Coming from San Antonio, there are few things I remember that were unique to the Alamo city. One such delicacy is the puffy taco, served at a restaurant called Teka Molino, but was also available at many other restaurants in town.
With a puffy taco, a corn tortilla is lightly deep fried to a point where air pockets or bubbles develop while the tortilla is still soft – keeping the oil from getting too hot is the secret to achieving this. You then fold it in the conventional ‘taco’ manner and stuff it with beef or chicken and the usual trimmings.
Eating a puffy taco can be a bit challenging in that they are a bit flakey and delicate and can fall apart easily – a bit like a crispy taco except this is somehow 
worth the effort. Gosh, they are very hard to describe, so you just need to try one and experience it for yourself.
I discovered that Vivo, a Mexican restaurant at 2015 Manor Road, serves puffy tacos, so my wife and I decided to check it out. We invited our friend David along, since he too was raised in San Antonio and is also something of a Tex-Mex expert in his own rite. As we parked, we noticed several other Mexican eateries nearby, so I’ll need to further investigate this area east of I-35 in the future.
Vivo offers seating inside or out and since it was just a bit warm, we opted for the comfort of air conditioning. The interior is really interesting. The lighting is low, making the décor just a little dark. Once our eyes adjusted, we could focus on the variety of eclectic art all around the room. The dominate theme is somewhat erotic, with large bold nudes and paintings of women in various poses and portraiture – all with a ‘come hither’ kind of look.
If this seems odd, all you have to do is look at the top of their menu where it states: “Better than Sex…Tex-Mex!”
As you scan around the room taking this all in, you’ll come to a wall with a very large painting of a longhorn steer – a very good portrait of one – with actual
Bevo at VIVO!
horns extending out beyond its large ornate frame. My guess would be that the owners might be UT alums – ‘ya think?
As we were seated, we each ordered margaritas as well as guacamole and a cup of queso. We munched on chips and salsa as we took in the décor. The chips were quite good but the salsa was a bit too salty for Dave and BJ. With a nice spicy kick, it didn’t keep me from eating it. I’d heard that the drinks were good here and confirmed that upon their arrival. They serve over 50 different tequilas and have a variety of exotic variations of mixed concoctions.
The guacamole arrived on a bed of shredded lettuce with chunky pico de gallo sprinkled on top. It was good and tasted fresh with a fairly balanced flavor. The queso was VERY good – a little bit of spiciness mixed with a very nice cheesy flavor. It was a bit thin and runny which had us all jockeying for the ‘skin’ when it would develop. When the skin develops on top of queso, it’s much easier to get more of the cheese on a chip without it dripping across the table…but I digress.
Knowing what I came for, I really didn’t need a menu but wanted to scan it anyway. It touts Vivos’ specialties as: Puffy Tacos, Chalupas and Enchiladas – three of my favorites. David wanted to try a variety of things and chose a platter called Emma’s Choice which is a combination of a puffy taco and an enchilada – two of the three house specialties. BJ chose the mini taco special which included two carnitas, one shredded chicken and one pastor taco. It goes without saying; I had to have the puffy taco platter.
Mini Taco Special
All of our entrees arrived looking delicious. The Mini Taco Special looked the most modern as it came on a square plate with a cup of salsa in the middle with the four soft, corn tortilla tacos laid out in the four corners. All of them included chopped cilantro and a slice of avocado. The pastor meat (pork) was a redish orange color and was adorned with an orchid – probably edible but I think BJ left it on her plate.
The carnitas tacos (also pork) appeared to have a red pepper mixed but it’s hard to tell. This being a ‘special’, these tacos are not described on the menu. BJ said all the tacos were good, but she like the carnitas the best. Sadly, this is one of those meals BJ could finish so I can’t confirm her recommendation.
A Puffy Taco & Enchilada - Emma's Choice
The Emma’s Choice combination platter looked more like a conventional Mexican entrée with one puffy taco and a beef enchilada smothered in a dark redish brown ranchero sauce. David gave thumbs-up on the enchiladas – his mouth was full at the time – and he’s rather picky, so they must be good. Next time, I might have to try the enchilada, perhaps the Cameron’s Favorite, which combines the enchilada with a chalupa compeusta.
Excellent Puffy Tacos!
The puffy tacos were absolutely wonderful and stirred up memories of Tex-Mex pig-outs long past. The ground beef was well seasoned and the taco ‘shell’ was soft and flaky – almost chewy. Sliced jalapeno and onion were great additions to the lettuce, tomato and cheese. Like crispy tacos, I tend to finish each once I’ve started because setting it down and picking it up again is risky – it may not hold together. Again, indulging in puffy tacos is well worth this minor inconvenience.
This meal was awesome and each of us was very satisfied. Vivo is perhaps a little upscale and might be considered a bit pricey by some, but it is a truly enjoyable dining experience. Oh, and one more thing – all ladies receive a long stemmed rose at the end of their meal. How’s that for classy?
Do yourself a favor and check out Vivo on a night when you want to treat your lady to something just a little more special. Who knows, you could get lucky.
Having grown up near San Antonio, I’m a puffy taco lover too….these look great, my mouth is watering
I’ve heard that there are other Austin restaurants that offer puffy tacos – I’ll have to seek them out.
These were very good.
I’ve never had a puffy taco but would be willing to try it, especially if it comes with an orchid!
The orchids came with BJ’s ‘Mini Taco Special.’ A couple of the margaritas come with orchids as well.