In honor of National Taco Day on Wednesday, October 4, Yelp has thrown together its 2023 edition of “Top 100 Taco Spots in the U.S.” While putting the list together, the folks at Yelp looked for tacos in all corners of the country, from “the Florida Gulf to the Southwest to Alaska.”
I wonder what the tacos are like in Alaska?
Top 15 Taco Towns
Yelp looked for cities with the highest search for “tacos” by consumers between August 2022 and August 2023, and cities had to have a minimum of five million searches. Tucson ranked fifth place out of the “Top 15 Taco Towns,” Phoenix came in third place, and Austin took the number one spot.
Now, to find the best taco spots in the country, Yelp looked at a few things including volume and consumer rating. Plus, the website identified three taco trends, stating that cheese, seafood, and “demanding and delicious” are commonly searched.
2 Tucson Restaurants Make the Top 100 List
La Chaiteria
1002 W. Congress St.
La Chaiteria came in at 48th place out of 100 restaurants around the country — scoring 4.7 stars on Yelp. The restaurant located at 1002 W. Congress St. opened in February 2020 and is one of Chef Wendy Garcia‘s two restaurant concepts.
Almost exactly a year ago, Garcia’s Tumerico was named one of the best vegan Mexican food spots in the U.S. by VegNews. Plus, Garcia was even a semi-finalist for a James Beard Award earlier this year.
For more information about Garcia’s restaurants, visit tumerico.com and lachaiteria.com.
El Taco Rustico
2281 N. Oracle Rd.
Coming in at 74th place on the list of 100 restaurants is the beloved El Taco Rustico at 2281 N. Oracle Rd. Having had a food stand at the Tohono O’odham Swap Meet for almost five years, Chef Juan Almanza felt it was time that he made that next step into a brick-and-mortar restaurant. It seemed fitting to take the leap and he opened in March 2020 (the month when just about every local business needed to close due to the pandemic).
But with a hefty amount of resiliency and incredible quesabirria tacos, Almanza and the crew overcame the odds. Hey, they’re even in the process of opening a second location (stay tuned for more details on that).
For more information, visit tacorustico.com.
Other Arizona Restaurants on the List
The Grand Canyon State is representing the taco world in grand fashion! 143 Street Tacos in Sierra Vista ranked number 79, El Fogon in Phoenix ranked number 86, and Taco Culture Taco Shop in Phoenix ranked number 93.
You can check out the full list at yelp.com.
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Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
