Late last year, Austin was all abuzz about the guy from Man vs. Food’s visit to Juan in A Million on East Cesar Chavez, and his valiant effort to conquer the Don Juan Taco Challenge. No disrespect to the Man vs. Food guy, but this girl knew about the Don Juan and Juan In A Million long before the Travel Channel came to town. If you don’t know about the Don Juan, it’s time to get acquainted.

Juan In A Million was opened by Juan Meza and his wife in 1981. The restaurant is a pink stucco taco heaven nestled deep in the heart of east Austin. They’ve built a steady following of return customers in our fair city thanks to their tasty, traditional Mexican food and friendly staff. The menu offers a wide variety of choices for breakfast and lunch. You can get breakfast tacos with just about any fillings your heart desires: chorizo, potato, machacado, bacon, napolitos. They also offer tasty migas and huevos rancheros. For lunch, Juan In A Million offers standard Tex-Mex fare: carne guisada (my boyfriend has decided his favorite carne guisada is Juan’s,) flautas, fajitas and so forth. However, for the true Juan In A Million experience, I recommend ordering The Don Juan-El Taco Grande.

The Don Juan is a small mountain of soft potatoes, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon and cheese. Yes, it’s simple, but it might just be the perfect breakfast for a lazy Sunday morning. I doubt I could make it at home as good as the folks at Juan In A Million do. In fact, I’m never going to even try. The Don Juan comes with one tortilla, so always ask for extra. Unless you’re a champ or just really hungry, you’ll probably have plenty of Don Juan leftover, which means you can have the Don Juan for breakfast for a couple of days afterward. And at $3.60 per Don Juan, that’s an economical meal.

After you’re done, you’ll always see Juan standing at the door, just waiting to shake your hand and thank you for coming to his restaurant. In addition to his excellent food, I think he’s won a “Best Handshake in Austin” award at some point. If he hasn’t, someone should nominate him. He goes out of his way to make people feel welcome.

Excellent food, friendly people and a bustling, energetic atmosphere make Juan In A Million one of Austin’s favorites.

For more information on Juan In A Million, including a menu, visit their website here.

Juan In A Million is open seven days per week, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The restaurant is located at 2300 Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, TX 78702 | (512) 472-3872