Frazzled foodies, take heart: Your quest for a top-notch meal prepared at a fast-food pace is over: Fresa’s has arrived. This tasty and super-convenient drive-thru restaurant is serving up high-quality Mexican food at lightning speed. Cruise through its central Austin driveway—just look for the neon chicken!—and in minutes you’ll drive away with a complete meal fit for the fussiest foodie.
Fresa’s specialty is grilled chicken. But not just any old yard bird: Fresa’s pasture-raised poultry comes exclusively from Peeler Farms in nearby Floresville. Offered in two flavors—achiote and citrus or oregano and pepper—chickens are marinated then slow-grilled over hardwood charcoal, resulting in juicy, flavorful meat and smoky, charred skin. Served as complete family-style meals, whole or half-chicken dinners come with rice, beans, grilled onions, jalapenos, salsa and tortillas or rolls. The classic half chicken achiote-citrus dinner was more than enough food for my sweetie and me. Wrapped in butcher paper, the moist meat was liberally coated in red achiote spices and surrounded by grilled onions and whole jalapenos. We pulled the meat off the bone and tucked it into warm, homemade tortillas. A squirt of fresh lime perked it up to perfection and the delicious salsas—a smoky red and fiery green—added extra zip. Mexican rice was studded with chopped carrots and charro beans were savory and satisfying.
In addition to complete dinners, Fresa’s offers torta sandwiches, entrée salads, side dishes, desserts and drinks. We started our meal with the Chopped Salad, a garden-fresh mound of baby spinach topped with marinated chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, red onion, queso fresco and a sherry shallot vinaigrette. We couldn’t resist ordering supplemental sides of eschebe vegetables and grilled corn. The eschebe was a delicious medley of grilled cauliflower, onions, jalapenos, carrots and red cabbage. The grilled corn was authentically slathered in mayo and crumbly cotija cheese, but didn’t travel well and arrived soggy and bland. For dessert, we indulged in one of Fresa’s homemade ice creams: rich, creamy strawberry dotted with real berries.
Fresa’s sells an assortment of beverages including Mexican sodas, fruity aguas frescas, creamy horchata, beers and modestly priced bottles of wine. It even sells a Michelada ‘kit’ containing a pint of chilled seasoned tomato juice, sliced limes, cocktail olives and seasoning salt. When you get home, simply add beer (that Fresa’s conveniently sells) and enjoy. It’s amazing the quality and quantity that Fresa’s turns out of its compact space, the former site of a photo developing shop and a coffee bar. Somehow the tiny two-story building now houses a hulking eight-foot grill downstairs and a kitchen and office upstairs. Launched by the folks behind culinary dazzlers like Lambert’s, Perla’s and Elizabeth Street Café, Fresa’s has taken fast food to new heights. Austin’s frazzled foodies are breathing a sigh of relief.