La Cocina de Consuelo
4516 Burnet Rd., 524-4740
Monday-Friday 7am-7pm;
Sunday 8am-2pm
As a successful caterer in Austin for more than 10 years, Connie Rodriguez has garnered praise from patrons as diverse as Ann Richards and Laura Bush. In response to popular demand from her regular clients, Connie (Consuelo) has opened up a little sit-down and takeout place on Burnet Road, so you don’t have to attend a catered shindig to enjoy her cooking.
Located in one of the tiny houses that line Burnet just south of Bark ‘n Purr, La Cocina de Consuelo is diminutive and easy to miss. Inside, the dining area is casual and spotless, painted in festive colors with plain deal tables and a central kitchen. The menu is straightforward and focused, offering only a handful of items plus breakfast tacos and migas before 11am.
More exceptional is the food. As promised, everything is superfresh, authentic, and expertly prepared. The salsa that accompanies the chips is spicy and bright and clearly homemade from a time-perfected recipe. The Spanish rice is light, dry, and fluffy; the beans are soft and gently seasoned. In addition to the standard rice-and-beans side dishes, they offer fideo, an angel-hair type of Mexican pasta, as well as nopalito salad and mango salad. The enchilada sauces are exquisite. Everything on the menu comes to the table with confidence born of experience. Clearly, Connie Rodriguez has got cooking for a lot of people down.
Cocina de Consuelo is a great place to go for lunch, despite limited seating. Conveniently, you can look at the menu online, call and place a takeout order, and pick it up on the way home. The catering business continues, which is why they are closed Saturdays. Eat in, take out, or have your next party catered, Consuelo’s Kitchen is a fabulous asset to the neighborhood.
This article appears in April 20 • 2007.
