America's 75 Best Tacos For 2017 Slideshow

The humble taco inspires fierce passion and loyalty throughout the United States. Ask a resident of Texas (Austin and Houston in particular) where the country's best tacos are, and they'll say you're certain to find them in their city, full of pulled and smoked meat. Head to San Diego and you're sure to meet some people who are absolutely convinced that there's nothing better than the fried fish tacos that are ubiquitous there. Elsewhere, purists say there's nothing like a carnitas taco, or a taco al pastor.

Chef Alex Stupak elevated the taco to new, super-gourmet heights when he opened Empellón in 2011, and Mexican cuisine in New York hasn't been the same since. His fine dining-inspired creations keep the restaurant packed from open to close, and his tacos are unlike any you've ever had. Take the mixed mushrooms with pasilla chile, for example, which you don't exactly see every day. Assorted mushrooms are slowly sautéed with chiles until tender and topped with a sprinkling of cotija cheese, onions, and cilantro. It's one of the best vegetarian tacos you'll find, anywhere.

As their website states, Los Angeles' Pinches Tacos is "Real Mexican Food by Real Mexicans," and their menu — the same across all six locations — is certainly authentic. Their carne asada taco is a favorite of devoted local customers —it's dressed simply with cilantro, green sauce, and raw white onion.

This community in the famously posh town of Greenwich may be the last place you'd expect to find real Mexican takeout food. But at El Charrito, Carlos and Alex Terrón, who also run a popular food truck in neighboring (and more Hispanic) Stamford, have brought southwestern Connecticut a standard of Mexican cooking usually found only in urban Texas or California. The wide variety of taco fillings ranges from chicken, shrimp, and spicy pork adobada to pig's ear, tripe, and cow's tongue. The carnitas tacos are typical: a couple of flavorful steamed corn tortillas with a scattering of sweet, crispy pork bits, minced onions, and cilantro, with lime segments on the side for squeezing over everything. Simple and perfect.

A little bit of Mexico City in Dallas, El Come Taco opened in 2013 and has established a reputation as one of the city's best Mexican spots. The family-run counter-service restaurant serves tortas, alambres, ceviche, and tough-to-find pambazos, but it's the $1.95 tacos that really set this place apart. Rarities like cow head, tripe, and brains are on offer, but it's the sweet and spicy al pastor that keeps the regulars coming back.

Regardless of the fact that the Maxwell Street Market isn't in its original location, it's pretty cool to think that the birthplace of the "Maxwell Street Polish" is now the home to some of Chicago's, and America's, best Mexican food, if only on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The La Paz stand on Desplaines between Roosevelt and Polk streets in the South Loop is just one of the many tarp-covered makeshift stands that draws lines for hours, but few can argue that it isn't one of the best taquerìas around — if not the best. Homemade tortillas are pressed and topped with all the classics, from barbacoa to carne asada, huitlacoche, al pastor, and squash blossoms. Those tortillas, covered with your meat of choice, chopped onions, cilantro, and the super-hot salsa verde on dollar-store-tablecloth-draped folding tables, leave you completely satisfied. You'll have little room to try anything from Rubi's, Manolo's, and Tacos D.F. — all exemplary in their own right, but not quite as amazing as this unassuming stand.

The tiny Los Gauchos serves a wide variety of Mexican street food including tortas, quesadillas, burritos, and huaraches, but it's the tacos — especially the al pastor — that are its claim to fame. The al pastor is made the old-fashioned way, by marinating pork and roasting it on a vertical spit, and to serve, it's sliced and piled onto two corn tortillas with pineapple, onions, and cilantro. They take a lot of pride in their al pastor (the spit is emblazoned on their logo, and the motto is "The best tacos al pastor in the city!"), and justifiably so — they've really got a winner on their hands.

Puffy tacos, a San Antonio delicacy, can sometimes be tough and greasy, but the one at Taco Taco is light, airy, and almost out-of-this-world good. In the small, unassuming building, they make all their tortillas from scratch, including delicious flour tortillas, but if you try one thing here, go for the puffy taco with picadillo, or spicy ground beef. The ground beef is mixed with a blend of seasonings, and slow cooked with onions, tomatoes, and a little bit of potato. It's topped with a dash of hot sauce and some lettuce and tomatoes, and you can go home knowing that you've eaten a truly great puffy taco. Just make sure you head over for breakfast or lunch — they're only open until 2 p.m. daily.

If a restaurant is going to call itself "Best Fish Taco in Ensenada," it better be able to stand by it, and this place is the real deal. It's run by Joseph Cordova, who sources high-quality fish, shrimp, and vegetables and turns them into something truly special. The crust that surrounds the seafood is soft and crispy, the tacos are fresh and light, there are several salsa options (go for the mango), the slaw is crunchy and crisp, and the seasoned crema is icing on the cake.

