Con Todo

The tacos at Con Todo are so punishingly good, they stir your lizard brain. Small but ridiculously delicious, they're all served on corn tortillas that are unforgettable, the kind that will make your hands smell like corn for hours. Food at this North Austin trailer is executed with the same laser focus we imagine Swiss watchmakers dedicate to their craft. Con Todo serves the border food of Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Mexico, a.k.a. “comida frontera.” The cuisine of the Rio Grande Valley generally involves barbacoa, carne asada, alambre, queso flameado, and bistec estilo Matamoros (beef topped with onion, cilantro, and queso fresco).

That’s where Con Todo starts—with a hyper-regional focus that respects tradition and the past—but then the menu expands into new territory, with dishes like a mesquite-grilled cauliflower taco or a chori-papa tostada with crispy griddled cheese that’ll make you reconsider what you eat for breakfast every day. This stuff wouldn't be out of place at some of the more modern Mexican spots in town, including trailers like Paprika or restaurants like Nixta Taqueria or Suerte. 

photo credit: Richard Casteel

You’ll find Con Todo’s trailer parked at Celis Brewery, a revived landmark brewery most well-known for Belgian-style beers, especially the witbier. Celis has a spacious dog- and kid-friendly beer garden, but they tend to over-program a bit, with events like dog costume contests, trivia, chicken sh*t bingo, and live music. Sometimes you just want to eat your tacos in peace, but this is Austin, the live music capital of the world, and inevitably you will sometimes have to yell over a decently competent cover band playing a slightly out of tune rendition of “My Sharona.” 

Blissfully, the menu at Con Todo veers on the smaller side, so if you show up with a couple of friends, you can order the whole menu (and then some). Just make sure to check their Instagram before heading out because the hours can sometimes be a little unpredictable or it’ll be randomly closed for a private event. What is predictable though, is that the tacos here are genre-defining. At times deeply traditional, and at other times wildly inventive. The fact that food this good is coming out of a tiny trailer is another part of what makes Austin, well unmistakably Austin. Con Todo is most likely following a grand Austin tradition of a scrappy business getting its start in a trailer, only to become a bona fide hit, like Barley Swine or Veracruz. It’s only a matter of time before Con Todo also grows up into a real brick-and-mortar restaurant. We’ll be first in line.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Estilo Matamoros Tacos

A classic Rio Grande Valley-style taco, in which beef gets topped with onion, cilantro, and crumbled queso fresco, here it’s served with guacamole (traditionally it’s just a slice of avocado). Just note that these tacos are more subtle in flavor compared to the punchier flavors of the other tacos, so maybe start with these.

Salsas

Con Todo is Spanish for “with everything,” which taco-wise here means fresh cilantro, onions, and salsa are the default. There are two intensely flavorful salsas here: a very spicy orange one, and a creamy green one. The choice is yours, but it’s better to maybe ask for suggestions for which salsa goes best with which taco.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Tacos

The tacos change seasonally at Con Todo, but you can typically expect options like mollejas (grilled sweetbreads), alambre (with beef, bacon, grilled onions, and crispy griddle cheese), and a seasonal mesquite-grilled vegetable taco (variations which have included squash and cauliflower) with a peanut-rich and spicy salsa macha. All on exquisite, tiny housemade nixtamalized corn tortillas.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Chori Papas Tostada

Con Todo’s chori papa tostada—with chorizo and potatoes all held together with griddled cheese, and on top of guacamole—is an easy front runner for the tastiest thing we’ve eaten all year.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Machacado Con Huevo Tostada

This weekend-only dish combines machacado scrambled with local eggs, queso fresco, and guacamole on a homemade tostada. It will be difficult to break it up to share since the tostadas are super crispy, but that means you should probably order one just for yourself.

photo credit: Raphael Brion

Paletas

On a warm summer’s day, there are often few things more refreshing than a paleta, and the ones at Con Todo will do just the trick, including the one made with Mexican vanilla that comes with some salsa macha for an extra spicy kick.