Austin Bites: Eat It Like You Stole it at Zocalo

Bordering on sacrilege, Zocalo's chips and salsa aren't free ("only Chili's does that!" you say? Not true). On the plus side, they make delicious, thick cut chips, and their salsa verde is one of the best in town.

The Guacamole Deconstruido is an appetizer you self-adjust. On the side of the guac is a group of onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and lime (pico de gallo, deconstructed), and you add it as your tastes desire. Fun, but use the onions sparingly—without soaking in pico for a few hours, they carry some bite.

The tacos are a good decision, because they're flexible. We chose the carnitas (pulled pork) on house-made whole wheat with pineapple and salsa verde, and substituted one of the three with chicken. The carnitas, fairly bursting with flavor, won handily and were a nice contrast to the bland pollo. In our opinion, it's wheat, corn, or bust, as the flour tortillas got a little gummy.

We felt a little more adventurous during our second visit, enough so to try the snapper with chipotle slaw and finishing with (satan's) churros. The snapper, covered in cabbage and carrot slaw and sitting on a bed of grilled tomatoes and a thin, crispy tortilla, may be the best entree on the menu. It's a solid dish, with the vinaigrette of the slaw providing a bright flavor that competes with the savory chipotle cream sauce, all of which gets mashed up by the tortilla's crunch.

Luke Quinton

Table service (drink refills, food delivery, table cleaning) is prompt, extremely pleasant, and attitude-free. Much to our surprise, our churros even came out after the meal, which—let's be honest, folks—is more than we can say for plenty of full-service joints.

Our lasting opinion about the Zocalo experience is that while dishes not slathered in grease can occasionally misfire, give the place at least a couple of tries—you'll find something to please your tastes and mood. And, for heaven's sake, run, right now, and eat some churros.