The area just outside Atlanta, especially near Buford Highway, is full of Mexican groceries hiding excellent taquerías. Supermercado Chicago is one of the finest examples you'll find, as the ramshackle little room in the back is serving some glorious tacos. If you go during the weekend you'll experience a much larger menu, but during the week it's all about the tacos. The carne asada tacos, in particular, are the ones to try: flavorful, deeply seared, and perfect when mixed with any of the handful of fresh-made salsas that are on the side. Be sure to catch a glimpse of the tortilla machine: Corn kernels are essentially ground and turned into tortillas to order.

Although the surf & turf taco combo of one shrimp taco and one grilled steak taco gets a lot of worthy buzz, surprise! The very best tacos at San Diego's Fat Fish are, indeed, the namesake option. An order comes with two soft flour tortillas, each filled with crispy fried Icelandic cod, lettuce, and pico de gallo, all of which is sprinkled with grated cheese.

This Los Angeles Westside institution is famous for its plump burritos (like one with chili con carne and refried beans that people dream about), but for good old American-style tacos — the kind purists scorn — it's hard to beat this place. The beef is long-cooked and shredded, not ground. The shredded Cheddar is tart, and the julienned iceberg is crisp and cool. It's nothing short of hard-shell taco perfection.

The best way to explain how Chico's serves one of America's best tacos is to say how improbably bad this small chain and its fare appear at first. Signs outside the drab, unimpressive buildings give no indication of its signature dish: three rolled tacos containing ground beef covered in finely shredded cheese, all soaked in translucent red "salsa" in a white cardboard boat and topped with jalapeño salsa. Take the cheese, which is so finely shredded you could swear you see powder. But something happens with that first bite. The flautas are crunchy, but soaked in the salsa, the crispness begins to give. And though it's more like a thin broth, there's surprisingly good flavor. The heat of the broth melts the cheese, turning it into a soupy mess of flavor punched up by the heat of the jalapeño sauce. There's a hot, dip-with-every-bite experience, and no need for plastic utensils. You pick one up, bite, dip, and bite again until they're gone and you're left with a quarter-inch of cheese and sauce that begs drinking.

At the no-frills, order-at-the-counter Tacomiendo, where you'll hear much more Spanish than English spoken, the tortillas are homemade, the prices are reasonable, and the tacos are big. Burritos are a favorite here, but the tacos get high marks, too. If you don't mind carbo-loading, the unusual potato taco — potato chunks and cheese in a crispy shell — is very memorable.

Hugo's is a Houston legend, serving some of the finest Mexican food you'll find anywhere since star chef Hugo Ortega opened it in 2002. Stop by during lunchtime hours and make sure you order the Tacos de Pescado Estila Baja, Baja-style fish tacos that are only available during the day. To make the tacos, beer-battered catfish filets are fried until golden brown, then tucked into fresh corn tortillas atop a pile of fresh shredded cabbage, chipotle mayo, and pico de gallo. An absolute must-eat.

A go-to Mexican restaurant for Austinites since 1952, Matt's, which advertises itself as having the "Best Mexican Food in the World — Always Good," is a big place with a big menu.

Dishes like the smoked duck enchiladas, the grilled shrimp with bean and cheese flautas, and even the chicken-fried steak ("cowboy-style" with chili) have their loyal fans, but the tacos are terrific. The al carbón version offers grilled beef tenderloin pieces wrapped in flour tortillas, with guacamole, rice, beans, chile con queso, and pico de gallo on the side, adding up to a serious meal.

Graciela Chavez and her crew make their own Mexican pastries and flour and corn tortillas, offer all the Mexican standards at low prices (the $1.35 breakfast burritos have a loyal local following), and serve classic menudo and caldo de res (beef soup) on weekends. No wonder La Ranchera has been called this West Texas town's best Mexican restaurant. Enhance some of those (corn) tortillas with nothing more than a generous portion of tender, perfectly seasoned beef tongue and some onions and cilantro — simplicity itself — with rice and beans on the side, and you're all set, with change for a tenner in your pocket.

Serving Dallas since 1973, Gonzalez offers authentic Tex-Mex fare, and makes many of their products in-house, including the bread and tortillas. Go with the crispy beef tacos with salsa fresca — the subtle play between the fresh tomatoes and onions and the crispy taco shell is supremely satisfying.

If you're looking for a classic taquería experience in Las Vegas, you're going to need to abandon The Strip and head to Taco y Taco, which has locations on East Tropicana Avenue and South Eastern Avenue.

Opt for the al pastor and pork will be sliced from a giant rotating spit and deposited directly onto the flat top for some extra caramelization. Piled into a tortilla with onions, cilantro, and chopped pineapple with an elote (ear of corn) on the side, it's the perfect distraction from the glitz and glamor of The Strip.

