A La Carrera

So I was on East 6^th for the HOPE Farmers’ Market earlier, and I thought about going to Dario’s down the street for a Tex-​Mex lunch. Then my logical, conservative side said no because I’ve got to look good in a bikini this Saturday. But on my way home I said, «Fuck you, logical conservative self, I’ma get me some Tex-​Mex at A La Carrera!»
Well, I know they were supposed to be open ’til 3pm today (I got there at noon), but something seemed odd when I drove up. I got out of the car, saw the listed hours, and pulled the door handle, which was locked up tight. That’s when I noticed the For Lease sign a ways over. I peered into the [former] restaurant and saw nothing. No chairs, no tables… nothing. A La Carrera is gone, my friends.
So long, convenience. So long, top-​notch Tex-​Mex food. So long, transsexual waiters. I salute you, A La Carrera.
As long as Camino Real doesn’t shut its doors, I will be able to go on.
*sniff*

I am so sad that they closed their doors! We have been eating there for nearly 20 years. They had, without a doubt, the best salsa I have ever had! We have eaten here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and never had a bad experience. I hope they reopen elsewhere if necessary. :-(

Went to eat there today for the first time, and they were closed. Sign on door stated they were closed due to contract issues. Encouraged customers to check facebook for future plans related to possible relocation.

I liked this place for breakfast and use to go here quite often years ago when I lived up north. I happened to be in the area on Friday and decided to stop by for breakfast. I did notice that this place was a lot less busy then it used to be. I was going to give this place four stars because the food was the same good breakfast that I was used to but I read the review from the other person on the same day and realized that I also had poor service. I notched mine up to the fact that it was first thing in the morning but it may have been the overall day or it may be a trend there.
I will say that the breakfast was still great. I’ll try it again to see if it was just a blip. I didn’t experience the he/​she server stuff that other reviewers did. Don’t know what that’s all about or if it even matters. The food is good. If my next visit has better service I’ll update my review and upgrade the rating.

I really enjoy this place! When we moved from S. Austin all the way up North, I was dreading trying to find a close, good, Mexican food establishment that we could call our own. It didn’t take long. As soon as we tried A la Carrera we were hooked! Everything from the chips & salsa, queso and other appetizers to the lunch menu to the brunch items to the main entrees have been superb! We end up there about once a week without fail! Beef fajitas are seasoned perfectly and tender, enchiladas are always tasty, burritos are huge! In the sea of great Mexican food that Austin offers, A la Carrera definitely holds its own!

When in North Austin, A La Carrera has always been my go-​to place for good, strong margaritas at a great price. I don’t normally drink frozen margaritas, but that’s probably partly due to A La Carrera: their frozen is so good you won’t want to bother having one anywhere else. Even at Trudy’s, which probably has the second best frozen margarita, you’ll think to yourself, «Can’t get a frozen margarita here anymore; it isn’t ALC». Not only do they taste great, they’re larger than most, and normally cost just $ 5.25, or even less during Happy Hour and all night Wednesdays.
I’m going to sound fruity for even saying this, but their fruity frozen margaritas are actually quite good. The mango is amazing, and though too sweet to have more than one, the strawberry and raspberry are good too. I’m not sure about all the flavors, but the mango is definitely made with real mangoes (and an ass-​ton of sugar, I’m sure).
The food? Other than the free chips and salsa, which are pretty good, I tend to stick with the drinks. For salsa critics, theirs is medium spicy, big on black pepper taste, and virtually no cilantro (and therefore good for you cilantro haters out there). At HH, they usually have some decent free nachos or cheesy papas fritas out, but the menu is mostly bland, greasy Tex Mex. Not terrible, but not great either, so consider yourself warned.
Note: Catherine T. points out that their cheese enchiladas are good. I’ve mainly been disappointed by their meat dishes, so if you’re hungry, I’d say go veggie and go home happy!
Finally, the service has always been prompt and friendly. The staff thinned out after an INS raid a few years ago, but they’re hard-​working and attentive.

I’ve gone here after work for a few happy hours. The good thing is that they have decent drink prices and free food. The food given away is pretty good.
The waitstaff is a little different. Most seem to be men who are trying to be women. That doesn’t bother me in the least bit so long as my service is good. The location is in a strip mall.
Take open minded friends.

