SoCo To Go

I always have to temper my reviews by saying that I am a really good at-​home cook and come from a long-​line of excellent home cooks. And that seems to make my tastes more exacting when eating out. I also have to say, one of my specialties is Southern food and can make a chicken fried chicken as good as pretty much any restaurant. Now, that may sound arrogant but if so, you obviously have not been over for dinner at my house.
So when I tried the CFC at SoCo To Go, you can imagine my disappointment /​disgust at discovering the chicken beneath the batter was a definite shade of gray that you do not want to eat. When cooked chicken is gray like it usually means that the meat has gone bad: cooked chicken should have a bright white color, not a gray anemic color. That is probably in The Joy of Cooking or Alton Brown said it.
The garlic mashed potatoes were very gummy. Again, there is a right way and a wrong way to make mashed potatoes. There are few main reasons why mashed potatoes will be gummy which is definitely in TJOC. And the green beans, ehh. I also noticed the gravy had a distinct floury taste to it (again, TJOC or AB can help with that). Overall, I would say SoCo To Go needs To Go back to cooking school.

Their chicken fried steak is A-​MAZING! Went there yesterday & it was on special. I try not to eat comfort food that much these days but every once in awhile I get the craving & now I found the perfect place! Their mashed potatoes & green beans (with bacon!) are also good.
It’s good to know, that in this day& age of the vegan hipster Austinite, it’s nice to know there’s a food trailer that has good ol’ fashioned souther comfort food!

This place is dangerous… to your health. Best southern comfort food prepared by hipsters, hands down. I tried the $ 2 kicked up green beans and they’re awesome. They have bacon– how are they not going to be awesome!!! The chicken fried steak is nice and peppery just like I like it. Let’s just put it this way: we cleaned the plate.

Had stressful workweek and I needed a good Friday afternoon. I was anxious for Little Thai to open and arrived at about 4:30. Damn, the sign had a 5:30 opening time, what to do? I looked across the street and El Mercado was open. I could see the sign $ 1.99 appetizers. We walked up the street to the new pedestrian crosswalk and survived the 1^st street crossing. You know 31 pedestrians have died so far this year in Austin.
The wait staff of El Mercado was ready for us at the door. They said how are you and I replied Peachy, in a upscale manner, and how are you. The waiters said good and I replied «only good», I then proceeded to explain the word «peachy», which they did not understand previously.
Seated on the patio, we ordered a Mexican martini, Margarita, chips/​salsa, and 3 mini tacos. After a refill on that Mexican martini, life was very good. The wait staff was friendly, the drinks were good. the tacos were tasty, and the dog friendly patio was excellent. I got to pet one.
At 5:30 we walked to the crosswalk and back to the Bouldin street trailer park to try the Little Thai Food trailer. I had my mind set on Green Curry Chicken since Monday. I encounter some young ladies in the area and inquired about the food, they said everything was good and I would not be disappointed with the Green Curry Chicken but recommended the Pad Puck. I when ahead and ordered the Green Curry Chicken. The staff brought it out to my picnic table. It was very hot and I waited for it to cool. It was worth the wait, one of the best I have ever eaten. Now I need to go back for the Pad Puck.
My wife went over to the SoCo trailer in the same area, Southern Comfort not South Congress. She had her eye on chicken fried steak with gravy, skillet corn, and hash brown. She let me have a taste of her $ 6 meal, what a bargain. The corn was buttery, the hash browns had a great taste of sour cream and the chicken fried steak was moist inside with a light breaded crust, the cream gravy on the side made it all perfect.
I had a great Friday visiting three restaurants in one early evening. All met my expectations and I will do this again.

