If you hadn't circled your calendar in concentric squiggles of red pen, here's a reminder: it's National Taco Day!
And while every day is National Taco Day at L.A. TACO, we didn't want to leave you without some solid taco recommendations to explore. So we're taking five of the very best tacos served at L.A.'s 43 Best Mexican Restaurants and laying them out on the digital table for you to peruse.
From puffy San Antonio-style tacos from a fine-dining chef to a blue tortilla from freshly nixtamlized corn that just so happens to be topped in French fries and rib meat.
Enjoy them on this day. Or any other!
#5) PUFFY TACO ~ BAR AMÁ
At Bar Amá, chef Josef Centeno’s “bizarro take” on the San Antonio Tex-Mex cooking that raised him, the most famous dish here isn’t even on the menu. Always available, yet only as an off-menu item by request, Centeno’s signature “puffy taco” is a taco-style that is seen all over Texas and the southwest, but is all but non-existent here in Los Angeles.
Centeno’s version of the iconic puffy taco is built on a flash-souffléd tortilla made with masa from a local, undisclosed tortillería where one of Bar Amá’s staff members’ family works. It puffs up like a pillow and crackles like a burning pile of dry wood when you bite into it.
The tortilla is filled with your choice of shrimp, “ranchero chicken,” Kennebec potatoes that are chopped and then formed into Centeno’s version of a hashbrown, or mushroom birria, and then topped with thinly chopped iceberg lettuce, various salsas, and a sprinkle of crumbled cheese.
But the ten commandments of L.A. tacos state that you shall not leave Bar Ama without enjoying a puffy taco. And your life will be better for it, no matter what eternity holds for your soul.
118 W. 4th St. Los Angeles, CA 90013
#4) DUCK CARNITAS TACO ~ CACAO MEXICATESSEN
One of the most underappreciated tacos in L.A., these duck carnitas come from Cacao Mexicatessen, a long-standing community gem in Eagle Rock. There’s nothing quacky about this taco, in which duck carnitas are served on Kernel of Truth’s organic blue corn tortillas. The taco is fluffy, light, and juicy, no less considering its confit rendering method. Be ready to let out a slight “holy duck” with your first bite.
1576 Colorado Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041
#3) FISH TACOS ~ THREE FLAMES L.A.
Chef Josh Gil, a resilient culinary "pirate," has revived the beloved Tacos Punta Cabras menu at Three Flames L.A., a 52-year-old strip mall gem in Los Angeles, all while battling stage four colorectal cancer. His signature vermillion fish tacos on handmade corn tortillas, scallop cócteles, and cauliflower ceviche with cashew crema are back, delighting his die-hard fans who missed these dishes for years. Get the fish taco and don't look back.
5608 W. Manchester Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90045
#2) TACO DE PULPO EN SU TINTA ~ HOLBOX
It’s hard to choose the best taco at Holbox, the pioneering Mexican marisquería that was the first to win a Michelin Star award in the U.S. But there’s no other taco like their pulpo en su tinta, a braised, fried, and tender octopus served with a squid ink reduction sofrito on a perfectly nixtamalized heirloom Mexican corn tortilla sourced from the molino right next door.
It's a deep dive into seafood umami-land and the kind of taco you will go crazy for if you're the type of person with an insatiable craving for ceviches and aguachiles. If there is a line to order, this taco is worth the wait alone.
3655 S. Grand Ave. #C9. Los Angeles, CA 90007
#1) TACO DE COSTILLA ~ KOMAL
Komal’s recently expanded menu features eight antojitos, which are mostly masa-based, and all priced under $10 an item. Their taco de costilla with home fries is a bonafide street food masterpiece on a tortilla, inspired by the working-class tacos you find on any given intersection of Mexico City.
It features a six-inch handmade tortilla with a seared slice of tender de-boned rib and crispy homemade french fries that may remind you of the potatoes your mom used to cook for you when you were still a picky eater.
It’s a simple taco that satisfies deeply and is perfect to celebrate the taco lifestyle with on this random-ass taco day, especially with a couple of spoonfuls of the chef's salsa cruda de tomatillo to cut through it all.
3655 S. Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90007
