Tex-Mex$north-sideBreakfast and lunch daily
Taqueria Datapoint near the South Texas Medical Center is a breakfast-taco staple for hospital workers, with bacon and chorizo tacos that pull a steady line.
Order: Bacon and chorizo breakfast tacos.
Tip: The medical-center crowd hits it hard at breakfast, so go before 7am or after 9. Bacon and chorizo are the picks.
Tex-Mex$north-sideBreakfast and lunch daily
Tacos n Salsa on Wurzbach Road is a north-side breakfast-taco counter that leans on crispy bacon and a rotating set of fresh salsas, a reliable everyday.
Order: Crispy-bacon breakfast tacos with fresh salsas.
Tip: The salsas are the differentiator; ask which are spiciest. Crispy bacon tacos are the order.
Tex-Mex$south-sideBreakfast and lunch daily
Maria's Cafe on Nogalitos is a South Side institution for breakfast tacos and weekend menudo, a plain room that has fed the neighbourhood for decades.
Order: Breakfast tacos and menudo on weekends.
Tip: Weekend menudo is the local hangover cure. Breakfast tacos all week; cash keeps the line moving.
Cafe and bakery$$pearlDaily 7am-8pm
Bakery Lorraine grew from a Pearl farmers-market stall into a full cafe and patisserie, with macarons, quiche, and croque monsieur from a bright counter.
Order: Macarons, quiche and a croque monsieur.
Tip: The macarons are the calling card, but the savoury quiche and croque make it a proper lunch stop.
Tex-Mex$south-sideBreakfast and lunch daily
Margarita's Tortilla Factory is a South Side Tex-Mex counter whose draw is tortillas pressed and toasted to order; buy a stack to take home with the tacos.
Order: Made-to-order tacos on freshly toasted tortillas.
Tip: The tortillas are made on site and toasted to order, which is the draw. Buy a stack to take home.
Mexican$north-sideBreakfast and lunch daily
Los Tacos Gueros on Huebner Road is a north-side counter for breakfast tacos and tacos de guisado, where the guisados rotate daily away from the tourist core.
Order: Breakfast tacos and tacos de guisado.
Tip: The guisados rotate daily; ask what is on. A handy north-side stop away from the tourist core.