Everybody knows that Rick Bayless, the man behind Chicago's renowned Frontera Grill, is a scholar of Mexican food, and we appreciate his efforts to teach us about the real thing. But what's more important for present purposes is that he's also a really good cook, capable of producing dishes that make us return to his restaurants again and again. Like his tacos arabes, Arab tacos — a delicious combination of roasted, sliced black-pepper pork shoulder; chipotle salsa; cucumber; and jocoque, which is strained Mexican yogurt inspired by Lebanese yogurt, just as the roasted meat is inspired by Lebanese shawarma. In Mexico, tacos arabes are often served in a piece of folded-over pita bread, but here, the filling bulges out of perfect corn tortillas.

This beloved Austin mainstay is renowned as a go-to breakfast spot for locals in the know. When at Cisco's, you need to try the biscuits with honey, and you need to try the migas, preferably in a fresh flour tortilla. Eggs, cheese, pico de gallo, and tortilla chips are all scrambled together; the end result is far greater than the sum of its parts. Founded in 1948, the restaurant was recently put on the market, so be sure to visit before it's too late.

Tacos, not surprisingly, are the raison d'être (razón de ser?) of this popular eatery. Versions filled with mushrooms, hominy, and epazote or with fried avocado and black beans are popular with local vegetarians, but we love all the variations aimed at carnivores — most of all the cecina taco. Cecina is salted, dried beef, a rustic relative of bresaola. Papalote's cecina taco adds refried beans, shredded cabbage, queso fresco, crema (the thin Mexican sour cream), and guajillo salsa, and the result is simply wonderful.

Meat is the focus at Los Cinco Puntos, who, according to their website, "strive to correct the Americanized image of ground-beef tacos by marinating, braising, and frying a trove of traditional Mexican meats." We think they're hitting their target, particularly with their carnitas tacos, which are topped with jalapeños and, for an additional 25 cents, with perfectly chunky guacamole.

Located in an unassuming Barrio Logan back alley, Las Cuatro Milpas has been serving some of San Diego's best tacos since 1933. Order up front, grab your table in the middle, and watch tortillas being made in the back. With the tortillas deep-fried to order, these crunchy tacos are filled with beef, chicken, or pork, but opt for the shredded pork, topped with lettuce and tangy, crumbled goat cheese. The hot sauce — which is made by simmering chiles and spices in lard — isn't for the spice-averse, but is addictively good.

Since Carnitas Uruapan opened in 1975, chef and owner "El Güero" Carbajal has undertaken the mission of introducing "the authentic carnitas of his hometown of Uruapan to Chicagoans." We think he can count his mission accomplished, as his carnitas taco is one of the best in the business. The pork is slow-cooked for over two hours and then loaded into a flour tortilla. Feel free to garnish it with pico de gallo, although there's really no need. Bonus tip: You can order a pound of the carnitas to take home, which you should absolutely do.

This popular Austin spot has been serving some spectacular Mexican and Tex-Mex fare since 1980, and The Don Juan El Taco Grande has put the restaurant on the map. A mishmash of potatoes, eggs, bacon, and cheese in a big flour tortilla, it's the stuff that breakfast dreams are made of.

The Eastern Europeans who dominated the area surrounding Maxwell Street in Chicago from the 1880s to the 1920s are credited for turning the original open-air market into the bustling hub it is today. The market has moved to a new location, but it remains a center for food and goods vendors to hawk their wares. Rubi's at Maxwell Street Market is ranked No. 4 on Foursquare for tacos in the South Loop, and its huitlacoche probably has a lot to do with that. Huitlacoche, also known as corn smut, is really a fungus, but we like to think of it as corn cheese, or perhaps even corn truffle. It's a Mexican delicacy that tastes a bit like mushrooms, and Rubi's gets major authenticity points for helping to make it a widely known and appreciated food in Chicago.

Since the turn of the millennium, Durham has experienced a boom in the size of its Hispanic community, and helping to give the city's new residents a taste of home is Taqueria La Vaquita.

There's a whole lot to love about their menu, but make sure to order the barbacoa taco. It's composed of flavored beef with chopped onions, cilantro, radish, and green or red sauce, all rolled into a handmade corn tortilla.

Despite being connected to the Northeast, Edgar Allen Poe was once stationed on this island just outside Charleston and so this Lowcountry tavern is named in honor of the poet. And while we can't quite imagine the author of "The Raven" noshing on a coastal shrimp taco, that's what those in the know order. The spicy Buffalo comes topped with bacon-blue cheese slaw and is served in orders of two or three. There's no better place to order seafood tacos than a beachfront shack, and this spot is no exception.

With six locations around Los Angeles, Loteria Grill is a bit of an LA institution, and the one in Hollywood holds the reputation as the best of the lot. Many repeat customers will encourage you to order the taco platter, but if we had to pick just one variety, we'd go with the carne deshebrada: braised shredded beef, cilantro, guacamole, onions, and salsa roja.

