America's Best Tacos
Tacos Matamoros in Brooklyn, NY
The crew at Serious Eats found this spot that prepares their chorizo taco by placing slices of spiced sausage on a griddle to crisp up. Whatever fat is inside melts into a warm, spicy, buttery-rich spread. It's a mouthful of flavor, but the intensity is perfectly cut by a squeeze of lime and salsa verde. (4508 Fifth Ave., 718-871-7627)
Tacos Don Nacho in Pawtucket, RI
Don Nacho's parking-lot location, serves the best lengua (beef tongue). It's braised until meltingly tender, then charred on a hot comal (a smooth, flat griddle used in Mexican cooking). (234 Barton St., 401-688-4693)
La Verdad Taqueria Mexicana in Boston
In the chorizo con papas plump bits of ground pork, seasoned with warming spices like cinnamon, allspice and ground cloves, sit atop a sweet potato puree. Thin strips of grilled cactus, diced red onion and crisp fried potato strings add a game-changing crunch. (1 Lansdowne St., 617-421-9595)
Taqueria La Vaquita in Durham, NC
The handmade corn tortillas have a moistness matched only by the carnitas (slow-cooked, shredded pork), which are crisp, fatty and deeply porky. Order a few from the takeout window, spoon on their fiery red salsa and plop down at one of the picnic tables to scarf them down. (2700 Chapel Hill Road, 919-402-0209)
Cemitas Puebla in Chicago
We're in love with the taco árabes: a thick flour tortilla filled with shawarma-like slow-roasted, chile-rubbed pork and plenty of onions. (3619 W. North Ave., 773-772-8435)
Birrieria Zaragoza in Chicago
For the birria taco, goat shank is first steamed for six hours, then marinated in an ancho-based red mole before being roasted. You can order the taco already made or grab friends and order a plate of meat to fold into the tortillas yourselves. (4852 S. Pulaski Road, 773-523-3700)
La Mexicana Supermercado in Detroit
The Chorizo taco is filled with crumbled, vinegary chorizo and charred on a hot griddle until just shy of burnt. Then stuffed into flaky, puffy yellow corn tortillas from nearby El Milagro Tortillas -- the best packaged ones we've ever had. (7934 West Vernor Hwy., 313-841-3024)
Los Guachos in Columbus, OH
Their specialty: The spit-roasted taco al pastor. Strips of chile-marinated pork are stacked on a spit, then slow-roasted in front of a gas flame. The cooks stack fresh pineapple above the meat while it cooks, so the sweet juices drip down over the edges, where they caramelize into crispy, sugar-laced char. (3990 Sullivant Ave., 614-493-1874)
Veracruz All Natural in Austin, TX
The double tortilla -- a thick, fluffy one wraps around a flavored, crunchy one -- is a worthy base for the migas. Bits of crunched-up fried corn tortilla are soaked in a jalapenño-laced avocado salsa until just barely softened, then tossed with still-soft scrambled eggs, melted jack-style cheese and chopped tomato. (1704 E. Cesar Chavez St., 512-981-1760)
Tacos La Flor in Austin, TX
The corn tortillas from this truck are lightly chewy, with a crunchy rim that reminds us of a tiny pizza crust. They're best topped with fajita-style beef -- small strips of well-seasoned skirt steak crisped up on a charcoal grill. (4901 S. First St., 512-417-4214)
Tacos El Guero in Dallas
Their standout taco is the suadero -- fine-grained, well-marbled brisket, griddled until crisp. Eat quick! Even a double stack of paper-thin corn tortillas can barely contain the wonderful, beefy juices. (4500 Bryan St., 214-823-1260)
Gerardo's Drive-in Grocery in Houston
The barbacoa cow's-head taco isn't as scary as it sounds! The meat is cooked in a spicy chile broth in enormous metal vats, resulting in intensely meaty, concentrated flavor. It's then scooped into a flaky flour tortilla hot from the comal with a squeeze of lime, cilantro, onion and fiery red jalapeño salsa. (609 Patton St., 713-699-0820)
Mariscos Jalisco in Los Angeles
Fried camarones are in delicious deep-fried, crispy pockets. After the initial crunch, the whole thing gives way to a moist-crunchy mass of popcorn-size fried shrimp. Then it's topped with creamy slices of avocado and a tomato-based salsa. (3040 E. Olympic Blvd. 323-528-6701)
Aqui es Texcoco in Chula Vista, CA
The huitlacoche is a traditional treat rarely seen stateside. There's a reason the black, runny corn fungus has been dubbed the "Mexican truffle." Earthy, nutty and deeply savory, it goes great with soft-in-the-middle, crispy-on-the-edges corn tortillas. (1043 Broadway, Suite 108, 619-427-4045)
Los Cinco Puntos in Los Angeles
The carnitas -- juicy hunks of pork shoulder cooked in their own fat, then seared before serving -- deliver a mouthful of pork flavor. Ask for pickled nopales (cactus) to cut through all that meat, and don't leave without some carnitas by the pound -- the market sells all its meats to go. (3300 E. Cesar Chavez Ave., 323-261-4084)
Tortilleria y Tienda De Leon's, Portland, OR
These carnitas are high-quality: They're some of the juiciest-on-the-inside, crispiest-on-the-outside, outright porkiest that we've ever had, served on light and tender, made-to-order corn tortillas. (16223 N.E. Glisan St., 503-255-4356)
America's Best 64 Tacos
