An al Pastor (left) and a Barbacoa taco from the winning taqueria, La Playa #2.

I live in Austin. Most of the internet's perception of Austin food is driven by this music festival or something that we have every spring, which seems to spur every single food blog into having this little internet party beforehand, in which they put together a list of recommended places to eat at SXSW based on nothing more than some soggy old memories of one college road trip to Austin, or, um, just pulling shit off Flickr without ever even visiting.

The thing is, the best music showcases in Austin in March are cheap and nowhere near the maddening, drunken crowds around 6th Street. The same goes for the food, and, if we're going to be honest, the good stuff pretty much falls into one of two categories: barbecue and tacos.

Barbecue is a venerable Texas tradition, yet it is one that already has its many acolytes and fanboys. There is advice aplenty on where you should go to get your brisket on. But the Austin taco scene is woefully underacknowledged, and I'd like to focus on it. By "focus" I mean "host a blind taco tasting with quasi-fascist rules judged by my drunkard friends and questionable statistical analysis." Whatever, it's for your benefit.

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