Skip to Content
Photo Essay

Announcing the TACO MADNESS 2024 ā€˜Best in Show’ Champion, Plus All the Tacos and Good Times You Missed Out On!

Thank you to every single of you who came out to support us in our quinceaƱera edition of TACO MADNESS 2024! This year's winner was a shocker and first-in-its class! See if you spot yourself and your TACO MADNESS crew in our photo recap!

Award-winning taco de suadero de Ditroit. Photo by Andrew Lugo for L.A. TACO.

At approximately 7:45 PM, a new TACO MADNESS best-in-show champion was crowned, and it was a first in its class! For the first time, it was from a fine-dining Mexican restaurant. It was a unanimous decision by our three esteemed judges: Ditroit. Chef Chuy Cervantes and his team of modern taqueros made a juicy, delicious, lime-juice forward suadero (beef brisket) slowly confit in its own fat. The taco was topped with crushed house-made chicharrón on a house-nixtamalized tortilla made with native corn imported from Mexico and topped with a dollop of guacachile.

Award-winning taco de suadero de Ditroit. Photo by Andrew Lugo for L.A. TACO.
Chuy Cervantes celebrating his Judge's Choice TACO MADNESS win.
Chuy Cervantes celebrating his Judge's Choice TACO MADNESS win. Photo by Andrew Lugo for L.A. TACO.
Chef Chuy Cervantes and his Ditroit team on stage accepting their win.
Chef Chuy Cervantes and his Ditroit team on stage accepting their win. Photo by Andrew Lugo for L.A. TACO.
Ditroit at their booth
Ditroit at their booth. Photo by Andrew Lugo for L.A. TACO.

Of course, it wouldn't be proper TACO MADNESS without our three-time people's choice taco, Villa's Tacos formally accepting his trophy and and also starting the party on the dance floor.

Victor Villa of Villa's Tacos celebrating his 2024 win.
Victor Villa of Villa's Tacos celebrating his 2024 win. Photo by Andrew Lugo for L.A. TACO.
Villa's Tacos giving their speech.
Villa's Tacos giving their speech. Photo by Andrew Lugo for L.A. TACO.
Villa's Tacos team.
Villa's Tacos team. Photo by Andrew Lugo for L.A. TACO.

Thank you to everyone who came out to eat, drink, dance, and have a good time supporting L.A. TACO and our independent journalism. Thank you to our judges: Anais Martinez, Ruben Leal, and Bricia Lopez. Thank you to our beer sponsor, Boomtown Brewery for supplying all the beer. Thank you to our tequila sponsor, Trujillo Tequila. Thank you to our soft beverage sponsor, Jarritos! Thank you to all our DJs for helping us Last but not least, thank you to our event partners, I Love Micheladas, for helping us throw the best taco festival in Los Angeles! See you all next year.

Here are some of our favorite moments of the night. All photos by Andrew Lugo for L.A. TACO.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Director of Pasadena Community Job Center Speaks About Arrest by Pasadena Police After Observing Federal Immigration Activity

ā€œThey didn’t stop the ICE agent, but they stopped me,ā€ said Jose Madera, who followed a vehicle driven wrecklessly by ICE agents, who continue to roam freely nationwide, even after killing 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis earlier today.

L.A.’s Young Magicians Are Blowing Minds at Clubs, Pop Video Sets, and Taco Stands

Today's budding magicians are trading college and 9 to 5s to work with Chappell Roan, raise money for cancer patients, and perform at Magic Castle, marking a comeback for magic tricks in 2026.

January 7, 2026

DAILY MEMO: Border Patrol Returns On Dia De Los Reyes, Taking at Least Eight in Orange County and Injure Elderly Man

In another incident, a vendor in Fountain Valley was released after being questioned and detained, but not before CBP called for help from paramedics to use bolt cutters to remove the handcuffs used on the vendor.

January 6, 2026

DAILY MEMO: Masked and Unmasked Agents Kidnap at Least Eight Around Southern California In First Weekend of 2026

During the first weekend of the year, agents targeted areas nearby a Dollar Tree, PetCo, and more common errand hotspots—even a Wienerschnitzel.

January 6, 2026

Nine Places to Get to Know Venezuelan Food In L.A.

These are L.A.'s nine best places for getting to know Venezuelan cooking, from its beloved arepas, tequeños, and cachapas, to its national dish of pabellón criollo.

The Dark Origin of Rosca de Reyes, Plus the 10 Best In L.A.

Eating a rosca de reyes is a way to beat the post-holiday blues. Here are where to find the best ones in L.A. and plus, the macabre origin of the religious holiday that involves murdering infants.

January 6, 2026
See all posts