We Get Adventurous on the Fayette County Breakfast Taco Trail: Tongue Anyone?

The Record’s Jeff Wick and Andy Behlen continued their jaunt on the Fayette County Taco Trail this week. On Monday, they visited El Buen Sazón in Ellinger.

This comfy taquaria with modern styling inside sits between Hruska’s and Peter’s Barbecue on SH 71 in Ellinger. The menu features standard offerings like barbacoa, pastor, carne guisada and fajita available in various forms: tacos, burritos, gorditas, tortas and quesadillas. They also offer their various meats in mini tacos.

It’s the only place we have visited so far that offers chilaquiles.

We opted for a couple of tacos with some unusual victuals inside (at least unusual for a couple of gringos like us) – lengua and discada, both with cilantro and onions.

To those who didn’t grow up eating beef tongue (‘lengua’ in Spanish), don’t be afraid of this tasty cut of meat. Prepared properly, it tastes like roast beef.

Andy: “This has some good beef flavor. There’s nothing weird about it.”

Jeff: “It has a good consistency, a mild flavor, and it’s tender.”

“Discada” was a mix of various spicy ground meats. The word refers to the traditional method of preparation: stirfried on a plough disc.

Jeff: “There’s definitely some chorizo in here, and probably some ground beef. It has a great level of spice, a nice kick to it.”

Andy: “This is really good. It almost has a barbecue-like flavor.”

El Buen Sazón offers two kinds of hot sauce: spicy and mild. The spicy sauce was bright red with more of a tomato flavor. The mild sauce had a deeper red color with a rich flavor from rehydrated dry chilis. The place also offers a variety of agua frescas. Jeff had the mango and Andy tried the horchata. Both were great.

After we left, an Ellinger local told us the crispy tacos are excellent, with freshly-fried taco shells. We’ll have to try that next time.

Overall Impressions

Jeff: “The portions are a little smaller. But this place has the most interesting selection of beverages. They give you a generous wedge of lime with every taco. This place is a hidden gem, relatively undiscovered.”

Andy: “I can’t wait to come back and try some of the other things on the menu. I’ve been to some taquerias where I’ve been scared to try the more jiggly bits like chicharones or tripas. I don’t feel that way here. The place is clean and it really lives up to their name, “The Good Flavor.”

The cost for two tacos and two 32-oz. agua frescas was about $13.