12 Best Taco Spots Across the USA

Ask ten people where to find America’s best taco and you will start ten arguments. I love that. No single city owns the taco, and chasing it from coast to coast is more than half the fun.

From a Tijuana-style trompo spinning on the Las Vegas Strip to a puffy masa shell frying on San Antonio’s West Side, this country hides smoke and citrus on nearly every corner. Below are twelve taco spots worth crossing state lines for, one per state, spread clear across the map.

1. Los Tacos No. 1, New York

Standing room only, no tables, no fuss. Since 2013 this Chelsea Market stand has drawn lines for one simple reason: tacos that taste like a Tijuana street corner dropped into Manhattan.

Founders Christian Pineda, Tyler Sanders and Kyle Cameron kept the menu tiny on purpose. The adobada is the move, marinated pork shaved straight off the spit onto a handmade tortilla, then finished with guacamole and a squeeze of lime.

Get the nopales taco too, made with grilled cactus for something a little different. Wash it down with a horchata and eat standing at the counter.

There is a second outpost in Times Square now, but the Chelsea original still feels like the real thing. One bite and you understand why New Yorkers treat this place like a pilgrimage.

Where: Los Tacos No. 1, 75 Ninth Ave, New York, NY 10011, inside Chelsea Market.

2. La Taqueria, California

Since 1973, this Mission District icon has done things its own stubborn way. Owner Miguel Jara, a Tijuana native, skips the rice and doubles the meat, then griddles each tortilla until the edges go golden and crisp.

The carnitas taco is the one to chase, tender pork with a lacy crust, dressed simply so the meat carries it. Ask for it “dorado” and they will crisp it up even more. The smoky red salsa is worth pouring on generously.

The James Beard Foundation named it an America’s Classic in 2017, and the line out the door most afternoons tells you the honor stuck. Come hungry and come patient. It moves slow because it is worth waiting for.

Where: La Taqueria, 2889 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110.

3. Big Star, Illinois

Part taqueria, part honky-tonk, all Chicago. Chef Paul Kahan, of Publican and Blackbird fame, opened Big Star in a former Wicker Park gas station, and it swings between old Buck Owens records and a walk-up window slinging tacos to the sidewalk.

The tacos al pastor are the anchor, spit-roasted pork on house-made tortillas, best chased with a whiskey or a frozen margarita on the patio. The panza taco, made with crispy pork belly, runs a close second.

Grab a spot outside on a warm night and let the neighborhood roll past. The queso fundido and the guacamole, mashed fresh in a stone molcajete, round out any order. Few places make street food and a good time feel this inseparable.

Where: Big Star, 1531 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60622.

4. Coyo Taco, Florida

In the heart of Wynwood’s mural-splashed streets, Coyo Taco smashes its guacamole to order and presses its tortillas on-site. The al pastor is the classic, spit-roasted pork with a bright hit of pineapple, though the birria and carne asada make the choice genuinely hard.

There is a running secret too. A speakeasy hides behind the taqueria for anyone who lingers past dinner, tucked through an unmarked door in the back. Order churros for the walk over.

Loud and unmistakably Miami, it is the kind of place you plan a night around and end up staying longer than you meant to.

Where: Coyo Taco, 2320 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33127.

5. Ray’s Drive Inn, Texas

This is where the puffy taco was born. Ray Lopez opened Ray’s Drive Inn on San Antonio’s West Side in 1956, frying rounds of masa over a wooden spoon until each one puffed into a light, bubbly, golden pocket.

His brother Arturo bought the place in 1966 and trademarked the puffy taco in 1992, and the family still fries more than 500 a day. Order one stuffed with picadillo, watch the shell crackle, and taste a Tex-Mex original at the source.

The old drive-in charm is still baked into the walls, right down to the neon out front and the vintage booths inside. Did you know? Henry’s, across town, was started by another Lopez brother, so the friendly puffy-taco rivalry runs right through the family tree.

Where: Ray’s Drive Inn, 822 SW 19th St, San Antonio, TX 78207.

6. Tacos Apson, Arizona

Sonoran cooking runs on mesquite smoke, and Tacos Apson runs on plenty of it. This South 12th Avenue taqueria grills its carne asada over a mesquite fire until it picks up a deep, smoky char, then folds it into a warm tortilla with all the fixings.

Picnic tables, a walk-up window, and a colorful patio keep the whole thing happily unpretentious. The al pastor and fish tacos hold their own, and the cheese-crisped mulitas are a sleeper favorite.

The mesquite asada is why Tucson keeps sending people here. It is border-country cooking, done exactly right, and priced so you can afford to over-order.

Where: Tacos Apson, 3501 S 12th Ave, Tucson, AZ 85714.

7. El Modelo Mexican Foods, New Mexico

El Modelo has been feeding Albuquerque since 1929, when Refugio and Carmen Garcia turned one room of their Barelas home into a tortilla factory. Nearly a century later, the family recipes still anchor the menu.