Don’t go here for the décor. Go to A La Carerra because you want giant margaritas, good service, and cheesy tex mex. It’s also spacious and a great place to go if you or your friends are bringing a child (the restaurant is not too crowded or loud). I like this place for lunch and dinner. It’s not Trudy’s/Chuys, but better quality than Arrrrrandas.

It’s a Mexican restaurant in a strip mall. We’ve been going there for more than five years now, off and on.
The food is decent, nothing to write home about. Mainly we come after work for margaritas, which are large and inexpensive. And it’s never crowded, so it’s the perfect place to go do a post work happy hour. A couple people can show up, then others trickle in, you pull over more tables as you need them… Not a Chuy’s-esque frenzy.
Some years/​months they provide free food around happy hour time– sometimes they don’t. Sometimes it’s tasty, sometimes it’s what we refer to as «Mexican goulash» and appears to be bits of whatever was left over. Mmm, bits.
Speaking of bits, apparently they are very transsexual friendly in their hiring practices, which is cool. We never tell new people, and judge them by how many visits it takes them to realize that the gender of the staff is somewhat ambiguous.
Bottom line is it’s a nice little hole in the wall for a low pressure margarita binge.

I hate giving one star reviews. I hate it, but they make me do it. A La Carrera made me do it.
I ordered the regular Migas. Beging a big migas fan, I can testify that migas usually contain egg, crispy tortillas, tomatoes, onions and jalapenos, and is sometimes topped with ranchero sauce.
A La Carreras were made of an overcooked scrambled egg, and not much else. I managed to count 2 pieces of tortilla in it. That’s it, nothing else. I ordered flour tortillas with mine and they brought corn tortilla. If I wasn’t so darn hungry I would have sent it back.
The husband ordered Migas Fajitas. The fajitas tasted like they ran over to Taco Cabana. Bleh. If we wanted gringo food, we would have stopped at Mickey D’s.
I’d say pass on by and don’t bother. $ 20.00 for two of us. We should have gone to El Tapatio and would have spent only $ 10 for 2 meals.

The beef chimichanga I had was tasty, and much unlike anything I’ve had at other Mexican food restaurants (it had rice inside, it did!). The salsa was mild and good for gnawing on large quantities of tortilla chips. And the service was friendly, despite a slight language barrier.
The atmosphere was like any other strip mall Mexican joint, though. One unique aspect of the interior: I was seated underneath a garage door (I suppose that’s for closing off half the restaurant for special events — either that or I was eating in the battle bridge).
Oh, and they’re closed on Sundays. You gotta love that they have their priorities straight — there’s more to life than the pursuit of the almighty dollar, and that makes me feel good about coming here Monday-​Saturday.

I’ve only ever come here for a frozen mango margarita with friends after work. I know nothing about the food, so take my four star review with a grain of salt. Preferably a grain of salt from the rim of your glass of frozen mango margarita.
Nestled in a strip mall, you would never guess that so much goodness in a glass existed. The ambiance of the restaurant is pretty stark, and not very comfortable, but after one sip of sweet, tangy goodness, you won’t care.
The never ending free chips and salsa are pretty good too.

Who would’ve thought that you could get decent Mexican food in a strip mall beside the highway sandwiched between a DVD buyback place and a craft shop.
I always eat there at lunchtime. It’s not too busy, but there’s enough people there to know that the food isn’t bad.
The environment isn’t much: A couple of TVs, Maracas on the wall alongside Tecate beer posters and the service is okay, but not great.
But the food is good, especially the enchiladas. Servings are good, you get your money’s worth. It’s filling, but it doesn’t feel like you just ate an entire cow at one sitting.
Prices are fair. An enchilada plate and drink sets you back 10 bucks, sans tip.
If you find yourself in Northwest Austin at lunchtime, have a hankering for Mexican food, and don’t want to wait 30 minutes for a seat at Chuy’s, A La Carrera is a worthy alternative.

Every once in a while, I let my husband choose where we eat with no argument from me. For some unfathomable reason, he loves this place, and will drag me here, aching to kick and scream. I have never had a good experience here — the chips are average, the salsa is bland and smooth, and my food is always cold. For some reason he thinks I’m overstating my dissatisfaction, so yesterday I laid a slab of ice cold egg on the back of his hand to make my point. We probably won’t be back any time soon.

