What a taco year it’s been! I traveled thousands of miles across the state for “The 50 Best Tacos in Texas,” so you’ll see some of the taquerias from that project featured here. I didn’t journey much outside of Texas, but the places I did go—Mexico City and the Phoenix area—yielded plenty of gems. Some dishes, such as the barbacoa de borrego at Barbacoa Renatos de Horno and the trompo negro at Tacos Del Valle, both in Mexico City, would have had places on the list if they’d been served in Texas. So I wanted to give a shout-out to the refreshing, thrilling, and out-of-this-world tacos—and related items—that I ate in 2024.
Aguacate Tatemado
Tizne Tacomotora, Mexico City
The smoking specialists at Tizne Tacomotora treat avocado right. The sole filling in the aguacate tatemado taco is peeled and charred until ashes begin to form on the edges of the creamy fruit. Then the avocado is placed on a blue corn tortilla and served.
Aguas Frescas
El Primo Snack, Laredo
A cool agua fresca makes any taco experience a sweet one. At El Primo Snack, a drink stand in an O’Reilly’s Auto Parts parking lot, you’ll have to BYOT. (I recommend the barbacoa tacos from Raul’s BBQ, a few blocks east.) The family that runs the business, which has two additional locations, makes nearly twenty flavors before opening, at noon. The chia seed and celery, mellow banana, rompope (eggnog), and classic jamaica (hibiscus) all paired well with my smoky, shimmering beef. If I lived in Laredo, I’d never want to come down from that sugar buzz.
Barbacoa de Borrego
Barbacoa Renatos de Horno, Mexico City
My preferred barbacoa is lamb, which is what’s served at family-owned and -operated Barbacoa Renatos de Horno, in the northern Mexico City borough of Azcapotzalco. Operating out of the owners’ former home, the business puts everything on display for customers, including the horno (earthen oven) and the pots used for nixtamalization. My friends and I enjoyed the plates of lamb ribs and other cuts that decorated our table. The root beer aroma of hoja santa, an herb the meat was cooked with, gave everything a punchy flavor.
Chilean Sea Bass Taco
Revolver Taco Lounge, Dallas
Dallas’s Revolver Taco Lounge, whose pulpo al pastor was number four on our 50 Best Tacos list, has become a destination for open-minded taco lovers. Case in point: Chef Regino Rojas sometimes hosts taco omakases. At one this year, he served a hefty block of Chilean sea bass over soft, plump velo de novia (bridal veil) rice draped with creamy beet sauce on a corn tortilla. The finishing touch of a blooming hibiscus flower only proved the Michoacán native’s prowess in the kitchen.
Chile en Nogada
El Naranjo, Austin
This chile relleno dish is the most patriotic dish in Mexico because its components are in peak season in September, during which the country’s independence day falls. The transcendent dish of a pomegranate-punctuated white walnut sauce over a poblano stuffed with ground beef and pork, apples, peaches, pears, almond slivers, and raisins displays the colors of the Mexican flag. Despite its national importance, chile en nogada is only served from around June through the end of September. (If you come across a chile en nogada during any other time of the year anywhere, do not eat it.) The chile en nogada at El Naranjo, in Austin, is my favorite in the States. Served properly, at room temperature, and harmonious in ingredients and flavors, the dish is sweet and fruity.
Double Taquitos
Moodie Blacks, Tempe, Arizona
The El Paso diaspora has taken Chico’s Tacos–style taquitos ahogados across Texas, with much success. Now El Paso–born, Phoenix-raised chef Kristen Martinez has brought them to Tempe, where she sells them out of the Yucca Tap Room kitchen. At Moodie Blacks, the taquitos (sometimes called flautas) come in orders of three (a single) and six (a double). Martinez packs the rolled tacos with beef and potatoes, onions, and garlic, drowns them in salsa roja, and caps them with burnt jalapeño crema, cheddar cheese, crunchy slaw, and queso fresco. Get the double, because you’ll be pressed to share—and don’t worry, the tacos never get soggy.
Enchilada Taco
Roy’s Taco Hut, San Antonio
Monterrey native Rashid Assad bought his small rock ’n’ roll–themed breakfast taco joint twelve years ago but never changed the menu. And thank goodness for that. The enchilada taco features an enchilada—a red-chile corn tortilla wrapped around melted cheese that I suspect is from supermarket Fiesta (I’m not mad about it)—wrapped in a fresh, flaky flour tortilla. That’s right—double the tortilla. I was wary when I first saw it on the Roy’s Taco Hut menu, but it ended up putting a smile on my face.
