A taco stand or taquería is a food stall,

food cart A food cart is a mobile kitchen set up on the street to prepare and sell street food to passers-by. Food carts are often found in cities worldwide selling food of every kind. Food carts come in two basic styles. One allows the vendor to sit ...

or restaurant that specializes in

taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of fillin ...

s and other Mexican dishes. The food is typically prepared quickly and tends to be inexpensive. Many various ingredients may be used, and various taco styles may be served. Taco stands are an integral part of

Mexican street food Mexican street food, called ''antojitos'' (literally "little cravings"), is prepared by street vendors and at small traditional markets in Mexico. Street foods include tacos, tamales, gorditas, quesadillas, empalmes, tostadas, chalupa, elote, ...

. Tacos became a part of traditional Mexican cuisine in the early 20th century, beginning in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, as what had been a miner's snack began to be sold on street corners in the city.
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Shops selling tacos have since proliferated throughout Mexico and other areas with a heavy Mexican culinary and cultural influence, including much of the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

and most other larger American cities. More typical taquerías specialize in tacos, as expected, but in some localities it can be used to refer to restaurants specializing in

burrito A burrito (, ) is a dish in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine that took form in Ciudad Juárez, consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped into a sealed cylindrical shape around various ingredients. The tortilla is sometimes lightly grilled or stea ...

s, where tacos themselves are less of a point of emphasis. In Mexico, taco stands are commonly referred to as taquerías, because originally a taquería was typically a street vendor. However, many taquerías today are restaurants located in buildings. Taco stands may be located at roadsides and in areas where people gather, such as at outdoor mall areas. Taco stands are typically located outdoors, although the term is also used at times to refer to taco restaurants. Some taco stands are temporary operations, set-up for events such as fairs and festivals.

Fare

Meats used include beef (such as carne asada and

cabeza In Mexican cuisine, ''cabeza'' (''lit.'' 'head') is the meat from a roasted head of an animal, served as taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling ...

), pork (such as al pastor),

goat meat Goat meat or goat's meat is the meat of the domestic goat ''(Capra aegagrus hircus)''. The common name for goat meat is simply "goat", while that from young goats can be called ''capretto'' (It.), ''cabrito'' (Sp. and Por.) or ''kid''. In South ...

(such as tacos de birria), shrimp and fish, as used in fish tacos. Additional ingredients used include cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, various vegetables such as onion and cilantro, and hot sauce, among others.

By location

Mexico

Taco stands are common in Mexico For example, Jalisco, Mexico has a diverse variety of taco stands in many of its neighborhoods. In Banderas, taco stands serve as gathering places for local residents, and stands develop reputations based upon variables such as food quality and variety. El Taco de la Ermita is a popular outdoor taco stand in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico that serves a diverse variety of gourmet-style tacos. Wait times can be an hour or longer, and the stand typically has an armed security guard on premises to maintain order. File:TacoStandTacubayaDF.JPG, A taco stand in the Tacubaya neighborhood of Mexico City File:TacoPlacesPetatlan.JPG, Taco stands along a street in Petatlán, Guerrero, Mexico File:Tacos de suadero.jpg, Tacos with beef suadero being prepared at a taco stand in Mexico

United States

In the United States, some brick-and-mortar restaurants may be referred to as taco stands. Some American chefs and service industry professionals have left their employment positions to open their own taco stands.

Ninfa Laurenzo Maria Ninfa Rodriguez Laurenzo (nicknamed Mama Ninfa,
." Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Center. Retrieved on Febr ...

, founder of the

Ninfa's The Original Ninfa's on Navigation is a popular Mexican restaurant located at 2704 Navigation Boulevard in Houston, Texas. The restaurant serves both Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisine. The Original Ninfa's was started by Ninfa Rodríguez Laurenzo, a ...

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

, started out running a single taco stand in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas. Prior to establishing the

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includin ...

restaurant chain,

Glen Bell Glen William Bell Jr. (September 3, 1923 – January 16, 2010) was an American entrepreneur who founded the Taco Bell chain of restaurants. Biography Glen Bell was born in Lynwood, California, to Glen William Bell Sr. and Ruth Elizabeth B ...

, the company's founder, opened a small chain of taco stands named Taco-Tia in

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

, California. Bell owned and operated a hamburger stand prior to opening Taco-Tia. In 2012, Taco Bell sold over 2 billion tacos annually, and had around 6,500 locations in all U.S. states and in several countries.

California

Due to its proximity to the

Mexican border Mexico shares international borders with three nations: *To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. *To the southe ...

California is home to many taco trucks. Although it is famed for its fusions of flavors within this cuisine, perhaps the most famous one is the

Korean taco Korean tacos are a Korean-Mexican fusion dish popular in a number of urban areas in the United States and Canada. Korean tacos originated in Los Angeles, often as street food, consisting of Korean-style fillings, such as bulgogi and kimchi, p ...

The Cielito Lindo Food Stand in Los Angeles, California is well known for its taquitos, and has been in business since the 1930s. Tito's Tacos is a family-owned taco stand in Culver City that has been in operation since 1959. Featuring a short menu that has not changed in decades, the stand sells American-style hard-shell tacos filled with shredded beef and topped with shredded iceberg lettuce, and cold, grated cheddar cheese. It has a loyal customer base and is frequently seen with long lines, though the lines "move quickly". Henry's Tacos was a well-known taco stand restaurant in

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

that was in operation for 51 years. It went out of business in January 2013. Prior to establishing Jimboy's Tacos, Jim and Margaret Knudson ran a mobile taco stand named Jimboy's Spanish Tacos in a converted trailer at King's Beach, Lake Tahoe, California. La Reyna is a well-known taco stand in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles that serves tacos in front of its identically-named brick-and-mortar restaurant. Alebrije's Grill Taco Truck based in Santa Ana is a bright pink truck home to the renowned 'Battleship Taco.' This consists of breaded steak, with rice, grilled onions, roasted cactus and hot sauce on a fresh tortilla. This style of taco has become very popular in the area.

Texas

In August 2006, "hundreds of taco stands" existed in Austin, Texas. AVATACO is a business association of taco stand owners in Austin that was formed circa April 2006.

Wyoming

Taco John's began as a small taco stand in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

, Wyoming named "Taco House" that opened in 1968.

Kansas

In early 2021, ''Forbes'' magazine named Kansas City, Kansas as the "true taco capital of the United States".

References

{{Mexican cuisine, state=collapsed Mexican cuisine Food trucks Street food Street food in Mexico Taco