Taco de Pescado Empanizado
The breaded Mexican fish taco: a white fillet floured, egged, and crumbed into a dry milanesa-style shell that crunches and holds, set in a doubled corn tortilla with cabbage, crema, and lime.
Andrew Lekashman
Taco de Pescado a la Plancha
White fish seared on hot flat steel, not battered or fried, then folded into warm corn with cabbage, crema, and lime. The leaner, smokier, fish-forward reading of the Baja taco.
Taco de Papadzules
Papadzules: soft corn tortillas dipped in a toasted pumpkin-seed sauce, rolled around chopped hard-boiled egg and topped with a cooked tomato-chile sauce. A Yucatecan plate eaten with a fork.
Taco de Panuchos
The panucho puts the bean inside the tortilla: a corn disc split open at its puff, stuffed with refried black beans, fried crisp, then crowned Yucatán-style with turkey and pink pickled onion.
Taco de Ojo
The soft, gelatinous tissue from a steamed beef eye socket, chopped onto warm corn with onion, cilantro, and lime. The connoisseur's pick from the whole-head cabeza trade.
Taco de Nopales
Cactus paddle taco; grilled or sautéed nopales with onion, chile.
Taco de Nopales con Queso
The taco de nopales con queso fills a corn tortilla with the cactus from the center of the Mexican flag: grilled prickly-pear paddle, the slime charred off, queso fresco the cool counterweight.
Taco de Nenepil
Carnitas taco of pork nana and buche; the name is Nahuatl for tongue, though no tongue goes in.
Taco de Mukbil Pollo
Buried chicken taco; chicken in achiote, pit-cooked underground for Day of the Dead.
Taco de Mole
Mole taco; chicken or turkey in complex mole sauce.
Taco de Mixiote
Mixiote taco; meat (lamb, rabbit, chicken) wrapped in maguey membrane and steamed with chiles.
Taco de Marlín
Smoked marlin taco; marlín ahumado (smoked marlin) shredded and sautéed with tomato and onion. Pacific coast specialty.
Taco de Machaca
Dried shredded beef taco; machaca (dried, pounded beef) rehydrated and cooked with eggs, tomato, chile. Sonoran/Northern specialty.
Taco de Longaniza
Longaniza sausage taco; regional sausage variations.
Taco de Lengua
Beef tongue taco; braised until tender, sliced or chopped. Prized for smooth texture.
Taco de Lechón
Roast suckling pig taco; whole roasted young pig.
Taco de Lechón al Horno
Oven-roasted pork taco; Yucatecan roast pork.
Taco de Huitlacoche
Corn fungus taco; earthy, truffle-like huitlacoche sautéed with onion and epazote.
Taco de Huevo
Egg taco; scrambled, fried, or in various preparations.
Taco de Huevo con Nopales
The taco de huevo con nopales solves the cactus's slime problem the hard way: boiling and rinsing the paddle dry in its own pot before it ever meets egg that is itself still wet until it sets.
Taco de Huevo con Chorizo
The Mexican corn-tortilla taco de huevo con chorizo, eaten over a fonda counter at almuerzo: fresh red chorizo, or Toluca's green chorizo verde, scrambled into the egg as one stained soft mass.