Guide to Tucson Mexican Restaurants with House-Made Tortillas

As with any regional food, locals, and natives are blindly wed to their preferred go-to taqueria. They shake their fists in the air and shout to the maize goddesses which taco joint is “best,” which is not, and then intersperse a personal rationale as to why. “They’re not authentic," a devotee will insist at a fiesta. “It’s not like my abuelita made! The salsa is too thin! Their guac tastes like nothing!” And right there, mid-zealous sermon, emerges a useful method by which to assess a taqueria — deconstruct and compare their main dish’s integral elements. You can weigh the fattiness of their carne asada, the creaminess of their beans, or note whether they garnish with cabbage or lettuce. Those are valid ways to qualitatively address regionalisms and flavor profiles. Subjective preferences are informed, instead of just impassioned. Because the tortilla is the foundational ingredient for taquerias worldwide, it comprises the ideal quality metric. Few local taco restaurants make their own tortillas nowadays. Rather, they source them from local or even distant factories. This list compiles some of the last holdouts, a description of their homemade tortillas, and a few backstories. Of course, these places don’t just make tacos — some don’t even really specialize in tacos, but you can get tacos with homemade tortillas at these places.