We needed serious sustenance. We’d been on a quest for cracker meal. It’s just one of those ingredients that has mysteriously been sold out during the holiday rush, and we eventually did find it at City Market South, just as we found the needed missing ginger-root at FreshPlus. But that’s another story.

It’s a good thing that we were hungry. The albondigas in chipotle tomato broth are enough to feed five people, and I swear that the giant bowl of chicken tortilla soup could feed one hungry student for 24 hours or could be ladled out to serve a half-dozen people at lunch. The chicken soup has appetizing chicken, lots of tortilla strips, sliced circles of corncob with the corn kernels still on it, celery, tomato, and carrots in a broth that’s very homemade tasting and not over-salted. The usual extra bits of raw onion, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and rice come on the side to be added to taste. We also shared a dish of puerco meztizo. The pork had been cooked until it was practically melting away. Ours was in green sauce today, but it can be ordered in a red sauce of some sort. Another time, we’ll try a mole dish. There were several fish choices.

The portions were astoundingly large. It has been a long time since our last visit, but we had remembered the albondigas in particular. I’m glad I tried the soup; it’s the sort that’s difficult to find in Austin these days. The azultequila.com site seems to be down just now. Azul Tequila was doing a busy bar business and knows how to make a proper margarita straight up. There’s a television, but it’s silenced. On the sound system were traditional and current sounds from Mexico. Azul Tequla is decorated for the season with lights and giant boxes wrapped in shiny foil with big bows. An added visual bonus was the sight of a man draped in a boa constrictor visible through the front plate-glass window, no doubt either headed toward or away from Herpeton, next door.

Look for Azul Tequila in the strip next to the Target (4211 South Lamar Boulevard, # A2, telephone 416-9667. Children were welcome and happy. Meal service is continuous throughout the day.