You just can't beat the value of Tacos Mex y Mariscos' 99-cent tacos, and it helps that they're also very authentic. We encourage you to peruse the menu and pick out something a little out of the ordinary, like cabeza (head) or tripas (which are intestines, not tripe), but their al pastor taco is sure to please even the least adventurous eater. The spit-roasted pork and grilled pineapple is loaded into double-layered tortillas and sprinkled with cilantro and raw onions, which you can then take over to the salsa bar and garnish with traditional condiments like fiery tomato salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo.

The trio of Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo, and Ludo Lefebvre (the same guys behind the insanely popular Trois Mec and Petit Trois) turned their attention to French-Mexican hybrid cuisine for their third outing, casual brunch spot Trois Familia, with stellar results.

The double-decker potato tacos are the sleeper hit of the menu: A soft flour tortilla and a hard-shell corn tortilla barely contain a heaping pile of soft and flavorful potato mash, crème fraîche, lime, and pico de gallo kicked up by some shredded carrot. Not only is it a great taco, it's one of LA's best vegetarian dishes.

Folks line up daily at this Newport Beach gem for seafood served every way you can imagine: as sushi, in poke and ceviche, in salads, as burritos, grilled in sandwiches, in soups, and, of course, in tacos.

Made with basa (similar to catfish) or another fish of your choice, coated with panko, grilled, and topped with pico de gallo, fresh cabbage, and a curried hot sauce they call Tommy sauce. Fish taco perfection.

Since 1947, Ramona's has been turning out some seriously high-quality Mexican food products, including some that are available in grocery stores. The company also has four restaurants around Southern California, and one of the most delicious, and simplest, items on the menu is the hard-shell taco filled with ground beef and potato, topped with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and hot sauce. It's a thing of beauty and has served as an inspiration to the many beef hard-shell tacos that have come after it.

Credited as a cornerstone of the up-and-coming Mixson District in Charleston, Básico is known for its quietly beautiful setting and food — it's a great place for locals to decompress with first-rate margaritas and coconut mojitos.

We suggest ordering their buttermilk fried chicken tacos to accompany your cocktail. With cilantro, pickled jicama, spicy aïoli, and queso fresco, they're a great example of American Southern-Mexican fusion done just right.

The Ibarra family first opened Habanero Mexican Café in eastern Oregon, but eventually moved the operation to Austin, and for over 10 years the city's residents have been counting themselves lucky that they did. Barbacoa, which Habanero executes particularly well, is steamed, shredded beef, and it's delicious. Get there before closing at 3 p.m., and make sure to ask them to add pico de gallo to your taco.

At this beloved Mission District taquería, more than a dozen meats stay warm on a circular iron comal. When you place your order it gets a quick crisping before heading into a warm tortilla (also heated on the comal), then topped with your choice of grilled or fresh onions, grilled jalapeños, fresh cilantro, and a splash of killer green salsa from a self-serve counter. Opt for the pineapple-flecked pork al pastor, which is crispy and melt-in-your-mouth.

What began as a modest street cart in Queens turned into a fleet of trucks and an East Village brick-and-mortar establishment in 2013. Tacos Morelos has been embraced by local Mexican food enthusiasts with open arms and grateful exclamations that the search for authentic Mexican food in New York has come to an end. They offer no less than a dozen possible fillings, but our vote goes to the chorizo taco: It's served with cilantro, guacamole, and chopped onions.

Restaurateur Stephen Starr knows what people love to eat, and at Philadelphia's El Vez he's bringing top-notch Mexican food to the hungry masses. An order of the tacos al carbon is enough to feed two, and the grilled shrimp is the way to go; it's a masterpiece. Homemade flour tortillas get filled with slightly spicy and super flavorful shrimp that are hot off the grill, and you can customize how much poblano pepper, pico de gallo, guacamole, and queso fresco you want to add. Thankfully, a second location opened in New York in 2014.

This tiny restaurant in an off-the-beaten-path location serves some of the finest tacos in Chicago. The al pastor earns high praise, but the real standout here is the shrimp taco. The shrimp gets a light batter and fry that leaves it crispy, juicy, succulent, and not greasy at all. Topped with a creamy sauce and tucked into a house-made tortilla, this taco might just make you think you've been teleported to Mexico City.

The green pork stew known as guisado verde is the name of the game at this small tortilleria, which is dominated by a giant tortilla machine that raises the temperature of the room to borderline-inhumane levels. But it'll be worth it once you receive your order, splash some spicy salsa on top, and head back to your air-conditioned car to enjoy. The tortillas are light and soft, the freshest you'll ever have, and the stew is the ultimate comfort food.

