Taco Types

There are many traditional varieties of tacos, some of which include Tacos de Cabeza, which are the brain, tongue, eyes and lips of a cow’s head. Others include crispy tripe tacos, shrimp tacos and Tacos dorados, which mean fried tacos. Called flautas because of their flute shape or taquito, these tacos are filled with cooked and shredded chicken or beef and rolled into tube or flute shapes and deep-fried until crispy.

Taco al Pastor, which means shepherd’s style taco, is the most popular variety in Mexico. It generally consists of spiced pork, which is cut in slivers from a vertical spit over an open flame. Breakfast tacos are served at many restaurants especially in the American Southwest. This fried corn or flour tortilla is rolled and stuffed with a mixture of meat, eggs or cheese and topped with onions, salsa and avocado. Huevos rancheros, anyone?

Ensenada, Mexico is said to be the birth place of the fish taco, a claim many of the city’s restaurants try to make for their own. The best place to sample them is at any of the small food stands that line the streets around the Mercado Negro, Ensenada’s fish market. The fish tacos served are small pieces of battered, fried fish in a hot corn or wheat tortilla.