Thanks to a new crop of Instagram-ready street stars and the regular collection of dedicated classics strewn throughout the city, the taco scene in Los Angeles is as dynamic as it has ever been. Los Angeles is rich with excellent vendors doing what they love and servicing their communities exactly where they are, from birria booths with thousands of followers to hidden Compton places just for the in the know. Here is a list of the Best Tacos Near Me in Los Angeles.
1: Tacos de Barbacoa Estilo Chihuahua
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In a city that is more known with central and southern lamb and goat barbacoa, Taquero Ian Leyva’s beef barbacoa stand has put northern Mexican pit roasting on the map. Leyva, like his Chihuahua counterparts, slow cooks beef cheeks and tongue in a huge pot on the stove until the meat melts and fuses together in juicy clumps to pour onto tacos, lonches (tortas), and thin burritos. The buttery, delicious must-have consome is the star of the show, whether it’s tacos, lonche, or burros. Also read Best Seafood Restaurants Near Me.
2: Cacao Mexicatessen
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This Mexican-American taqueria in Eagle Rock, which served duck carnitas, Nieman ranch pork belly chicharrones, and Tijuana-style quesatacos before Guerrilla Tacos, was the first to make LA wonder about the possibilities of a taco, whether it was duck carnitas, Nieman ranch pork belly chicharrones, or Tijuana-style quesatacos. A delightful tribute to the Californias (Alta and Baja) on a tortilla is the tempura battered shrimp chile güero relleno topped with Santa Barbara sea urchin and a sprinkling of chile serrano soy salsa.
3. Tacos Los Palomos
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Fermin Martinez, an indigenous Mihe entrepreneur from Oaxaca whose trompos spread from the San Fernando Valley to San Bernardino County and Torrance, has documented the storey of Mexico City-style al pastor. Multiple locations serve tender al pastor in a sweet adobo that pairs well with tacos, gringas (flour tortillas with melted cheese), or alambres (a stirfry of cheese, peppers, onions, ham, and al pastor served with a stack of corn tortillas). Also read Breakfast Near Me.
4: Taqueria Mazatlán
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Mazatleco Joshi Coronel’s exceptional carne asada tacos were so successful that he was able to open a brick and mortar taqueria within a year of opening. Before becoming a champion of the chorreada, Coronel worked practically every restaurant position in Guadalajara Grill and Mango’s Bar in Mazatlán, then at Culichitown in Los Angeles. Coronel employs a thick, sope-style corn tortilla slathered with asientos (unrefined lard) and melted cheese, topped with succulent carne asada with fine char, covered with pico de gallo, shredded cabbage, and salsas, rather than a pair of corn tortillas as many others do. Unfortunately, the actual location shuttered during the epidemic, but Taqueria Mazatlán continues to operate as a truck. Details may be found on Instagram.
5: Ricky’s Fish Tacos
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When it comes to Ensenada-style fish tacos, Ricky Pia has an obsessive attention to detail, from his tempura batter (made with Baja California flour) that provides light, crispy golden brown fillets to the house-made cream, salsas, and soft, white corn tortillas. Pia only sells fish and shrimp tacos, as per taquero code; he’s the taco guru who resurrected the LA taco culture in 2009.
6: Burritos La Palma
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When the Bauelos family originally founded Burritos La Palma in Jerez, Zacatecas in 1980, they were as innovative as they were when the first U.S. branch opened in El Monte five years ago. The beef birria burrito drips with lightly seasoned meat juices and a little smear of refried beans, whose fragrant smells pervade the fresh flour tortilla, colouring it in a reddish-brown colour.
7: Mexicali Taco & Co.
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When Edras Ochoa opened his cart on 1st and Beaudry in 2009, he was the initial northern taquero in LA, the liberator of real carne asada cooked over an open flame in the United States. The carne asada vampiro is a twist on a traditional beef quesataco or quesadilla, moistened with a modern garlic aioli to ward off vampires for a unique spin on the Sinaloan vampiro. Mexicali has also opened a new facility in San Gabriel. Also read vegan food near me.
8: Taquizas Gilberto
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A genuine lover of the taco lifestyle would travel to Valinda at 7 a.m. on a Sunday for first dibs on the best cuts of Tulancingo, Hidalgo-style lamb barbacoa, lamb barbacoa in consommé, and goat birria flautas. The lamb barbacoa is delicious and even better as a soup, as is the excellent pancita (chopped offal-stuffed stomach coated in chile paste). The showpiece of this weekend-only stall, set up in front of an abandoned market, is the crispy, charred flautas stuffed with moist goat birria and projecting globules of goat fat. 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
9: Bar Amá
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Josef Centeno’s homage to his Texas heritage is possibly his most personal restaurant. “It’s the place we get takeout from the most,” said Centeno, who was born and reared in San Antonio, where Mexican-American food has acquired international recognition as Tex-Mex. Puffy shrimp tacos or a luscious carne guisada floating over a delicate fried corn tortilla blown up like maize clouds of pleasure are available.
10: Leo’s Tacos Truck
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The Oaxacan brothers behind a Mexico City-style food truck strategically located on Venice and La Brea, within striking reach of a crossover audience, brought in the second wave of al pastor. Mercenary taqueros and gigantic scarlet mounds of delicious marinated pork, symmetrically trimmed off of vertical spits, concluded with the spectacle of flying pineapple pieces snagged with Ozzie Smith-like accuracy onto a tortilla soon flooded the blogs. Leo’s currently has a fleet of trucks that are spreading the traditional al pastor gospel around Los Angeles.