Gordita de Mochomos
Ana Liz Taqueria, Mission
In honor of Día de Muertos, James Beard Foundation Award–winning chef Ana Liz Pulido offered a special seasonal menu at her Ana Liz Taqueria. One of the dishes was the regional Sonoran snack known as a gordita de mochomos, which featured a nixtamalized blue corn tortilla cooked on a plancha and filled with buttery, pale refried Peruvian beans, avocado slices, and deshebrada de res (shredded beef) fried in lard. A wide smear of guacamole and a dusting of queso fresco finished the dish. It hit the spot after a long day of taco tasting across the Rio Grande Valley.
Huevos Rancheros
Nora’s Tacos, Sabinal
This traditional breakfast dish wasn’t on my list of things to order at nineteen-year-old Nora’s Tacos, an hour west of San Antonio, but our waiter recommended it. The runny yolks of eggs spread over refried beans on crunchy tostadas were rich and comforting.
Mesquite-Flour Tortillas
Con Todo, Austin
Only one thing could make the mesquite-flour tortillas at Con Todo better: butter. But they’re pretty close to perfect as is.
Refritos Negros con Huevos
Fonda Margarita, Mexico City
Served in the shape of an ear of corn, this mixture of scrambled eggs and refried black beans is a must-order at Fonda Margarita, not only because the restaurant has served it since opening in the Del Valle neighborhood, in the 1960s, but also because of the dish’s delicate texture and impressive appearance—it looks like an array of yellow and black corn kernels. Afterward, order from the series of guisados cooked in clay pots.
Suadero Taco
Tacos El Paisa, Mexico City
This corner taco stand, walking distance from a Michelin-starred taqueria, is busy yet quiet. On one side, customers wait for tacos of brisket suadero simmering in lard in a sombrero-shaped cooking instrument called a choricera. Small tortillas heat up on the convex tower at the center of the appliance. On the other side, an elderly gentleman chops different cuts of the meat to order. The “pedazo” option—fat, slick slices of whole brisket covered in chile seed–dotted red salsa—singes the lips.
Taco de Cecina
Mercado de Xochimilco, Mexico City
Gauzy cecina de res (dried, salted beef) is a wonder. Who can stretch beef to the length of an adult’s arm? The answer is simple: masterful artisans who prize making the taco filling as thin as possible. I’ve relished the tacos—famous in Morelos—in years past, and at the Mercado de Xochimilco, in a neighborhood famous for its colorful boats bearing tipsy tourists, the cecina is served in small, rectangular cuts in corn tortillas. The pieces are just as thin as they should be, but also juicy and tender.
Taco de Costilla
Tacos Domingo, Mexico City
Brothers Alex and Nico Meehan are perhaps best known for their yellow-and-black hardcover taco guides for Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Tijuana, written with taco sage Pedro Reyes. But their taqueria, tucked away in front of a quiet park in downtown Mexico City, brings their native Monterrey’s al carbon grilling tradition to the capital. The handful of taco options available feature meat cooked on a charcoal-fired grill with either corn or flour tortillas from La Tonina. Go for the costilla: chopped beef-rib meat on a tortilla of your choice. Garnishes and salsas are available at the center of each table.
Taco de Milanesa
Maizajo, Mexico City
Before moving into its current location, in the hip Condesa neighborhood, Maizajo was in a small warehouse in the northern borough of Azcapotzalco. The original spot was dedicated to nixtamalizing non-GMO heirloom corn and making masa and tortillas for wholesale and retail. Owner-chef Santiago Muñoz also sold a few snacks, including tamales. In Condesa, though, he has two floors to play with. The upper level houses a fine-dining, corn-focused restaurant. The ground floor is a taqueria buzzing with cooks preparing everything from tortillas to French fries. In fact, shoestring fries are served atop the beef milanesa taco along with a salsa of your choice—go for the salsa macha.
Taco de Piña
Comadre Panadería, Austin
Not all taco fillings are served on tortillas. The traditional pan dulce known as a taco de piña is a flaky puff pastry with a filling of pineapple jam. The version sold at Comadre Panadería might be the best “breakfast taco.”
Tres Leches del Desierto
Don Artemio, Fort Worth
This classic dessert gets an imaginative turn with chunks of cake, instead of a flat layer, and a ring of berries. The cherry on top is actually ice cream molded into the shape of an ancient ammonite shell uncovered near Don Artemio’s original location, in Saltillo, Mexico. I tried to lift the bowl and slurp the melted ice cream and milk without anyone noticing but was quickly called out for being rude.
Trompo Negro Fuego Tacos
Tacos Del Valle, Mexico City
My teenage son and I had just finished eating great ramen for an exorbitant price in Mexico City when we turned the corner and encountered the Monterrey-style taqueria Tacos Del Valle. Although there were three trompo tacos, it was the pastor de recado negro tacos, topped with finely crushed Takis, that won our hearts and stomachs. Each razor-thin slice of trompo meat was dark and charred on the exterior and tender and off-white at the center, and the pieces were highlighted by the brilliant orange color of the chips on homey, flower-print plates.
