A heartfelt thank you to everyone who voted and attended TACO MADNESS 2025 at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes on Saturday night! Your passion for tacos and true independent journalism made this event successful, not just for our taqueros (many of whom closed their shops to be there!) but also for our tiny newsroom. This event directly supports us and helps us keep going financially and morally.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who voted and attended TACO MADNESS 2025 at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes on Saturday night! Your passion for tacos and true independent journalism made this event successful, not just for our taqueros (many of whom closed their shops to be there!) but also for our tiny newsroom. This event directly supports us and helps us keep going financially and morally.
We’re thrilled to announce the winners: Tacos Los Cholos and their mesquite-grilled ribeye took home the online tournament trophy, and A Tí’s duck carnitas taco with fig mole and crema on Kernel of Truth Organics tortilla was crowned "Best in Show," selected through a blind tasting by our esteemed judges!
Congrats to both for bringing their taco A-game. Here are our favorite moments from the night.
Get ready to dance, eat, and drink your way into the sizzling heart of L.A.’s taco scene at TACO MADNESS 2025, the wildest and most OG taco festival in the country.
Best of luck to the two finalists! Choose your taquero fighter below.
It's all happening this Saturday, May 3rd, at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 12 of L.A.’s fiercest taquerías are bringing their A-game—think crocodile trompo, guacamole-slicked al pastor, and asada so juicy and smokey it’ll haunt your dreams. From Eastside legends to Inland Empire Cinderella stories, these tortilla titans are battling for the Best in Show crown and the online tournament trophy. Who’s taking it home? You decide and join us on Saturday to taste it all!
When: Saturday, May 3, 2025, 5 PM ‘til the wheels fall off (Early Entry tickets get in at 4 PM and have a hard out at 11 PM) Where: LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 501 N. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 Vibes: Seven DJs spinning cumbia, reggaeton, and backyard party bangers. I Love Micheladas flowing and salsas dripping.
The battle for L.A.’s favorite taco is heating up, and the stakes have never been higher. After two intense rounds of voting, only the elite taquerías remain standing. These unstoppable tortilla titans have fought their way through and are halfway done to being crowned TACO MADNESS. Now, it’s YOUR turn to decide who moves closer to taco glory.
Will a #1 seed take the crown, or will an underdog swoop in and pull a disappointment? Every vote counts in this clash of L.A.'s taco legends.
The first round of TACO MADNESS 2025 was an all-out guerra de sazón, but only the boldest taquerías survived. From legendary al pastor slingers to boundary-pushing vegan innovators, the Round of 64 delivered unforgettable matchups—and now, the field has been sliced in half. These 32 advancing taquerías didn’t just win; they dominated, securing their spots with crispy trompo mastery, next-level salsas, and tortillas so good they bring their loyal customers to their knees. The people have spoken: THIS IS THE POWER OF L.A.'s TACO LIFE in full display.
Who won the first round? The brave 32 taquerías reads like a dream taco crawl: Eastside icons clashed with Westside newcomers, birria giants faced off against quesabirria rebels, and a few new contenders pulled off upsets that’ll go down in TACO MADNESS history. Whether it’s a family-run lonchera with decades of tradition or a new-school spot redefining what a taco can be, one thing’s clear—these 32 are serving happiness wrapped in a tortilla.
Now, the battles are going to get a little crazier.
The Round of 32 kicks off with make-or-break showdowns: Will your favorite taquero or taquera survive the salsa gauntlet? Can a dark horse outshine a reigning champ? Defend your favorite taquería and vote now —because this is where legends are crowned, hearts are broken, and L.A.’s most beloved taco champion inches a little closer to glory.
The furious battle to crown L.A.'s favorite taco concludes with our annual TACO MADNESS festival on May 3rd at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes.
Tickets are now available for pre-sale. Every ticket sold supports our inclusive, independent, street-level journalism and keeps the stories you all love coming strong.
Voting concludes at 11:59 PM next Tuesday, April 8. No fooling.
Cast your vote for TACO MADNESS 2025 here.
Get those taco-triggers ready to vote for your favorite taco in Los Angeles in 2025. We have 64 taquerías ready to battle it out in this first round. Voting concludes at 11:59 PM next Tuesday, April 1. No fooling.
Cast your vote for TACO MADNESS 2025 here:
L.A. TACO's original taco tournament and live taco competition and festival is back for its 16th year! Voting is going live right now!!
This year, we are returning to our 64-seed tournament to feature twice as many taquerías as last year. We're also opening up the taco battles to include taqueros from the Inland Empire.
Many L.A. legends are duking it out again, but this year, we have a bunch of newcomers taking their first shot at taco glory. Make sure you vote today!
The furious battle to crown L.A.'s favorite taco concludes with our annual TACO MADNESS festival on May 3rd at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes.
Tickets are now available for pre-sale. Every ticket sold supports our inclusive, independent, street-level journalism and keeps the stories you all love coming strong.
If you are curious about our selection process, our annual 69 Best Tacos list was our tortilla compass. Not to say there hasn't been some shouting and near fistfights between Memo "El Tragon" Torres and Javier "The Glutster" Cabral inside our offices, both of them propelling criteria like consistency and the power to spread love throughout L.A.'s taco oasis to the top of their minds.
This year's poster illustration comes again from artist Hawk Krall, who has been gracing our tournament with colorful taco-related art since 2011. This year's poster is a tribute to Yuca's, the first winner of the annual competition, while the truck also nods to repeat winner Mariscos Jalisco.
Consider this your compa's guide. There are the best spots for cabeza, al pastor, and asada tacos in Lynwood. Plus, some neighborhood history, including its racist past.
“You are just happy to be somewhere new, experiencing everything L.A. has,” Vaffel&Venn co-owner Elin Mork says. “Then the longer you stay, the more you start to yearn for the food, for the people, for the feeling of home.”
Molina has written a deeply personal book that will delight the many fans of the music he covers and invites us all to think about the songs that make up the soundtrack of our lives.
In a turn-around from previous tournaments, there’s lots of positivity surrounding the men’s national team despite their recent loss. Rafa Márquez officially stepping in to lead them into 2030's World Cup has many fans hopeful.
"There are times in the middle of the night when I wake up thinking I’m back in that same place, because it's terrifying," the Glass House Farms worker and mother tells L.A. TACO, one year after the raids.
