Okay, I'll admit it: BaylorFans is my guilty pleasure. Yes, I'm that ninjacoco. If you got the pig* reference, well...I can't help you. We do have a thing for the fabulous javelina on those boards, and the one thing I have in common with the beloved pig* is that we both love to eat cacti. Taqueria Arandas, of course, has nopales. You can order a taco full of delicious, crisp nopales. I think they're sauteed or something (don't ask me--I can't cook), but they're fabulous. There are a ton of taquerias in Waco, and many of them do tacos better than Arandas, but this is the one place I've found that has nopales.
Sometimes I've noticed that Arandas runs out of certain meats or switches up the choices on the menu. The last time I was there, I was disappointed to see that birria was no longer available. Maybe it's back now. Maybe it's not. It's a SURPRISE.
There's no question that Taqueria Arandas is one of the nicer taquerias in Waco, though. There's a drive-thru. They take debit and credit cards. And if you'd like a nice, sit-down meal, you can sit inside and enjoy chips and salsa while you wait on your food. It's a great place to enjoy taco stand food in the comfort of the great indoors.
They have more than just tacos and tortas, too, and it's all delightfully inexpensive. There's breakfast, seafood, fajitas, enchiladas and most importantly, the "El Super California Burrito." Well, I don't know if I got the order of the words right, and there may be some other descriptors like "Gigante" or "Original," but it's the big burrito that makes Chipotle completely irrelevant. More flavor. Less salty. Unless you really like to see diligent worker bees assemble your giant tortilla full of food in front of you, go here instead. The California burrito is massive.
I think they use Taqueria Arandas as a bus stop, so don't be surprised if there are people with luggage waiting for their ride. The whole restaurant reminds me of a Mexican Dairy Queen, complete with tile floors, similar booths and a playground outside. In other words, it's nothing spectacular.
