Restaurant Review: JewBoy Cantina
Mo Pittle makes more Tex-Mex mischief with his campus-area spot
Reviewed by Melanie Haupt, Fri., Aug. 30, 2024
Back in the Pleistocene, when I was an undergrad at UT-Austin, I subsisted on $0.59 bean and cheese burritos from Taco Bell (who else remembers the “59-79-99” jingle?), and any other cheap-ass food I could get my hands on to fuel my mediocre academic performance and Pulitzer-worthy slacking off. Those were also the days of Mad Dog & Beans, Les Amis, the Saigon Eggroll carts, and Captain Quackenbush’s, where hungry students could get an extremely cheap meal with a side of vibes between classes and late into the evening.
Those days, and those restaurants, are long gone, their storefronts razed and replaced with condos and Starbuckses and fast-food franchises selling cookie-cutter sandwiches and smoothies and lattes. I’m not one to moan that “Austin was better back in the Nineties” (it was), but I will say that today’s undergraduates don’t have it nearly as good as us old Gen X farts in terms of cheap, local eats a stone’s throw from their biology lecture.
But JewBoy Cantina, the fourth concept in Mo Pittle’s JewBoy empire, changes that narrative. It brings a uniquely Austin concept to an iconic Austin location – the beloved Hole in the Wall – at a price point that’s accessible to students.
Like its siblings, JewBoy Cantina is counter service, with a smallish menu that privileges burritos and snacky foods. The queso and guacamole are solid starters, the latter a little thicker than your standard dip, so eat it before it gets cold and really thick.
The Gringo Nachos (loaded fries) are among the priciest menu items at $12 (add $7 for carne asada), but they are perfect for sharing among 2-3 people. If I were to order these again, I would get it without the spicy ranch, which has too strong a Hatch chile flavor for my tastes, and ask for more queso. Topped with carne asada, these make a very filling snack or meal and are just fun to eat.
The burritos are the centerpiece of the menu at JewBoy Cantina, with nine options from which to choose. This includes the famous bean and cheese burrito, which proved itself as the sleeper hit of the JewBoy Burgers menu (and only $4 here). These burritos are slender but satisfying, and come filled with various proteins, veggies, and lots of shredded American cheese. We tried both the carne asada (a protein Pittle does extremely well) and chicken fajita, with a slight preference for the beef.
I loved both the flautas and the tiny tacos. You’ll get the best bang for your buck with the flautas, a pile of three rolled corn tortillas stuffed with smoked brisket, chicken, or potatoes and topped with shredded lettuce and queso fresco, then drizzled with crema. The mound of shredded lettuce is a great counterpoint to the brisket and fried tortilla. I simply adored my tiny tacos, stuffed with potatoes a la Mexicana, little crispy packets topped with shredded lettuce and American cheese. They were fresh and beautiful and perfect for a smaller appetite.
It wouldn’t be a JewBoy restaurant if there weren’t burgers on the menu. Here you can choose from the Gringo sliders, topped with American cheese, pickles, and schmutz, and the Vato, a spicer iteration with pepper jack, grilled jalapeños, and spicy Hatch ranch. My son, the burger aficionado, chose the Gringo sliders, two baby smashers served on cute little grilled buns and served with a side of fries. Don’t let the size of the sliders fool you, though: I don’t think I could eat more than one in a sitting.
I have two minor quibbles with JewBoy Cantina. One is that I really missed having something small and sweet with which to finish my meal. Yes, there are chocolate chip cookies from Bearded Baking Company available, but the one we tried was stale and dry. The second quibble is that unless you want a cheap canned beer, you have to go to the bar in the Hole in the Wall to get a draft beer or cocktail. These aren’t deal breakers, obviously. Just “nice to have”s.
JewBoy Cantina is exactly the right place at exactly the right price point. It’s across the street from campus and students can get a cheap, filling meal that isn’t pumped out of some corporate kitchen. It’s just the ticket if you’re seeing a show at the Hole in the Wall or the Cactus Cafe and you want a snack or quick and easy dinner beforehand. I don’t know that it’s necessarily a destination dining spot, but it is exactly what that space needs.
JewBoy Cantina
2513 San Antonio St.
