At La Taqueria in San Francisco, order as the locals do — off the menu — for the Carne Asada Tacos Dorados. The customers created this taco, according to owner Miguel Jara, who grills a tortilla until golden to deliver the crunch that diners desired. He adds a slice of Monterey Jack cheese to the crispy and soft tortilla, then layers tender sirloin, el sabor garlic sauce, salsa, avocado and sour cream. 

For the ultimate breakfast taco, diners go to Veracruz All Natural — a food truck in Austin — where sisters and co-owners Reyna and Maritza Vazquez are cooking up the Migas Taco. They start with a homemade corn tortilla, pressed and cooked fresh to order, then add the texture-packed filling: soft-cooked eggs, veggies and crispy corn tortilla chips, plus shredded Jack cheese and avocado to top it off.

Customers crave the Taco Al Pastor at Los Guachos Taqueria in Columbus, Ohio, and that’s because owner Carlos Nanato cooks and carves the meat fresh each day. He marinates thinly sliced fatty pork shoulder and then roasts it on a spit. Fresh pineapple sits above the meat, basting it with sweetness before it is carefully carved and piled onto tortillas with homemade spicy salsa and more pineapple.

Slow-cooked pork is the specialty at Chicago’s Carnitas Uruapan, where father-and-son Inocencio and Marcos Carbajal use an authentic family recipe that starts by flash frying the pork in massive metal cauldrons until seared. After it slow cooks the following day, the pork gets chopped in front of customers who have the choice of jalapeno peppers, plus smoky and traditional salsas for toppings