#21 - VALENTINA'S TEX-MEX BBQ, A Tale of Two Trailers, Pt 2

After completing my meal at Micklethwait, I caught an Uber to 11500 Manchaca Road, the home of Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ.  I needed the 1/2 hour drive to settle my stomach before tucking into what was next.

On the way, I slipped into a daydream (aka meat coma), thinking about my first encounter with Valentina's at Smoked Dallas in 2017.  It hadn't occurred to me that a BBQ joint would combine Tex-Mex and barbecue. Years of dry brisket swimming in sweet, syrupy sauce had clearly clouded my head about what barbecue could be. At Smoked, Valentina's served up sliced brisket samples with a dab of homemade salsa on a tortilla chip.  It was fantastic. I was hooked.

Valentina's is in an area I would call Way Far South Austin. Real Austinites live here, not hipsters driving up the price of Topo Chico. Valentina's is located on a 4-lane highway and their "neighbors" are a gas station, a rental company, and a little combo strip mall where you can buy insurance while you get a tattoo and a haircut. They class up the neighborhood just by being there.


If Micklethwait's design is Instagram, Valentina's is MySpace at its peak...functional, but not much to look at.  At the heart of Valentina's is a large, gravel parking lot surrounded by tarp-covered picnic tables and a box-shaped trailer.  In fact, Valentina's trailer looks like it's ready to leave for a BBQ competition at the drop of a hat, not pose for pictures. Valentina's also has a large, partially open dining room, which has an authentic Mexican feel. It features picnic tables, natural light, wood paneling, sheets over doors and open windows.

While standing in line with the locals, the wind kicked up some dust devils. It didn't matter.  You don't go to Valentina's to be blown away by the decor or the white tablecloth service.  You go for the food.


I'm usually a brisket and sausage guy, but this time I broke the rules and switched up my order.  I had to follow where the menu took me, so I ordered two tacos -- one smoked brisket, one smoked carnitas -- and a side of chips and guacamole.

Carrying my meaty buffet, I headed to a table in the back room and studied the fare.


After dining at Micklethwait, was I having second thoughts about a second meal?  Aw hell no! Valentina's was too good to pass up.  Sure I've had brisket tacos before, any good Texan has.
Valentina's is changing the game.  The brisket and carnitas were fantastic, but the homemade tortillas took them to another level. The fresh guacamole, served with lime(!), was on the same plane.

Let me put it to you another way.  If Valentina's served their food in feed bags, you would never see me. It would be permanently attached to my face, a heavenly sack full of brisket, carnitas, guacamole, tortillas and tortillas chips.

The guacamole is so good I would eat it off the hood of a car, even if it was parked near a tree swarming with grackles.  It's worth the risk.

After a plate of brisket, sausage and sides at Micklethwait, and two tacos and guacamole at Valentina's, my Tale of Two Trailers was done. And so was I.

My only regret is that, by the time I had finished both meals, I needed alternative transportation to get me back to Dallas...ideally, a flat surface with a bed. It's a challenge folding a beef belly, but I managed the task and finally made it home to see another day.