3.5 out of 5
Address:
2538 Elmont | Large map
Austin, TX 78741
Phone: 512- 740-5580
Hours:
Thursday, 11am-10pm
Friday, 11am-11pm
Saturday, 9am-11pm
Sunday, 9am-9pm
Price range: $8.50 - $12.50
(the fried chicken is the most expensive item on the menu)
Location: Riverside
Type of restaurant: Trailer
Payment accepted: Cash
Good for: Real Central American food, hipsters, late-night bites
Meals served: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
“1000% Honduras” reads the bold, blue text on this little mid-Riverside trailer. Honduras offers a uniquely Central American version of fried chicken: covered in a creamy sauce of mustard, mayonnaise, vinegar and various other condiments, the two-piece chicken dish comes with green bananas and a heaping salad of cilantro, onion and other vibrant vegetables that we had a hard time identifying. After the first bite, our taste buds were jumping with surprise and delight.
The trailer’s parked at Food Stop, a rundown gas station and convenience store. Located at the heart of the (arguably) most Mexican part of Austin, Honduras faces Mexican shopping center El Gran Mercado, a Mexican flea market and student apartments. Honduras offers a fresh break from all of the Mexican food in Austin.
Some tips for maximizing your Honduras visit:
- Everything is cooked to order (nice!) and takes 15-20 minutes (boo). Don’t wait in the heat; go in the evening or at night.
- Actually, call and preorder.
- The creamy sauce gets too rich after the first piece of fried chicken. Ask for sauce on only one piece of chicken.
- Bring cash. The fried chicken is $8.50.
- Unless you already know you love green bananas, don’t order extra. They taste like bitter, unripe bananas.
- Order the Tamarind drink. Honduras extracts the sweet-and-sour pulp from this Mexican seed and turns it into an addictive beverage. At whole foods, this would be 6 bucks. At Honduras, it’s $2.
Co-founded and owned by sisters (and Honduras natives) Jessica and Mimi, this little joint not only serves up authentic Honduras grub, but also boasts stellar customer service. Jessica entertained us the whole time, letting us snack on her bag of Tamarind seeds, showing us how they purplefy the onions (by soaking them in juices from other strong-hued veggies), and talking to us about her 2nd job as a nanny.
Overall, Honduras’ fried chicken is well worth a trip to Riverside. Just don’t go when it’s 105 degrees.