The carne adovada, pork slow-simmered in New Mexico red chile, is the thing to order. Wrap it in one of those hand-pressed tortillas and you taste why generations line up here. The huge hand-tied tamales are a local legend too.

Save room for a sopaipilla drizzled with honey, the classic New Mexican way to cool the chile down. Order red or green, or say “Christmas” for both.

This is New Mexican home cooking with almost a hundred years behind it, and it still feels like a family kitchen. Takeout by the dozen is a Barelas tradition worth joining.

Where: El Modelo Mexican Foods, 1715 2nd St SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102.

8. ¿Por Qué No? Taqueria, Oregon

Bryan Steelman’s little North Mississippi Avenue taqueria draws a line down the block in almost any weather, and Portland shows up happily rain or shine. The kitchen leans on fresh, local ingredients and bright house salsas.

The carne asada and fish tacos are the ones regulars swear by, and Bryan’s Bowl earns its own loyal following. Order a couple with a fresh horchata and settle in with the crowd.

It is small, warm, and colorful, the sort of neighborhood spot that feels like a party on Taco Tuesday. Come early if you can, because the wait is real and always worth it.

Where: ¿Por Qué No? Taqueria, 3524 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227.

9. Tacos Chukis, Washington

Roberto Salmerón opened Tacos Chukis in a tiny upstairs Capitol Hill space in 2011, and Seattle has been chasing his adobada ever since. The house taco is the signature, and it is a beauty.

Picture rotisserie pork adobada, melted jack cheese, a swipe of guacamole, and a juicy slice of grilled pineapple on a warm corn tortilla. Sweet, savory, and a little smoky all at once. The mulitas are worth a detour too.

The following grew so fast the shop now has several locations across the city, from South Lake Union to the Central District. Cheap and reliably excellent, it earned that reach one taco at a time, and the original Capitol Hill counter still draws the faithful.

Where: Tacos Chukis, 219 Broadway E, Seattle, WA 98102.

10. Tacos Tequila Whiskey, Colorado

This Denver favorite started as a pair of food carts working street corners and farmers markets before settling into a brick-and-mortar home in the Highlands. The kitchen puts a modern spin on comida de la calle with local ingredients and regional recipes.

Bon Appétit once named it one of the best new restaurants in the country. Pull up for a plate of street tacos and a pour from the deep tequila and whiskey shelf, or one of the award-winning cocktails.

The patio is the place to be on a warm evening, with the Front Range light doing its golden thing. It is proof that Denver’s taco game punches well above the mile-high line.

Where: Tacos Tequila Whiskey, 3300 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80211.

11. Taqueria El Nacimiento, Michigan

Southwest Detroit’s Mexicantown has been a taco destination for decades, and El Nacimiento is one of its anchors. This Vernor Highway taqueria keeps things gloriously traditional, with warm corn tortillas, well-marinated meats, and salsas made fresh.

The tacos al pastor are the standout, the kind of honest, unfussy plate that keeps regulars loyal for years. Weekend menudo pulls its own crowd, and the burritos are the size of your forearm.

It is a neighborhood institution more than a scene, which is exactly its charm. The horchata is house-made and the chips arrive warm. Come for the pastor and see why Detroiters send every visitor here.

Where: Taqueria El Nacimiento, 7400 W Vernor Hwy, Detroit, MI 48209.

12. Tacos El Gordo, Nevada

Just north of the Wynn, Tacos El Gordo brings Tijuana straight to the Las Vegas Strip. The adobada is the reason to come, marinated pork carved fresh off a spinning trompo onto handmade corn tortillas, then dressed at the salsa bar.

Order a few and work through the suadero and lengua while you are at it. Marvel that some of the city’s best food costs only a couple of dollars a taco, right in the middle of the most expensive strip of pavement in Nevada.

It stays open late into the weekend night, which makes it the perfect last stop after a long Vegas evening. Watching the taqueros shave the trompo and press each tortilla by hand is half the show.

Grab a station, order at the counter, and load up at the salsa bar. For a couple of bucks a taco, it is the best deal on the whole boulevard.

Where: Tacos El Gordo, 3041 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109.

Start Planning Your Cross-Country Taco Run

Here is the beautiful thing about tacos: there is no finish line. Every region does it differently, from Sonoran mesquite asada to San Antonio’s puffy shells to Tijuana adobada straight off the trompo, and all of it is worth the trip.

So pick a city, pick a spot, and start there. Some are counter stands with no chairs, some are sit-down rooms with a full bar, and every one of them is worth the detour.

Bring an appetite and an open mind, tip your taquero, and let the map fill itself in from one great taco to the next. The best one you ever have might be the next one you order.

Featured image: @ ¿Por Qué No?