Delivery? YES PLEASE!
The chicken strips are terrific when accompanied by the gravy. The Chicken Fried Chicken is always very juicy and tender underneath its fried breading shell. Luckily, when eaten promptly, the juiciness and gravy topping doesn’t make this dinner selection soggy (which is normally the case).
Their ‘Ultimate Tacos’ with Fried Avocado are pretty hard to stray from once you’ve frequented the menu.
The Hash Brown casserole is a MUST-​HAVE. I often get a double order for my sidekicks. The Jalapeño Mac-​N-​Cheese is good but can be hit or miss. If you dine at the trailer, get a garlicky biscuit, but hold off if you opt for delivery as they are just yellow rocks once cold…
The Menu just expanded slightly so I’m pumped to try the new Chicken Fried Steak this evening. The online ordering is easy & convenient but they really need to include a tip option when paying with plastic… I feel lousy giving the delivery guy all my laundry quarters!

I am a fan of anything that allows me to enhance a lazy afternoon at home.
Thank you, SoCo To Go, for entering my life.
I ordered online around 12:15p and requested the 12:30−1p delivery. The driver pulled up at 1p on the dot. Easy and efficient service.
As a vegetarian, I passed on the entrees and stocked up on sides.
I tried the fried pickles, fried okra, side salad with fried avocado, jalapeño mac and cheese, hash brown casserole, garlic cheese biscuit, and chocolate almond toffee cookie.
And not one bad thing in the bunch. I devoured the okra (dusted with sea salt) and the hash brown casserole. More please!
If you live in the area and are to lazy to leave the house for lunch or feel like pre-​ordering for dinner — do it. Yum.

Not much to say about this place…
The food was alright. I tried the fried chicken, mac & cheese, and tilapia & avocado tacos. The chicken was nothing special. The mac & cheese was horrible (dry, cheez it cracker crumbs on top…). The best thing was the tacos. The fish and avocado were fried well with cornmeal and the cilantro ranch sauce was good, but nothing different or special.
Maybe I need to try this place again, but I honestly would not come back for the food. The prices were reasonable, but the food was not spectacular.

I friggin LOVE southern food. Fried food is my weakness. People saying that frying food adds calories but that is obviously a myth.
I’ve tried the chicken strips and the frito pie, and both were very good. The frito pie could’ve used some kick or spices, but both were solid. The sides were also fantastic. Mac n cheese with jalapenos is a great southern twist to something traditional and I think the fried okra was the best I’ve ever had.
The ambiance is good as well, like the lights and picnic tables. During busy hours, the small parking lot fills up fast. In this case you may need to park down the street. I would walk many miles for good southern food.

I was wanting to go to Little Thai Food but since it was closed I decided to try out SoCo To Go since I wasn’t brave enough to try Wasota Africa Cuisine which was also open as well. I got the Fried Chicken Salad and it was delicious! The chicken was cooked to perfection and it was fresh and crispy! The other people dining with me were also equally impressed.
I do have to say that the food took almost 30 minutes to come out and it wasn’t even that busy. I guess I wouldn’t have minded so much if I didn’t have tickets to watch «The Hunger Games» at the Alamo but since I did I was a little annoyed. The table next to me busted out some beer and a bottle of wine and I’ll probably do that next time (and there will be a next time) I go and it will probably make the waiting around more enjoyable.

Loved this fried southern food! Tonight I had the tacos which were on special for $ 5. I had one tilapia and one avocado. Both were fried and delicious. They came with a side of yummy cilantro ranch.
My boyfriend had the chicken tenders and gravy which were tasty and perfectly battered.
We shares the fried okra (favorite of the night), Mac n cheese (yummy with jalepeno!) and green beans (amazingly fresh with bacon!!)
I will definitely come back! The sides were the best!