My Ceviche is a fast-casual seafood spot that's become a Miami standby, with locations throughout the city. Ceviche (made with your choice of three types of seafood and in six styles), burritos, bowls, and salads are all solid options, but don't miss the tacos, which are available with fish, shrimp, octopus, chicken, or raw tuna. It may be unexpected, but raw tuna is the way to go: It's chopped into tiny pieces and piled into a corn or flour tortilla with a bright combo of pickled red onions, julienned radishes, shredded queso fresco, and cilantro; we suggest you ask for some sliced avocado on top as well.

Guisados has become an essential Los Angeles taquería, even though it's only been open for a few years. It currently has three locations, but the original is located in the heart of Boyle Heights and run by three generations of the De La Torre family, and these folks know what they're doing, right down to the homemade tortillas. The cochinita pibil is a thing of beauty: Pork shoulder is marinated overnight in a citrus-heavy mixture, and then simmered for nearly four hours before being shredded. Served with pickled onions, fresh cilantro, and as much habanero salsa as you can handle, it's a true masterpiece.

Don't let the long line at this Houston favorite dissuade you; it moves quickly, and the final product will be so worth it. If you're expecting a taco loaded up with cheese, lettuce, onions, and the like, that's not what you'll find. The tacos at Laredo are all about the meat, and that's all you'll get. Opt for the super-flavorful and tender pork in red sauce.

When the name of the restaurant contains both "octopus" and "seafood," you know that the octopus served there is going to be good, and this hidden-in-plain-sight San Diego gem is a winner. There are three octopus tacos on the menu: one with the octopus sautéed in garlic butter (mojo de ajo), one in a house chili sauce (enchilada), and the third in a garlic and ancho chile butter (ajillo). Go for the ajillo; tender chunks of octopus are slathered in the most flavorful butter imaginable, topped with a sprinkling of cilantro and onion. If you weren't a fan of octopus before trying this, you will be once you do.

Ethnic eats abound on the Buford Highway, and this 24-hour Mexican diner doesn't disappoint. Made-to-order tortillas come filled with exotic options like tongue, tripe, and pork stomach, but don't be afraid of the cabeza, or beef cheek, which is meltingly tender. Shredded and topped with some cilantro and onion (and roasted onions if you ask for them), these things are groan-inducingly good.

One of Louisville's finest restaurants, Seviche also serves what's most likely the city's best taco. The mahi mahi in the taco at chef Anthony Lamas' shrine to Latin cuisine is marinated and grilled before being topped with a cumin-lime aïoli, cabbage, and a cilantro-flecked pico de gallo and placed atop two frilled corn tortillas. You might as well order two when you sit down, because you're not going to want to stop eating these.

Formerly known as Tacos Atoyac, this beloved Phoenix taquería closed down with no notice a few years back and reopened nearly a month later with a new name — and, thankfully, the same menu.

While the standard lineup of meats are all spectacular (even the tripas, or intestines, are good), the fish taco is the way to go. Flaky white fish is fried until golden brown and crispy, topped with shredded cabbage and a flavorful chipotle sauce. Roasted onions and jalapeños are offered for free on the side; you're going to want to say yes to those.

This neighborhood fish market receives whole fresh fish daily, and it's all broken down and sold on-site, in a market and an adjacent dining room. It goes without saying that the fish is going to be fresh; the fact that the dishes coming out of the kitchen are also spectacular comes as little surprise. Tacos can be made with your choice of fish, including such choices as yellowtail, shark, red snapper, halibut, sea bass, mahi mahi, and ahi tuna; filets are simply grilled and rolled up in a corn tortilla with salsa fresca, cabbage slaw, and yogurt sauce. You'd be hard-pressed to find a fresher grilled fish taco anywhere.

This San Francisco gem has four locations, and its success lies in fresh ingredients and an eye toward authenticity. Their bistec adobado is a work of art: Flank steak gets a heady three-chile adobo marinade before being grilled to medium-rare and piled onto a fresh tortilla with a handful of pickled onions. A taco this good should cost far more than $3.95.

Joe's Bakery was established in 1962, and has been a destination for Tex-Mex breakfast and lunch ever since. Recipes have been passed down for generations, and the carne guisada is nothing short of revelatory. Pork butt (as opposed to traditional beef) is slow-cooked in tomato sauce with garlic, cumin, salt, and a little flour, and heaped into a house-made flour tortilla. Belly up to the counter and experience a true Austin original.

From acclaimed chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken comes Border Grill, with three locations and a truck in Los Angeles, and two more outposts in Las Vegas — including one at Mandalay Bay. Their star taco is the fried crispy potato rajas, which holds Yukon Gold potatoes cooked with bell peppers, chiles, cream, cheese, and onions, all garnished with corn relish and guacamole.

Now called Tacos Tequila Whiskey because the former name, Pinche Taqueria, caused some controversy around Denver — it isn't fit to translate on a family website, as pinche is something you might say when you're moved by extreme emotion — this restaurant was originally a taco truck and maintains a bit of street attitude. Given how good the restaurant's pork belly agridulce ("sweet and sour") is, you too may be moved to use some colorful language.

