What's a "puffy taco?" (Dallas, San Antonio: restaurants, shop, to eat)

[AlamoCpl]

And is it worth going out of the way to try one?

If so, who makes the best puffy tacos in San Antonio?

[SnappyBob]

What's a Puffy Taco !!!???!!! Where you from NEEEW YOORRK City???

That's a hard one to answer. It's kind of like a taco made with a corn tortilla and the tortilla has been inflated with air and then fried. If made right they are very tasty. If made wrong they fall apart in your hand and are hard to eat. I have seen puffy tacos where they are just made with real thick corn tortillas.

I'm really an enchilada guy so I don't order puffys to much. Henry's Puffy Tacos has made a career out of it so he must be doing something right. El Tipicos has some good ones IMO. I'm sure some of the purveyers of things puffy will be along with some good puffy taco venues. I'll be watching this one. I love them when they're good but I hate to get a plate of bad ones.

[bigthirsty]

Originally Posted by AlamoCpl

And is it worth going out of the way to try one?

If so, who makes the best puffy tacos in San Antonio?

Welcome to La Hacienda de Los Barrios - tex mex, tex-mex, tex mex cuisine, tex mex food, mexican food, san antonio mexican food, san antonio tex mex food, texas, texas cuisine, southwest cuisine, tacos, fajitas, margaritas, mariachis, enchiladas, gua

Puffy tacos are a San Antonio specialty, tacos that fluff up. A puffy taco is even the mascot of a San Antonio minor league baseball team. It’s said that the “puffy taco” was int=vented at Henry’s Puffy Tacos in San Antonio in 1978, but author Robb Walsh claims that they were called “crispy tacos” and served in Austin in the 1950s.

Jaime can’t pinpoint the origin of the family’s secret recipe. “My uncles made them at their restaurants in California and my grandmother made them too. I can’t really say who started it, but it’s been in the family for generations.” While Henry’s filling is standard taco fare, the dough used to make the shell puffs up when cooked giving the dish a cloud-like appearance, making it look more like pastry than an entree.

The Big Apple: Puffy Tacos

[SnappyBob]

I could swear that I have been eating mexican plates with puffy tacos on them since I was a young child eating at El Ranchos with my parents. That was back in the 50's. My memory could be playing tricks on me though. 1978 just seems wrong to me.

[TXtrkgrl]

If you find a good one, YES they are definitely worth going out of your way for, IMHO.
I like the ones from a little place at Medina Lake called La Cabana.

[wCat]

I've seen variations of a "puffy"......but, yes, instead of a flat hard corn tortilla folded in half, the taco is fried so it puffs up like a pastry. Some restaruants still fold them in half and serve them like a regular taco....and others sort of poke a hole in the top and fill it with all the taco ingredients.

The folded puffies can get soft in the bended part, and fall apart. Slide it on top of a soft corn tortilla and wrap it to hold it together and you won't have everything fall out on your plate! Yummy!

[wCat]

Originally Posted by SnappyBob

I could swear that I have been eating mexican plates with puffy tacos on them since I was a young child eating at El Ranchos with my parents. That was back in the 50's. My memory could be playing tricks on me though. 1978 just seems wrong to me.

I have to agree! I remember puffy tacos in the 60's as they were my favorite first Tex-mex when I was little.

[jimbobvandy]

Alamo Cafe put them on their menu a few years back and I think they suffice. I was in Dallas a few years ago and saw puffy tacos on the menu and thought, "Hey, great just like being back home" Wrong. They were cripsy tostada chips that had a big bubble in them and then stuffed. Aweful.

[Nostalgic]

Originally Posted by SnappyBob

I could swear that I have been eating mexican plates with puffy tacos on them since I was a young child eating at El Ranchos with my parents. That was back in the 50's. My memory could be playing tricks on me though. 1978 just seems wrong to me.

I remember eating puffy tacos at the Taco Hut in the late '50's, early '60's. They had the best I have ever tasted. I wish I knew how to make them - seems like you have to have a certain kind of masa.

[SnappyBob]

Me too! Puffy tacos and quacamole cups. Too bad Albertsons destroyed them. Did you used to eat at the El Rancho when it was in the strip center near the intersection of Goliad, Fair and Gevers? On one side was some bar (name?), and the other side was Coronet Cleaners. Also in that same strip center was a Barber Shop where I got my first hair cut. Sorry didn't mean to get off the subject.