After a grueling month of taquero death battles, one taquero fought his way to victory: Villa's Tacos. After nearly losing to Angel's Tijuana Tacos in the semi-final round, the Highland Park O.G. made a statement in their win by slaughtering their San Fernando Valley opponents, Tacos El Vampiro. The final vote count at the strike of midnight was 6,670 votes for Villa's versus 3,584 votes—almost double the amount of votes!
While everyone was probably looking for a rematch of last year's epic matchup between the 2023 champions, Tacos Los Cholos, they ultimately fell to Tacos El Vampiro.
Anything goes in TACO MADNESS.
This means Villa's Tacos is now our only taquería to be a three-time champion!
Stay tuned for the postponed date of our TACO MADNESS festival, which was unfortunately postponed this last Saturday due to rain.
The Final Four is here.
The second-highest vote count in Taco Madness history saw two incredibly close battles that were decided by very thin margins. On one side, two-time champions Villa's Tacos got over 10k votes, but so did their opponent, Angel's Tacos. Ultimately, the final two hours were critical as a wave of support for Villa's Tacos turned the tide and led them to glory.
On the other side, last year's surprise champions, Tacos Los Cholos, were up almost the entire battle, but in the final hour, Tacos El Vampiro saw steady support that slowly but surely brought them on top. In the end, over 13,000 people voted in that battle, and the margin of victory was only 16 votes!
It was an incredible comeback to deny last year's winner and bring a first-timer from the San Fernando Valley to the finals. They will have an uphill battle against Villa's Tacos, who lead all teams in total votes so far in the 2024 competition.
L.A.'s favorite taco will be decided on Sunday, April 14th, at 11:59 P.M.
VOTE NOW.
The winner will be announced at 11 AM on Monday, April 15th. Thank you to everyone who has voted so far, and best of luck to 2024's finalists.
The Final Four is here! What a round.
#1 Tacos Los Cholos vs. #5 Tacos El Vampiro
#2 Villa's Tacos vs. #6 Angel’s Tijuana Tacos
The tournament's biggest upset is that past TACO MADNESS champions, Sonoratown, are OUT. It was neck-and-neck with Angel's Tijuana It was the first time in the final four for Angel's and a repeat visit for Vampiro, who lost to Taco Nazo in last year's contest.
Will Vampiro or Angel's upset what seems like an inevitable Cholos vs Villa's finals? FIND OUT THIS WEEK!
The polls for this round will close on Wednesday, April 10th, at 11:59 PM. The final round will start on Thursday, April 12th, at 11 AM. The winner will be announced at our LIVE TACO MADNESS taco event on Saturday, April 13th.
Reminder: Our L.A. TACO members get in for free! So join us now, claim your ticket using the link above, and see you all on Saturday.
We had some close battles in Round 2, but now we are on to the Sabrocho Round!
Highlights from Round 2
—Macheen mounted a furious comeback to defeat Mariscos Jalisco.
—Taco Nazo also returned for a decisive but close victory over La Carreta.
—Sonoratown had a harder-than-expected close win over #19 seed Tacos Mi Ranchito
—The most votes in the round were again for Tacos Los Cholos, but Tacos Estilo Guadalajara had the most significant margin of victory (over Holbox).
In The Sabrocho
—#1 seed Tacos Los Cholos vs. #9 seed Macheen
A battle of former champions. Tacos Los Cholos is a considerable favorite, but Macheen has done well in every round and has loyal fans across L.A. County.
—#4 seed Taco Nazo vs. #5 seed Tacos El Vampiro
This should be an epic battle. Both have massive fan bases in their respective corners of Los Angeles County and score about equal in every round.
—#2 seed Villa's Tacos vs. #7 seed Tacos Estilo Guadalajara
The potential for a major upset is here. Villa's overlooks the power of TEG at their peril.
—#3 seed Sonoratown vs. #6 seed Angel’s Tacos
Sonoratown has reached the Final Four many times, but upstart Taco Nazo denied them last year. Will history repeat itself, or will Sonoratown reclaim its former glory?
Vote now! This round will close on Sunday, April 7th, at 11:59 PM.
Congratulations to all the winners of the first round of TACO MADNESS 2024!
Tacos Los Cholos edged out play-in round winner Tacos Mochomitos. Ditroit fell to the birria powerhouse, Birriería San Marcos. Macheen stomped out the neighborhood window-only taquería, Santa Cecilia Restaurant.The West L.A. cult following behind Brothers Cousins Tacos did not stand a chance against the seafood Mariscos Jalisco. The fish taco OGs Taconazo beat out Gardena favorites, Doty's Tacos. BirriaMania champion Birria El Jaliscience pulled the biggest round upset, beating out goth rockero taqueros Evil Cooks! Barrio Tacos lost to San Fernando Valley's community gem, Tacos El Vampiro. Villa's Tacos annihilated play-in round mariscos winners, Simon L.A.
And so much more taco carnage. This second round is proving to be yet another nail-biter. Here are some heated head-to-head matchups to look out for.
—Los Cholos ended up with the most votes in Round 1. They are here to defend their title! They will face a strong opponent in Round 2, as Birreria San Marcos destroyed Enrique Olvera's Ditroit in that first round.
—Mariscos Jalisco vs Macheen will be brutal since both are past TACO MADNESS champions.
—Taco Nazo vs. La Carreta will be a battle of communities since both power players are beloved by their Whittier, Bellflower, and Long Beach customers.
—Don Cuco vs. Angel's Tijuana tacos will be a battle of street vending juggernauts! Both specialize in handmade corn tortillas and asada.
