In 2011, Jesse Triana’s dad passed away. He’d always dreamed of opening a restaurant but never had the opportunity. After his passing, his wife of 20 years, Jesse’s mom, was distraught without her beloved.
Jesse was already a business owner in town and understood the hardships, but after watching his mom feeling lost, he dreamed up an idea to honor his father and give his mother some purpose again. On Black Friday of 2011, Jesse opened La Carreta.
At that time, his mom helped manage the restaurant and develop the recipes. They remained open until 2022 when they closed briefly while looking for a larger location. In February 2024, Jesse opened the new location, across the street from the original and only a few blocks from where he grew up.
The new location is a different vibe. It’s lighter, full of colors and lively music. He wanted to bring more energy to this location; Jesse said the original restaurant was just too dark.
As Jesse and I sat there, at 9 am on a Saturday visiting, happy, laughing people filled the dining area, a large group came in for a celebration, and families with small kiddos enjoyed breakfast. The hardest part of owning his restaurant has been this year since reopening; getting the word out that they’re open again, and getting all of his previous customers back in.
The restaurant business is tough, so I asked why he reopened after being closed for eighteen months. Part of it, he said was because of his mom, while she can’t help like she used to, it’s still important to her. But the number of customers who stopped him around town and asked when he would reopen was the main reason; La Carreta was missed and he wanted to bring that back to his community.
Boog and I settled in for our tasting adventure beginning with the stuffed avocado. A golden, crisp outer crust, wrapped around a creamy avocado, stuffed with beef fajita meat and gooey cheese. The crunch the crust gave when biting into it, and then the silky avocado, combined with the perfectly seasoned, tender beef was perfection.
Tacos a la carreta was a beautiful plate of four tacos, charro beans, and rice. Each taco was made of two warmed corn tortillas, beef fajita meat, and grilled onions, sprinkled with cilantro, and lime on the side to top them all. These outstanding little tacos were full of flavor and brightness from the cilantro and lime, and richness from the tender meat and onions.
Breakfast is served all day, and you’d better go hungry. Next to come out was the nopales and eggs plate. A large plate filled with fresh and fluffy eggs, with sauteed nopales. On the side was flavorful refried beans, fried potatoes, and fresh warm tortillas. I rarely make a taco, I’m more of a tear off a piece of tortilla and get a scoop of each thing; making tiny bite-sized tacos. Of course, Boog looked at me like I was insane, but what’s new there…
The grilled steak tacos were the favorite for both of us. Three tacos, similar to the tacos a la carreta, but leveled up. The steak was slightly different, a deeper flavor, but I couldn't get the secret from Jesse. Each taco was made with two warm corn tortillas, stacked with the extra tender steak, grilled onions, cheese, cilantro, and avocado, and then we hit them with a squeeze of lime. The subtle difference in the meat along with the addition of the cheese and avo, was a complete game changer and these full tacos have all the bold flavors you want in Mexican food.
If you’re looking for some of the best Mexican breakfast and lunch, served all day, make sure you take the long way around town, then head over to La Carreta in Bryan, Texas. Tell ‘em I said hi and then come back here and let me know what you got.
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1411 San Jacinto Ln Bryan,Texas 77803
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