Chef Kevin Morrison has put a modern twist on Mexican street food, serving a sweet-and-sour-braised pork belly with candied garlic, cabbage and cilantro slaw, and a nuanced braising jus to add extra flavor and moisture.

In the world of Tex-Mex, Bob's Taco Station, family-owned since 1991, is one of the all-time greats. And when the mascot is a smiling hard-shell taco, proudly holding another taco while wearing a sombrero and cactus-emblazoned cowboy boots, you know you've come to the right place. Bob's is renowned for its pork tamales, breakfast plates, and tortilla soup, but the tacos, served in homemade flour tortillas, are the real claim to fame. There are classic breakfast tacos along with tongue, carne guisada, and barbacoa, rich, beefy, and topped with cilantro and onions upon request.

Cemitas (sandwiches on a sesame seed roll with meat, avocado, Oaxaca cheese, and chipotle sauce) may be the claim to fame at this beloved Chicago standby specializing in the cuisine of Puebla, but the tacos are definitely not to be ignored, especially the tacos arabe.

A Pueblan specialty, this falls somewhere between Lebanese-style shawarma and Mexico City's al pastor; pork is piled onto a tall spit and slowly roasted until crisped and caramelized, and it's sliced directly into a fresh flour tortilla. While it's deeply flavorful on its own, don't resist the opportunity to top it with the house-made salsa verde, salsa rojo, or chipotle salsa.

Walk all the way to the back of an average-looking bodega in the bustling West Side neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, and you'll find yourself in a taco paradise. Opened in 2001, Miguel Fuentes' Tehuitzingo has become renowned for its high-quality tacos, with options for more adventurous eaters like tongue, pork tripe, pork skin, and pig ears as well as classics such as carne enchilada, chicken, chorizo, goat barbacoa, and Eric Ripert's favorite, carnitas.

Our panel of experts urges us to try the suadero, which is fried beef cut from between the belly and the leg, heaped into a corn tortilla and topped with cilantro, onions, and your choice of green or red salsa.

Since 1958, El Parasol has been serving traditional Mexican classics as well as no-frills American fare like burgers, hot dogs, and chili cheese fries. Only three types of tacos are available (chicken, ground beef, and shredded beef), but what tacos these are: The shell is deep-fried and crackling, and the standout shredded beef is boiled until it's falling apart and then mixed with a sauce that's a long-kept secret. Topped with either guacamole or salsa, it's a crunchy, beefy, Tex-Mex (New-Mex-Mex?) classic.

Wicker Park's Big Star, from Chicago superstar chef Paul Kahan (of Publican fame) and chef de cuisine Julie Warpinski, combines Mexican street food with a honky-tonk atmosphere, and the results are phenomenal. The menu is small but brilliant: six tacos (plus a corn chip-based "walking taco"), queso fundido, chips and guacamole, and $3 whiskey shots to wash it all down, all prepared with the expert precision of a world-class chef. The taco al pastor is the first item on the menu and the one to order: Pork shoulder is spit-roasted and sliced off to order, and served with grilled pineapple, grilled onion, and cilantro. It's smoky, small enough to eat (more than) a few, and astoundingly delicious, especially after a couple of Big Star margaritas. You might have to line up to get in, but you'll be glad you did.

The beloved Hugo's has three locations in Los Angeles, and the backstory is an interesting one. Mexican-inspired staff meals at Hugo's Italian restaurant tended to be so popular that the owners had the idea to branch out and open a restaurant devoted entirely to Mexican specialties in Studio City. With an eye toward the all-natural and organic, Hugo's ordering system is one we can get behind: Choose your filling (chicken; steak; grilled fish; carnitas; al pastor; a mix of zucchini, corn, and string beans; or soy chorizo), choose your salsa (pico de gallo, jalapeño and tomatillo, salsa cruda, honey chipotle, salsa negra, salsa habanero, or salsa arbol) and choose whether you want a hard- or soft-shell taco. Go with the carnitas, along with the habanero salsa if you're OK with spice. The shredded, glistening pork is rich and flavorful, with plenty of brown edges, and the salsa is a perfect accompaniment.

With more stuff on the walls and floors than a T.G.I. Fridays (including a 1924 Model-T dump truck), a wonderfully raucous jukebox, and an atmosphere that suggests a funky roadhouse more than an urban Tex-Mex place, Ray's — which opened in 1965 — turns out fine versions of the local standards, along with hot dogs, hamburgers, and fish sandwiches.

It is particularly famous, though, for its puffy tacos, which weren't invented at Ray's, but may have first been named here. They're light, crisp, and flavorful, and the meltingly soft carne guisada (stewed beef) filling is perfectly spiced and not at all greasy.