If you can believe it: BEST MAC AND CHEESE IN AUSTIN. I am actually going to start there because I had such an amazing take on this American classic. The sauce is death-​grippingly creamy. The jalapeño just gives a bite, though I will say that I have YET to have an actual spicy jalapeño mac and cheese! I don’t know what they put in the sauce, but it has a slight off-​pink tint to it. Spices, maybe? The topping was not super crispy, but it was very complex… Cheez-​It topping maybe? People knock Cheez-​Its, but think about how complex the flavor is. Think how much all those chemicals contribute to flavor. Think of how its nuances pair well with a crisp Riesling or deep Cabernet.
OK, I can’t just move on. BEST POTATO CASSEROLE (hash brown casserole) IN AUSTIN. The hash browns are soft, the creamy cheese sauce is mouth-​coating, and the topping actually has almost-​burnt crisp pieces. YES, YES, and YES!
The concept here is different: smaller portions, delivery-​centric, and trailer. None of those jive with the typical trends. In the past, comfort food trailers have cranked out huge portions. Most do not do the delivery thing. And I am so used to eating a big ol’ pint of mac and cheese in a hole in the wall. By defying my SoCo laws, SCTG cranks out phenomenal grub and can even bring it to yo’ do’. Oh, shouldn’t it BELONG on SoCo? Well. I guess if SoCo To Go was on SoCo and meant that SoCo could be to go, then wouldn’t SoCo actually be a conglomerate of «Austin» things to go, rather than food? SoCo is too loosely used.
The fried okra is crispy. The jalapeño cheese biscuit is not very biscuit-​like, but it has the richness of those Brazilian cheese breads. Those of you who know what I’m talking about (i.e. Fogo-​, Rio’s-, and Paulo’s-junkies), come get you some.
The chocolate chunk almond toffee cookie was outstanding.
Lastly, cheap is the grub here. It will stuff you silly, and you will be a better man for it. Come get you some «To Go.» Hehe, clever.

If you’re looking for comfort food… («To Go», or to eat at the trailer) SoCo To Go doesn’t hold out.
SoCo To Go (oddly located on South 1^st?) doesn’t have an extensive menu but they don’t disappoint either.
First time I went I got the chicken strips, shared the jalapeño mac n cheese and got a garlicky cheese biscuit for a quarter more. (Total, ~$ 9). The chicken strips were served hot with your choice of sauce. Being a purist, I opted for cream style gravy. (OOoohhh. CREAM STYLE GRAVY).
The Mac n Cheese was yummy and although shareable, I think you should probably get your own. You could tell it was made from real cheese and there was plenty of «crunchy stuff» on top to merit a thumbs up. Oh. That and LOADS of Jalapeño flavor (but not being stupid hot…)
This last time I got the fish tacos which were refreshing. They’re light and served with a slaw of sorts. The «kicked up green beans» (again, jalapenos) were nice and fresh.
The lady who seems to run things from the kitchen is nice and the food comes out quickly.
What’s really cool is the space where they’re located. There are three trailers and you have your choice of African, Thai food, or the comfort food trailer. There are tables and chairs along a babbling stream. There are no issues with parking … yet! Get there while the gettin’s good!

The have side dishes! And they’re tasty as sh*t. My meal: Mac n Cheese jalapeño and the Fried chicken — very tasty.
If you like southern fare from home, check it out.

The food deserves a solid 4 stars. They have a very limited menu and they only offer items that they’re really good at. The brisket sandwich, fish tacos and jalapeño mac & cheese are amazing comfort food and super cheap for all you get.
However… ordering for delivery has repeatedly been awful for me. Today was my 3^rd lunch order with them and it’s taken over an hour each time. I keep trying because my friends are always amazed at how quickly they get soco to go deliveries (usually in the 20 – 30 minute range). I must just order on the absolute worst days.
For lunch today I was prepared for a longer delivery time since we ordered right after noon on a rainy day, but it ended up being pretty ridiculous. I think the worst part was that they called 45 minutes after I ordered to apologize for the delay and say they’d be here in 20. That would have a very cool thing of them to do, but it wasn’t even remotely true since we still had over an hour to wait until our food arrived. Total delivery time ended up being an hour and 50 minutes. Not cool. A little honesty about when it would arrive could have avoided any ill feelings.
Now that I think about it, i wonder if the food really is that good. Maybe I’m just so hungry by the time it gets here that anything would taste fantastic.
I’m sure I’ll get their food again, but I’ll probably go to the trailer myself. The food is much better than anywhere else that delivers downtown, but after a while I realized that we could have had 15 sandwiches delivered one after the other in the time this lunch took.

