With a stretch of N. May emerging as a miracle half-mile of taco awesomeness, it’s time to talk about where you should be eating (real) Mexican food in the metro, and we have spots new and old to discuss. If you’ve read regularly or follow me on social, you already know I give priority to spots owned by people cooking their traditional food, so while there’s nothing wrong with very good TexMex or gringo tacos, I’m always going to default to traditional. There is no way to cover all the outstanding spots in the city, and I don’t pretend this list has any particular authority or expertise beyond a writer who’s eaten at more than 50 taquerias, trucks, birrierias and TexMex joints around town, who also just happens to have good Latino friends who makes things much easier to understand, so a quick thank you to Carlos Alvarado and Chris Castro, the two who started my Mexican food education several years ago, and who still provide me with solid information when I have one of those “what the hell is this?” questions. 

First, though, once more through the sermon on “authentic” and why we have to stop using that word. Gustavo Arellano is a journalist best known for his book Ask a Mexican, which emerged from his long-time column of the same name. He’s also the author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. In terms of expertise on Mexican food, he’s hard to beat, and he’s a veteran, so he gets double points. I interviewed him a while back, and asked him specifically about this tendency white people have of using “authentic” to describe traditional foods from other cultures.

“Beware the cult of authenticity,” he said. “Much of it is white people ‘Columbus-ing,’ where they think they’ve found Mexican people in their unadulterated phase. A lot of ‘authentic’ food is crap, and a majority of white diners in the building does not negate the quality of Mexican food in that spot.” Arellano has little patience for talking about “authentic Mexican food,” as all food evolves, and Mexican food, like American food, is regional, diverse and shaped by various subcultures.

 

I was having a hard time defining what made me uncomfortable about white folks calling Mexican, Chinese, Indian, etc. foods “authentic,” and the Columbus-ing idea helped. Who gets to say what is and isn’t “authentic?” It’s all food, so if it’s food, it’s authentically food, but the questions we’re really wanting to ask (I think.) are about who makes the food, who owns the restaurant/truck, and if the food is traditional, gringo-ized, fusion, made with a modern twist, etc. So when someone asks me where to get good Mexican food, I default to traditional Mexican food made by – in our case – Mexican Americans, or at least Latin Americans, because if you didn’t know, the percentage of food in this city prepared by Guatemalans is disproportionate to the size of that country and the number of immigrants living here by a bizarrely wide margin. 

The Preliminaries

The non-taquerias worth your time are in order Azteca Mexican Grill, Chapala Family Mexican Kitchen, Birrieria Diaz, Lazy Donkey and Abel’s. Yes, there are others, but I’m sticking to my tendency to build 5-item lists, because I really want to talk about the taquerias, trucks, and one birrieria. First, then, what I think is the best Mexican spot in the city period, and then the new miracle half-mile, and then the others.

Birrieria Calvillo. Mind-blowing carnitas. Remarkable lamb birria. Excellent beef birria. Cheesy, amazing quesabirria. Solid horchata. Great service. Lovely people. I’ve yet to find something here that isn’t insanely good. When I say the carnitas are so good you’ll have a hard time ordering anything else, I speak from experience. The salsas are so good I just have to alternate bites, and that’s rare, as I typically prefer salsa verde to roja, especially taco sauces. They now have a second location to make life easier on you west siders.

North May from NW 30 to NW 36th

Birrieria Utzil. I’m convinced this is the best taco truck in the city, and yes, the Quixtan brothers are Guatemalan, but their Mexican food is stellar, especially the best fish tacos in the city. The birria is excellent, as are the esquites, and everything else the family produces, including a top-ten burger in the metro. You read that right. One happy day, Juan will have a whole menu of mole, something this city still sadly lacks. 

