Torchy's Tacos with Jon Gabrus (LIVE in Austin)

"Torchy's Tacos with Jon Gabrus (LIVE in Austin)" is Episode 133 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Torchy's Tacos with Jon Gabrus (LIVE in Austin)" was released on December 14, 2017.

## Synopsis

Comedian, actor, and writer Jon Gabrus (*Real Housewives of Las Vegas*, *Guy Code*, Upright Citizen's Brigade) joins the 'boys to review Torchy's Tacos, an Austin institution serving up creative twists on 'damn good' tacos.

Recorded live in Austin, TX.

## Nick's intro

March, 1875: the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad Company is chartered and begins construction of a 52-mile line connecting San Diego, Texas to Corpus Christi.

In 1881, the Company changed ownership and is rechartered as the Texas Mexican Railway. The new owners extended the line to Laredo, a border town that would become the primary port of entry for rail commerce into the U.S. from Mexico. This physical connection between two of North America's largest economies would morph into a civilizational connection, reflected in the Texas Mexican Railway's commonly used shortened name, the Tex-Mex.

"Tex-Mex" became slang for the cultural merging of these two independent states, most enduringly, for food. In San Antonio in the late 19th century, Hispanic women known as 'Chili Queens' gave birth to Tex-Mex cuisine by selling chili con carne, tamales, and enchiladas at outdoor stands to local workers. The distinctively flavored offerings of these pioneering vendors soon migrated across the Lone Star State and would become as much a part of Texas food culture as chicken-fried steak and pecan pie.

In 2006, Michael Rypka, who'd started out as a fry cook at Popeye's, then rose in the restaurant industry ranks to eventually be an executive chef at the World Bank, left the world of fine dining cuisine for finance tycoons to serve down-home Tex-Mex to Austinites, mortgaging his house to open a taqueria that operated out of a trailer.

The shop struggled at first, so Rypka engaged in guerilla marketing, by riding around in his Vespa, handing out free chips and salsa to tempt locals over to his makeshift storefront. Once they tasted the food, including the restaurant's queso and green-chile pork, locals couldn't stay away and one customer is said to have proclaimed, "*Damn! These tacos are good!*" - "Damn Good" thus becoming a key element in their branding.

The trailer expanded into storefronts throughout the city and today, just a scant eleven years after its founding, and over a century since the Chili Queens and the Narrow Gauge Railroad brought this food scene into existence, there are locations across the state and even in Oklahoma and Colorado, meaning these Tex-Mex eateries cover more geographic ground then the old Tex-Mex Railway herself.

This week on *Doughboys*: Torchy's Tacos.

## Fork rating

* Green Chile Pork
* Republican
* Airstream Salad
* Refried Black Beans
 Mike Mitchell
* Trailer Park (Trashy style)
* Brushfire
* Democrat
* Crossroads
 Jon Gabrus
* Dirty Sanchez
* Crossroads
 shared
* Fried Avocado
* Tipsy Chick
* Lil' Nookies

With these scores, Torchy's Tacos makes the Golden Plate Club!

## Drank or Stank

In Drank or Stank, The Doughboys have a drink and rate it either 'Drank' or 'Stank.'

For this episode, they, and an audience member, taste some local beers from Austin Beerworks.

 Mike Goldi-Mitchell
 Jon Gabrus
 Maeve

## The Feedbag

I was an early adopter of Mitch.pizza. You've answered a few of my questions. You're always talking about never having anyone to date, but every time you have Nicole Byer on the show, I thought you've had really great chemistry. Why don't you go on a date with Nicole Byer?

## Related Episodes

* 86. Taco Bell 2
* 100. Nugget Power Hour
* 133. **Torchy's Tacos**
* 136. Shipley Do-Nuts
* 138. Whataburger
* 150. The Dopeboys 4/20 Smoketacular
* 163. Mel's Drive-In
* DD. Live from Outside Lands
* DD. Wiger Alone
* 188. Cheba Hut
* 198. Portillo's
* 199. Lou Malnati's
* DD. It's A Wigerful Life
* 241. Mac Attack: Round of 64
* DD. Wige Hard
* DD. The Doughpranos
* 290. Pie Noon: Round 1, Part 1
* 302. Taco Bell 5
* 324. Nathan's Famous
* DD. The Mitchy Clause
* 333. Thighstop
* 348. Cornish Pasty
* 350. D'Angelo
* 351. Kelly's Roast Beef
* 352. Bertucci's
* 358. Burger King 6
* SP3. Ding Dongs or Twinkies?
* DD. Gorko's Planet Clergmas Spectacular
* DD. Energy Drinks
* DD. Rudolph's Roadside

## Photos (via @doughboyspod)

Green Chile Queso & ChipsTacosTacosTacosTacosRefried Black BeansAirstream SaladLil' Nookies