Best Tacos in America

This taqueria started as a tiny truck in New York’s biggest hotbed for tacos—Jackson Heights, Queens—and has since spawned branches in Williamsburg and the East Village (including a new four-table restaurant). It does classic, authentic tacos, such as the al pastor, carnitas, lengua, and barbacoa, each double-stack of handmade corn tortillas topped with cilantro, onions, guacamole, and hot sauce. The showstopper, though, is the placeros (“market tacos”), which acts as a blue-plate surprise: the tacos are filled with a daily special, such as a gooey, cheese-filled chile relleno with rice. Need further enticement? Noma’s René Redzepi is a huge fan. 438 E. 9th St.; (347) 772-5216

With locations in Boyle Heights and Echo Park, this taqueria focuses on Mexico City–style guisados (traditional meat braises), with the biggest crowd-pleaser being the peppery cochinita pibil—slow-roasted pork, with pickled red onions on top. Rotating guisado stews also include costillas en mole negro (pork riblets in a dark mole sauce), old-fashioned menudo (tripe), and the test-your-machismo peppers-only chiles torreados (roasted serrano, Fresno, Thai, jalapeño, and habanero). If you can’t commit to one filling, ask for the Taco Sampler, comprising six tiny tacos piled on mini handmade corn tortillas. guisados.co

Located in a rehabbed Methodist church that dates back to 1893—and which still features the original stained glass and wooden pews—this Phoenix taqueria promises a near-spiritual experience. The menu offers both so-called old world and new school tacos: “old world” includes a coffee-braised beef, topped with caramelized onions and mango-jicama relish, while “new school” offerings include a Peking duck taco with plum sauce, poblano-apricot compote, and fried Brie, as well as a Thai snapper taco with coconut green curry. tacoguild.com

Reaching Lone Star State dominance (with locations in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Waco, and even Lubbock), Torchy’s Tacos started in Austin as a food truck whose owner zipped around on his scooter passing out free chips and green salsa. Today’s menu pays homage to the state capital’s politicos: The Republican (grilled jalapeño sausage with cheese and pico de gallo on a flour tortilla), The Democrat (shredded barbacoa and avocado on corn), and The Independent (fried portobello with roasted corn, spicy pickled carrots, and refried black beans). Apolitical types can opt for The Trailer Park, a batter-fried chicken breast topped with sautéed green chiles. Either way, make room for the green-chiles-and-jalapeño-loaded queso.

Long before San Francisco became known as the mother ship for foodies, the city was famed for its Mission burritos, those kitchen-sink wonders wrapped in foil. And while this Mission District institution—one of the best Mexican restaurants in the U.S.—offers a somewhat anti-establishment burrito (it’s rice-free), it continues to stand out among the local taquerias for its Mission-burrito-hearted carnitas taco, which features two shells (one hard, one soft and lined with cheese) generously stuffed with meat, beans, and salsa. facebook.com/LaTaqSF

It’s a long way from Baja, but this taco and burrito cart (operating from a toothily-painted truck called Mr. Bomber Van Sharkson) embraces the Atlantic Coast’s South of the Border flavors—like jerk chicken and tropical fruit. Try the Cayo Fish Taco, which features mahimahi, mango, jalapeños, cabbage, and a Caribbean sauce, or the Yum Yum Shrimp Taco, which showcases the local Key West pinks. garbosgrillkw.com

Embracing a honky-tonk spirit, with such patron saints as Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, the Wicker Park taqueria—one of America’s best outdoor restaurants—keeps its menu pared down, with just five authentic taco options, including an al pastor (grilled pork with pineapple) and a taco panza (crispy pork belly with guajillo sauce). And while traditional honky-tonks rarely speak of “pairings,” here your beverage choice is considered vital: Big Star’s drink menu has two dozen beers, as many tequilas, and nearly 60 whiskeys, ryes, and bourbons. If none of those suit, you can wash down your taco with a house dulce de leche milkshake. bigstarchicago.com

With locations in both the Northwest and Southeast parts of town, this PDX taqueria (abbreviated “Mmm”) takes its inspiration from the stewlike guisados of Mexico City’s street food. The meat- or veggie-based stews are piled onto nixtamal tortillas, a more textured version than the more common, masa-based tortillas. The rotating menu of guisados can include plenty of veggie options—say, potatoes with cactus—as well as exotic meat guisados such as blood sausage, rabbit, or even colitas de pavo (smoked turkey tails). mmmtacospdx.com