Los Cabritos Estilo Nuevo Leon. There will come a day very soon when nine friends and I chip in $30 each for the whole roasted goat, but before that day, I will eat my weight in the best cabeza and lengua tacos in the city. They’re only about six weeks open at this point, but the food tells me they’ve been at it elsewhere for a long time. It’s rare that a new spot so completely exceeds my expectations that I want to write a song or haiku about it. This is the first one this year. 

Taqueria Rodriguez. The second best taco truck in the city based on my experience, and his quesabirria is unrivaled. I stopped by years ago when he was at NW 10th and Portland, and he insisted I try the quesabirria. (Note: When I try a new truck, I typically order lengua, barbacoa, and asada, because those will tell you what you need to know.) I tried the quesabirria, and I swear it’s the only thing I’ve ever ordered, and I was thrilled to see they’re back open after a too-long hiatus.

Supreme Tacos. I had to come back to update this, because they’ve just closed. Leaving it here to highlight how important it is to support local restaurants. We lost a great spot that too few people knew about. Hoping they pop up somewhere else. 

The Usual Suspects

Taco Empire. Both a truck and a brick-and-mortar, this one vies for the title of best in OKC on the strength of how many things they do well. Friends told me years ago that most taquerias do a few things well, but not everything. Taco Empire seems to be an exception, and the quesabroso with adobado is my favorite taco in the metro. The potatoes they serve as an accompaniment deserve their own story, and the roasted corn will change your life. Yes, they have margaritas at their brick-and-mortar location. 

Trompudo’s Tacos. Go for the al pastor, go again and again for the suadero. He’s in the middle of moving, and South OKC is about to get some of the city’s best tacos in their backyard. The full bar is a nice amenity, and the sauces he makes to pair with the proteins are stellar. The al pastor comes straight from the trompo, and if you know what that means, you know you need to go. 

Sonora Querida. They moved from the miracle half-mile recently to the current spot, tripling their space. (Los Cabritos got the former location.) Bar plans are in process, but the tacos are the stars, as is the salsa bar (it’s the best in OKC). This is very traditional Sonoran, so you’ll see some things that aren’t familiar, like tacos haas and lorenza, both of which rely on their delicious carne asada. The portion sizes are very Okie friendly, so if you normally get three tacos at a taqueria, two will do here.

Tacos San Pedro. The OG for real. He went to Dallas and LA in the ‘90s to drive back truckloads of specialty products that created our amazing taqueria culture that I’m happy to see spreading all over the city. The cabeza is excellent, and they have some of the best burritos in the city, and their full menu includes excellent sopes. 

Not Taquerias, But Very Traditional 

Think of this as the rapid-fire round because there are some things I just can’t leave out.

Burritos. It’s Burritos el Tin-Tan all day in this category, on the strength of their variety, and the blazing heat of their pork with nopales burrito. Seriously, if you’re from Edmond, you’ll want to have a defibrillator around just in case. 

Breakfast tacos. Two spots stand out, and both have the city’s best chile verde too. Taqueria Rafitas and Los Comales. The breakfast tacos are an upgrade from the gringo style, and there is nothing wrong with having chile verde for breakfast. 

Mulitas. Taqueria El Rincon does pretty much everything well, and they’re so good in fact that their mulitas helped me recover from missing Cardenas SLP after my former favorite mulita spot closed. El Rincon is really strong on the beef-based tacos and mulitas, and I confess I haven’t ordered anything but lengua and barbacoa. Same for El Taco Express, and the NW 10th location has some of the best lengua I’ve tried. 

Pollo al carbon. Two spots always do this well, and for value hunters, it’s hard to beat a half chicken, fresh tortillas, and salsas for under $20. El Primo Loco also vies for best Mexican in the city, and one visit will make it clear why. The salsas are great, and the chicken is perfect every time. OK Si Pollo Asados is a sleeper, but always fantastic.

Tamale. (It’s already plural.) This is a no-contest category. It’s Tamale King all day every day. I have a soft spot for El Patio too, and if you want super traditional, it’s a good choice. 

You can find more taco options under the Traditional Tacos list.