The intoxicating smell of meat roasting over coals and freshly made tortillas accompanied by chopped onion and cilantro are part of a ritual, that of the taco. In Mexico City there is no street that does not have its own altar to the taco.
For those who visit this city for the first time, tacos are not simply a gastronomic option: they are a profound, democratic and delicious cultural experience. They are eaten on sidewalks, markets, carts, restaurants, steaming street corners. They are eaten standing up, with a coke in hand or a beer within reach. Here, a taco is not only chewed. It is lived.
The origin of this dish comes from the north and the south, from the countryside and the city, from the indigenous past and the mestizaje. There are barbacoa tacos cooked in an earth oven, stew tacos with rice and egg, carnitas tacos, suadero, tripa, lengua, pastor. There are even vegan tacos that taste like street food.
Ask any local for his favorite taqueria and he will not only give you an address, he will also tell you a story. But in the meantime, here are some of the institutions. These places have not only fed generations; they have defined what it means to eat well, fast and unpretentiously.
Taqueria los Parados. Located in Colonia Roma Sur, it has been lighting its grills for more than 50 years to offer steak tacos, al pastor, ribs or chorizo with cheese, all served on thick, freshly made tortillas. At night, the place glows with the glow of its embers. Ask for the charcoal-grilled taco with melted cheese.
- Tacos Beatriz. Started in 1887, it continues to serve stew tacos as if time has not passed. The stove has been boiling since early morning. Emiliano Zapata once had breakfast here. Ask for the rajas con crema.
- Los Cocuyos. Located in the Historic Center, it is a tiny but legendary stall. There is always a line, at any time of the day or night. Their taco de suadero, cooked in its own juice in a bubbling stainless steel pot, is a greasy poem.
- El Huequito y el Tizoncito. Both proudly dispute the invention of the taco al pastor. Both have their own versions of the story, their own style of adobo, and their own way of cutting the pineapple that crowns the trompo. Visit them and choose your favorite, as if you were voting in a crucial election.
And if you want something with distinction, El Califa
de León, in the San Rafael neighborhood, was the
first Mexican taqueria to obtain a Michelin star. It’s
unpretentious: just three types of meat, served with the
precision of a Swiss watch on a golden tortilla
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