I wish I had ordered two sides of fried okra, it was the best! Lightly battered and fried and not overly greasy. They were great either alone or with the yummy spicy cilantro sauce. The pulled pork sammie was good as well. Moderately priced and portioned, but couldn’t hurt being a tad bit larger. (then again maybe that is the fat southerner in me speaking)
The seating area is nice, plenty of seats and shady, away from the street and located behind and in between the trailers. (other trailers in lot include little Thai and an African cuisine place)

SoCo was the first food truck I ever ate at in Austin, and so it will always have a special place in my heart. But, it should have a special place in yours too…
It’s not just a food truck… it’s got horseshoes and beanbags and music so that the «restaurant atmosphere» spills out into the extended lot that the trailer is on. Great food — super filling — go.

I could just say they have fantastic fried pickles, and that would really be enough, but I can’t shut up. The pickles are chips instead of spears, which are rare. They come with either garlic ranch or cilantro ranch. I say go for the garlic ranch because…
If you’re a vegetarian, you’ll also want the fried avocado tacos, and those come with the cilantro ranch.
That way, you get both. Yum!

When it comes to lunch delivery and working downtown, we’ve been burned… and I mean like 3^rd degree bad. So I am always very apprehensive about wasting my money only to be scorched again. When I stumbled across their website I was intrigued… the concept… cool…FREE DOWNTOWN DELIVERY… VERY VERY COOL!
Tried to place the order online, but with multiple forms of a payment it was a major hassle, so I called in. I immediately had my guard up and expected the worse, I was shocked at how amazing Shelly was. She took my order, took my multiple forms of payment and sent my order right out.
The food was right on par, garlicky mashed potatoes, chicken fried chicken… and did I mention FREE DOWNTOWN DELIVERY!
Were hooked!
UPDATE —
After placing another order we got a courtesy call to let us know it was running a little late (and in our eyes, it wasn’t late at all)…WHO DOES that… This is true Southern Hospitality

Let me start off by saying I will be returning to SoCo To Go. The staff is friendly and the delivery service is very convenient if you work Downtown. Plus if you have a «04 card» you get a discount. I usually read all the reviews I can on a new place before I go but since I was running late I just decided to try this place since it was close to work.
OK the good first, the chicken fried chicken was AWESOME! The breading had a lot of flavor and gravy was good also. The hash brown casserole was just what I was expecting a cheesy hashy clump of not good for me goodness. The fried pickles were also pretty good but it could have just been I’m a big fan of that batter they are using. I would deff recommend them to some one else.
The not so good– The Sides! Mac and cheese while OK had no hint of jalapeño. That’s the reason I ordered it, my green beans tasted like they were smothered in garlic and the salad while good and fresh its tiny size left me a little puzzled. The containers were really small and none of them were close to full.
I hope you will not see this as a bad review maybe just suggestions for the place. I will be taking advantage of the delivery service in the future just will know what to order and what not to order.

Southern food to go, cool concept. Chicken fried chicken was solid, green beans were bacony goodness, mashed potatoes were mashed potatoes. The fried pickles were the good kind of fried pickles, sliced, meticulously breaded, and the pickle of choice was more of a clausen pickle rather than cheapo 5 gallon bucket pickles.
The jalapeño mac n cheese i thought was overrated, I didn’t taste as much cheesy goodness I’d expect, slight bits of heat were there if you were lucky to get a dice of jalapeño in your bite.
Overall, I hope they add to their pallet, for example biscuits and gravy/​collard greens/​chicken waffles/​fried chicken/​smoked chicken. This trailor stop made me miss my all time favorite for southern food: Babe’s Chicken in the df-​dub.