilaquiles with fried eggs, they tack on a three-dollar surcharge). They also have a nice selection of breakfast tacos if the plate is too much food. And be sure to stop by the salsa bar to find the right topping to kick up your breakfast a bit. Taco Palenque has locations across San Antonio and in Austin, and they continue to expand. You can check for a location near you at their website.
Nutrition Info:
Migas Plate
Serving Size: One Plate
Calories: 1040
Fat: 66g (16g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 35g
Carbs: 67g
Sodium: 1200mg
Flour Tortillas
Serving Size: One Tortilla
Calories: 130
Fat: 5g (1.5g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 3g
Carbs: 18g
Sodium: 190mg