The carne adovada at the James Beard Award-winning Mary & Tito's Café in Albuquerque is nothing short of legendary, and has been for decades (since 1963, to be exact). The secret to that success? Two words: red chile. The fiery sauce, made simply from ground dried whole chiles, salt, and garlic, tops everything from eggs to chile rellenos, but the carne adovada, juicy and tender marinated and slow-baked pork, is the way to go. If a great taco requires perfection in all of its elements, then the carne adovada at Mary and Tito's, heaped into a fresh corn tortilla, is undeniably world-class.

This "modern Mexican" restaurant does things its own way: there's a sea trout ceviche with pineapple-aji sorbet, a roasted cauliflower "steak" with chipotle-raisin purée and chile de árbol vinaigrette, and a lump crab tostada with green mango and grapefruit, among other things, so it's hardly surprising that the tacos are non-standard as well.

The Arabic tacos, for instance, which get high marks for originality and intensity of flavor, combine seared venison with pickled cucumber, chipotle harissa, fennel pollen yogurt, and cilantro, wrapped in a tortilla made — in decidedly non-Arabic style — with bacon fat. Neither classic Mexican nor Tex-Mex, this thing is just plain good.

With Los Tacos No. 1 setting up in the Chelsea Market, there's only one thing to say to taco-crazy New Yorkers eager to assert that they now have one of America's best tacos: You're right.

Los Tacos No. 1 serves a taco so good that you could dare anyone to taste it blindfolded against their supposed favorite and make money betting on the outcome. Not that the proprietors here are unfamiliar with real tacos: Los Tacos is a collaboration between three close friends from Tijuana and Brawley, California. You really can't go wrong with the adobo or pollo tacos here, but the winner is the red chile-marinated pork — the adobada. Moist. Salted. Flavorful. Sweet but not cloying. There are also expertly prepared salsas, so you can dress your taco yourself. You'll shut up because your mouth will be full and you will be happy.

At Torchy's, which has locations throughout Texas (centered in Austin, Dallas, and Houston), owner Michael Rypka has created tortilla-bound concoctions that are nothing short of devilish, and made fresh every day.

There's the Brush Fire (Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled jalapeños, and mango), the Dirty Sanchez (scrambled eggs with fried poblano chile, guacamole, escabeche carrots, and shredded cheese) and The Republican (grilled jalapeño sausage with shredded cheese and pico de gallo), but the wildest and most delicious creation on the menu is the Trailer Park, a massive battered and fried hunk of chicken breast, topped with sautéed green chiles, lettuce, pico de gallo, and shredded mixed cheese on a flour tortilla from El Milagro, topped with poblano sauce. If you prefer to "get it trashy," they'll remove the lettuce and replace it with cheese sauce. And who needs lettuce when cheese sauce is an option?

ABC Cocina is a partnership between ABC Carpet & Home and Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten that highlights both the chef's and the store's commitment to conscious sourcing, and this means that are some really tasty high-end tacos. Available only on the dinner menu, these tacos consist of tortillas filled with glazed short rib, frizzled onion, and habanero relish.

"Thanksgiving of 2008, Kogi BBQ had first rolled out as the little Korean-taco-truck-that-could, peddling $2 Korean barbecue tacos on the streets of LA. Little did they know that within... months, they would become an icon of LA street food. Kogi set off a flavor bomb that would shake up the foundations of the industry so that street food would never be looked at the same way."

That's from Kogi's site. What's the saying? It ain't bragging if it's true? Chef Roy Choi's truck snagged the No. 1 spot on a recent ranking of the 101 Best Food Trucks in America, but Choi also runs a brick and mortar taquería on Overland Avenue. Our very favorite menu item is the short-rib taco. The meat is simmered in a mixture of apple and orange juices, carrots, chestnuts, garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, and yellow onions — among other ingredients — which all lends the ribs a complex flavor that will leaving you wanting more.

Whether they invented the genre and the name (Ray's Drive Inn claims the latter honor) or not, Henry's is an iconic spot for San Antonio's signature dish (one that has since spread significantly beyond San Antonio to Dallas and Austin). Henry (who actually grew up in California) is retired, but his legacy continues at the family's friendly, eponymous strip mall restaurant run by his sons Rick, Robert, and Jaime and their sister Imelda Lopez-Sanchez. The famed tortillas are made in-house and fried so that they puff out, creating a fun way to eat what otherwise is a relatively conventional Tex-Mex taco. The puffy tortilla shell is filled with the meat of your choice (spicy beef fajita is the most popular), then topped with shredded iceberg lettuce, grated cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. With truly great puffy tacos, the shell shatters a little, adding textural variation to each bite, and that's exactly what happens here.

