HomeState Delivers True Tex-Mex Experience

While breakfast burritos are extremely popular in LA, it’s the breakfast taco that is pervasive across the state of Texas. There is a lively disagreement about whether they were first created in Austin or San Antonio. Texas expat, Briana Valdez, is the brainchild behind HomeState in Los Feliz. I paid them a visit last Saturday.

Valdez takes great care about where they source their ingredients. They receive their eggs fresh daily from Chino Valley Ranchers because they are local and because their animals are raised in a responsible way. I was surprised to learn that even their avocados are organic grown locally in Redlands, Ca. Valdez strives to deliver offerings that are very simple and true to their roots.

Simply defined, HomeState is a Texas kitchen that features breakfast tacos, migas, queso, frito pies, and beef brisket. The traffic to Los Feliz wasn’t bad and despite arriving within an hour after opening, the restaurant already had a line. I immediately felt a good vibe with the cool music and people that seemed to be enjoying themselves.  

HomeState has an open kitchen where you can watch tortillas being made

Flour tortillas rise like a New Mexican sopapilla

I ordered food to eat there and some items to take home to share with my family. While I waited, I watched the open kitchen operation. Flour tortillas were made right in front of me on a heated comal. When they puffed up like a New Mexican sopapilla, they were pulled off the comal and they quickly deflated to normal looking flour tortillas.

A co-worker of mine that is interested in food as much as I am, loves Tex-Mex. Therefore, I had to order queso because that is a quintessential Tex-Mex offering. Using the supplied tortilla chips, I was surprised how addicting the combination was. The cheese sauce tasted like sharp cheddar and was superior in taste to the nacho cheese sauce I receive elsewhere.

The Lonestar Migas topped with shredded brisket

Migas is a Tex-Mex staple of crispy corn strips scrambled with eggs and cheddar, an Americanized cousin to traditional Mexican chilaquiles. I selected the Lonestar. It arrived to my table in a bowl piled high with shredded brisket. The combined flavors were heavenly and the fresh pico de gallo was a nice addition.

The Comal with bean and cheese. In the back is the Trinity, eggs, potatoes, bacon and cheese. – You can also see a glimpse of the basic queso & chips

The Trinity breakfast taco was an easy choice because it was the taco version of a breakfast burrito. A fluffy tortilla was stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon, potato, and cheddar. The vegetarian Comal was very simple: black beans, eggs and jack cheese and despite both being very simple, they were quite tasty. I think the fresh made flour tortilla had a lot to do with the overall experience.

Another popular item is the “Frito Pie in a bag”. It is way better than canned Dennison’s over a bag of fritos. Chili con carne, cheddar, lettuce, sour cream tomatoes, pickled  jalapeño and pickled red onion top the frito chips. A vegetarian option substitutes black beans for the chili con carne.

After arriving at home, I shared my findings with my wife. The Pecos had eggs and brisket and so it was similar to the Lone Star migas. Organic eggs, refried charro beans and cheddar was called the Neches. Even my picky daughter nodded her head as she ate the Neches.

Tacos aren’t limited to breakfast as they also feature “Anytime Tacos”. They have Picadillo, Chicken and Brisket tacos as well as a refried black beans (vegan) and potato (vegetarian). The primary difference between the breakfast tacos is the absence of scrambled eggs.

They recently opened another location in Highland Park.

Pro Tips:

• Arrive early to avoid the crowds.
• If you arrive in a group, stake out one of the popular shaded seats outside.
• Get the loaded queso – way more interesting than the regular
• Make sure you watch the flour tortillas being made

HomeState, 4624 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
myhomestate.com