My co-​workers and I eat lunch here once every few weeks. I’m not really sure why, considering the plethora of other options, but we do. Maybe because it’s never packed, or maybe because we like to have heated discussions over their servers’ true gender:
Is it a she?
No, it’s a he!
What? I’m pretty sure it’s a she.
No, no. She WAS a he, but now, he is a she!
I’m so confused. Where are my tacos?
Their chicken soft tacos are decent. Their chips and salsa are good. And on some days, they make some kick ass Mexican Martinis.
Overall, this is a quick and cheap place to fill up on some decent food, and maybe have some inappropriate, non-​work-​related conversations with your co-​workers.

A restaurant next door to a Dollar Tree isn’t usually the place to find good food… but A La Carrera brakes that mold. When I walked into this place I almost immediately wanted to leave. The décor looked like a day care/​clown hospital. Tile floor, fluorescent lighting, one of those claw arcade games, tacky decorations… yuck. My hunger got the best of me and I decided to sit down.
The service was horrible. There were (I counted) three servers total working that night (it was a Friday) and NO bartenders. The server was quick to greet us, but when we notified him we were not having any alcohol he disappeared. I could see him running around refilling every alcoholic beverage in the restaurant… and completely ignoring us. After the first greet he didn’t come by to take our order for 25 minutes. I was literally 2 minutes away from walking out.
I was pretty pissed at this point… but after the food arrived I forgot why I was so angry. The Cha Cha Burrito was amazing… and my cheese enchilada was just how I like it. This little strip mall restaurant is definitely worth the visit.
I will be visiting again. I just won’t be coming on a busy Friday night.
4 ½ stars for the food. 1 ½ stars for service.

Ok… trust me when I say «we aren’t talkin’ fancy here, people»
A La Carrera (or «Cha cha» as my old National Instruments buddies and I called it) is in a strip mall and is pretty hole-​in-​the-​wall. Generic chairs and tables, bright colors, pinatas (I can’t spell in English… much less Spanish), the works.
However… I admit… I find myself craving the Cha Cha burrito and their very garlicy salsa. And I’m not the only one. So if you happen to be stuck in traffic on 183, pull over, sit a while, cover your burrito in salsa, and enjoy.

Sometimes, strip malls are home to some hidden gems of restaurants. I won’t go so far as to say that rings true here, but it’s not bad. The food’s not all that different from a Baby A’s, for example. Not horrible, not outstanding. The reviewers that said you go because it’s close are right. But, if you ARE close and swing by, you will do yourself a disservice by not trying the raspberry margarita.
A friend took me here once just to taste it. Sure it’s a frozen margarita, but it’s far from standard. First, the glass is as big as my head (always a plus) and it has pieces of real raspberry and a rich raspberry flavor. Not jolly rancher raspberry, real raspberry. It’s good. Really good. AND, by the time your finished with it, your food tastes that much better.

I’ll agree with Rachel on the «no-​frills, no-​wait, no-​fuss» — if only the food were a little better.
Not to say that there aren’t some great things on the menu (such as the queso flameado — get it with onions and mushrooms), but it’s not the kind of fare you go out of your way to get. This is a backup restaurant or a «because it’s close» restaurant, not a «because I crave it» destination.
That said, there are lots of things to recommend it – ample parking (it shares the lot with Petco and other stores), fun décor, prompt service. You could do a LOT worse in the neighborhood.

This no-​frills, no-​wait, no-​fuss Mexican restaurant is the perfect place to stop after a long day at work. You don’t have to dress like you might encounter the paparazzi and you can order the house favorite «Cha Cha Burrito.» Some of my friends order it sans onions. This giant chicken burrito will leave you feeling fat and happy.
Other great aspects include their strict policy regarding diners with children — they have a large sign saying that minors must be supervised by adults and they seat parties with children in one part of the restaurant only. Not that I have a problem with parties with children — but we all know that when you see a kid licking the top of a salt and pepper shaker for thirty minutes while you’re eating, sometimes you kind of wish you were somewhere else. True story. Happened to me once. I won’t mention the name of the restaurant.
At the entry, an added bonus is the «Homies» machine, where for a few quarters you can start your collection of plastic figurines depicting various… well…homies!
Grab some «chicle» on your way out, call it a night and head home to your nearby Balcones residence. Adiós!