Located a couple of blocks from Queens' Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Tortilleria Nixtamal isn't just a restaurant, it's a tortilla factory. Opened in 2008, it quickly developed a reputation as one of New York's premier taco spots, and with good reason: Just about everything they offer is astoundingly delicious. Tortillas are made from non-GMO corn, with no additives or preservatives, and meat comes from Franco's, a local butcher. While the lamb barbacoa and homemade chorizo are certainly delicious, you won't want to leave without trying the carnitas. Chunks of pork are slow-cooked for more than two hours in lard, and then simply topped with onion, cilantro, and a little hot sauce. It's taco perfection.

The fresh flavors and simple but perfect presentations at this casual, counter-service Santa Barbara landmark, known as Julia Child's favorite Mexican restaurant, continue to draw long lines of hungry customers.

Though the vegetable tamales, cheese-stuffed pasilla chiles, chorizo quesadillas, and the like have strong followings, it's hard to beat La Super-Rica's exquisitely minimalist tri-tip tacos: grilled tri-tip (from the bottom of the sirloin) — the defining beef cut on California's Central Coast — heaped atop made-from-scratch corn tortillas (you can watch them being patted by hand through a window into the kitchen). Feel free to add pico de gallo or other condiments from the oft-refreshed salsa bar.

This popular San Antonio spot has been slinging tacos since 1941, when it opened with just three tables. Over the years, the restaurant has expanded to seat more than 500 at the same address but stretching the entire city block. The American Dream mural is as big of a draw as the food, but definitely don't forget the food.

Order the plate of two tacos with the orange-marinated pork and it comes with all the fixin's: guac, pico de gallo, and traditional pinto beans. Best of all, the restaurant serves them up 24 hours a day, so you can get your taco fix whenever you need.

At Chicago's family-run Birrieria Zaragoza, goat is the name of the game. Namely, the roasted goat taco, or birria tatemada, based on a recipe that's more than 100 years old. The goat is steamed for around five hours, then rubbed with an ancho chile-based red mole sauce before being roasted and served on house-made corn tortillas with fresh condiments, including onion, cilantro, red salsa, and roasted chiles. You can request any part of the goat you like, but we suggest you go with the pistola, or shank. It's juicy, tender, and full of flavor, a bite worth seeking out if you're even a passing fan of falling-off-the-bone meat. And who isn't?

Mariscos German's version is the quintessential San Diego fried fish taco: generous in size and filled with grated cabbage and fresh, battered pieces of fish fried to golden brown perfection, topped with a creamy sauce. If you're really hungry, order the Baha Trio — one fried fish taco, one marlin taco, and one shrimp taco — and wash it all down with a cheap can of beer or some coconut juice sipped right out of the coconut.

Located inside a restored theater in Houston's Montrose neighborhood, El Real serves Tex-Mex classics like chili con carne, nachos, and Frito pie (Tex-Mex and Texas food authority Robb Walsh is a partner here), but we recommend you head directly for the San Antonio Puffy Taco Plate with smoked chicken.

The deep-fried and puffed-up shell gets a smear of refried beans, then the smoked chicken (smoked whole before being shredded) is liberally applied. Lettuce and tomato come on top.

Santa Fe loves the green chiles from Hatch, down in the southern part of New Mexico, and their nearly supernatural ability to pair perfectly with just about any type of food you can think of. At The Shed, in business since 1953, the chiles are grown especially for the restaurant and brought in fresh daily, then processed on-site. One of the best applications of this spicy green sauce that you'll find in the city is on the restaurant's taco plate: two fresh blue corn tortillas with baked chicken topped with green chile, Cheddar cheese, onion, lettuce, and tomato. The chicken is perfectly cooked, but the chile is the real star of the show (as is the stellar posole that comes with it).

Austin without Tacodeli, which has five locations around the city (as well as one each in Dallas and Houston), just wouldn't be the same. Their made-from-scratch sauces are works of art, and their most popular taco, El Conquistador, is a perfect showcase for the house chile pasilla sauce. Mixed in with shredded, slow-roasted pork shoulder topped with avocado, cilantro, and onion, all wrapped in a fresh flour tortilla, it's the star of a taco you'll be dreaming about. Go for lunch — all Tacodeli locations are only open until 3 p.m.

When it comes to leaders of a culinary genre, there are few restaurants in America with greater gravitas for their respective focus than San Francisco's La Taqueria has for tacos. That gives it, and its tacos (carnitas among them, quite arguably the best), quite a heavy reputation to live up to. La Taqueria, just one of the Mission's many casual Mexican joints, does Mexican the way it should be done: fresh. As if the amazing rice-free burritos weren't enough (you'd never notice its absence), there are the tacos. To prepare the carnitas, chef/owner Miguel Jara slow-cooks chunks of pork shoulder in cauldrons of bubbling lard until tender, then roasts it until it's crispy. When it's tucked into a double layer of corn tortillas and topped with your choice of pinto beans, onions, pico de gallo, cheese, crema, or guacamole (or none of the above), there's no better taco in America.