—Holbox vs. Tacos Estilo Guadalajara. Holbox won in round one by just a few dozen votes over Balam.
Voting will open on Tuesday, March 26th, at 11 AM PST and end on Sunday, March 31st at midnight.
The third round will start Tuesday, April 2nd at 11 AM.
Also, here is another reminder to come out to our 15th annual celebration of TACO Madness. We are going all out by making it the biggest and best yet, bringing a dozen of the city's best tacos to one Downtown location with DJs, micheladas, cocktails, and an evening party entire of passionate Angelenos.
Last year, Tacos La Carreta was unanimously voted the "Best in Show" by our esteemed panel of judges. Who will take the title this year?
This year will also find TACO MADNESS 2023's online tournament champs, Tacos Los Cholos, cooking there for the first time, as well as two-time TACO Madness winner Villa's Tacos, who has made clear they want to take the title back to L.A. and back to Highland Park in 2024.
We can hardly wait!
Here's who you'll find at our TACO Madness festival on Saturday, April 13 at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
TACOS LOS CHOLOS
VILLAS TACOS
SONORATOWN
LA CARRETA
DITROIT
DON CUCO
CARNITAS EL ARTISTA
MACHEEN
EVIL COOKS
ANGEL'S TACOS
TACOS Y QUE
BASKET TACOS
Buy your tickets here!
And remember, L.A. TACO members get in FREE! You can join right here.
Our online taco tournament is set to start on Monday. Will Villa's Tacos win the title for the third time? Will a dark horse of a taqueria emerge on the wings of its biggest fans?
Explore the poll below and get ready to support your favorite taquero until the bitter end. After all, there can only be one TACO MADNESS 2024 champion!
In Los Angeles, life isn't a matter of milestones, but of tacos.
As another year passes, another wave of taqueros blesses us with their respective regional sazón. Each tortilla, salsa, and grilled piece of meat on every other block in this beautiful city is an extension of a taquero's identity. Thanks to every one of them, each year, our taco community gets even more robust and establishes itself deeper as the best city for tacos in the country—and no other city even gets close.
In this tortilla-fueled utopian society, it's only natural to get competitive. Cue TACO MADNESS, L.A.'s first and longest-running taco tournament, both online and in real life, at our live event at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes on Saturday, April 13th! Tickets for our live event with drinks, DJs, and 13 (more to be announced) of L.A.'s best taquerías in one place are now available here. Remember, our members get in for free at all of our events!
Yesterday's play-in lightning round results are official: Mochomitos and Simon L.A. have earned their way to the official 32 taquerías fighting to be #1 in Los Angeles! But how far will they go? They're both up against the top seeds from last year, Villa's Tacos and Tacos Los Cholos, both of which are past champions! Will they pull an upset?
This round of voting will close on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. We will announce the winners on Monday and open the voting again for the second round of voting on Tuesday at 11 AM.
Will Tacos Los Cholos join Villa's Tacos in the back-to-back champion club? Or will Villa's Tacos take back the title to Highland Park? Vote for your favorite taquero below, and best of luck to all the tortilla warriors competing this year. There can only be one TACO MADNESS champion.
No one said that TACO MADNESS would be fair.
And just like that, we have a 24-hour deathmatch between L.A.'s two Sonoran newcomers: Ciudad Obregón-style Tacos La Rueda in Bellflower vs. Sonoran-generalist style Tacos Mochomitos in Whittier. Along with Silver Lake's fine dining-inspired mariscos served on a paper plate, Simon L.A. food truck vs. El Tragón's favorite new carnitas stand in Downtown's Piñata District, Carnitas Los Gabrieles.
The winners of this round, ending at 10 AM (PST) tomorrow, will earn a spot to compete in our 15th annual full tournament kicking off tomorrow at 11 AM.
Our TACO MADNESS 2024 will culminate at our live event on Saturday, April 13th, at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes! Vote now and defend your favorite taquería. Will the lone mariscos warrior prevail against the porcine and bovine crew? The winners will be announced tomorrow.
Another year, another royal rumble featuring L.A.'s best taquerías in a battle to see who will be this year's TACO MADNESS champion.
This year will be our 15th annual celebration of TACO Madness, and we are going all out by making it the biggest and best yet, bringing a dozen of the city's best tacos to one Downtown location with DJs, micheladas, cocktails, and an evening party full of passionate Angelenos.
Last year, Tacos La Carreta was unanimously voted the "Best in Show" by our esteemed panel of judges. Who will take the title this year?
This year will also find TACO MADNESS 2023's online tournament champs, Tacos Los Cholos, cooking there for the first time, as well as two-time TACO Madness winner Villa's Tacos, who has made clear they want to take the title back to L.A. and back to Highland Park in 2024.
We can't hardly wait!
Here's who you'll find at our TACO Madness festival on Saturday, April 13 at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
TACOS LOS CHOLOS
VILLAS TACOS
SONORATOWN
LA CARRETA
DITROIT
DON CUCO
CARNITAS EL ARTISTA
MACHEEN
EVIL COOKS
ANGEL'S TACOS
TACOS Y QUE
BASKET TACOS
Buy your tickets here!
And remember, L.A. TACO members get in FREE! You can join right here.
Our online taco tournament is set to start on Monday. Will Villa's Tacos win the title for the third time? Will a dark horse of a taqueria emerge on the wings of its biggest fans?
Explore the poll below and get ready to support your favorite taquero until the bitter end. After all, there can only be one TACO MADNESS 2024 champion!