This former Winnebago-based food truck boasts of being “the best thing in Nashville since country music,” with a menu that reflects an East Nashville hipster bent more than good ol’ boy tastes. Its brick-and-mortar home is known for its sweet potato and quinoa taco and a fried avocado taco, though you can also get authentic Mexican street-food sides, such as grilled corn on the cob (elote) rolled in mayo, spices, and Cotija cheese. facebook.com/mastacos

Talk about purist: at this 53-year-old San Antonio mainstay, Tex meets Mex head-on, without any unnecessary distractions. The Brisket Taco features a meal-sized slab of classic smoked brisket on a tortilla, with perhaps just a bit of guac and a side of pico de gallo, while the Pork Chop Taco is just that—a thin, bone-in chop on a flour tortilla with salsa.

You can’t swing a chimichanga in this oil town without hitting a great Tex-Mex place, but this former food truck has made its name by taking a contrarian stance. Its global taco menu includes a seared duck taco with a soy citrus glaze; a spicy lamb keema taco with tomato, cucumber, and salsa verde (riffing on the classic ground beef taco); and, because this is still Texas, a chicken-fried oyster taco topped with celery-root slaw and hot sauce. The lamb taco comes in a hard shell, but as a nod to old-fashioned types, there’s a “like it crispy” option for all tacos. fusiontaco.com

The breakfast dish of migas—a mix of eggs, onions, chiles, and tortillas cooked into a scramble—is so beloved in Austin that it’s practically its own food group. Tacodeli offers several migas-based tacos for breakfast each day (and until 3 p.m. on weekends), as well as the hangover-soothing Otto (refried black beans, bacon, avocado, and Jack cheese). At lunchtime, options range from the Florentino (spinach sautéed in sherry with portobello, red bell peppers, and onion) to the classic Cowboy (beef tenderloin with grilled corn, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, and guacamole). tacodeli.com

This Bay Area taqueria—with five locations, from North Beach down to Palo Alto—started in 2009 and prides itself on not offering burritos, a rarity in these parts. Instead, it focuses on tacos with hormone-free meats, sustainable seafood, and organic veggies: the signature taco is the roasted butternut squash with pasilla peppers, chicories, and spicy pumpkin seeds, but it also does a shot-and-a-beer-braised-chicken taco. A broader booze menu includes 120 tequilas, perfect to activate your agave palate—like Cora (“the California Chardonnay of tequilas”) or the 7 Leguas, described as “perfume with a touch of Bazooka Bubble Gum.”

In New Mexico, plenty of menus feature an Indian (or Navajo) taco: fry bread topped with beans, meat, or veggies with cheese and lettuce. You can get an elegant rendition at Coyote Café, just off Santa Fe’s Plaza, where the house Navajo Taco features a triple threat of pulled pork, roasted chicken, and ground buffalo, topped with Tucumcari white cheddar, “drunken” black beans, and local chiles. It also does more contemporary models, like a seared ahi tuna topped with avocados and peppers, or a vegetarian option of tempura green chiles, sautéed zucchini, and pumpkin-seed pesto. coyotecafe.com

Hard-shell lovers are largely marginalized in the new world order of tacos, but that’s not the case at this Westside L.A. taco shack that’s been around since 1959. It is unapologetically old-school shredded beef, hard shell, iceberg lettuce—and it offers only two kinds: with cheese and without cheese. Tito’s is also known for its fabulous chili-filled (not chile-filled) burritos, as well as tamales, enchiladas, and tostadas. titostacos.com

This just-north-of-the-border city boasts of bringing the first fish tacos to America, thanks in part to the now-omnipresent chain Rubio’s. But this spot just outside downtown makes the most of the city’s plentiful (and sometimes quirky) fresh fish: you can order a taco with any of the day’s dozen-plus catches—from Hawaiian albacore and wahoo to shark and mild baquetta sea bass—served on warm tortillas from El Indio, the Cal-Mex institution a few doors down (which has its own claim to fame, as the purported birthplace of the taquito). bluewaterseafoodsandiego.com