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3 Dallas-area taco shops make Yelp’s best-of list in the United States

But something’s strange here.

According to Yelp, three taco shops in Dallas-Fort Worth and 14 in Texas are among the 100 best taquerias in the United States.

Two of those restaurants are in Yelp’s top 10: Granny’s Tacos in Austin and Mami Coco in Dallas.

Yelp makes a sweeping statement here, listing the nation’s best taco shops without much explanation. A Yelp spokeswoman says the restaurants were considered for the list if they had “a large concentration of reviews mentioning ‘taco.’” Those were then ranked based on volume and reviews.

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The list gets a little suspect when some of the taco shops are assigned to an entire state, making any discussion about taco regionality dead upon arrival. Birria & Barbacoa de chivo Los Compadre’s is in “Louisiana”; Guerra’s Krazy Taco is in “Ohio.” They are, but more specifically, they’re in Baton Rouge and Springfield, respectively.

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Aggregating a list of places selling a bunch of tacos, based on consumer reviews, has its problems. Still, this list might tell someone new about a taqueria, and maybe that’s a good thing.

It’s the third time in two weeks that a national company has named local restaurants on lists: Bon Appetit said a taco shop in Garland and a Latin seafood spot in Fort Worth were among the 50 best new restaurants in the country; and the New York Times said an Italian restaurant in Dallas and a barbecue joint in Arlington were among America’s best.

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The Dallas-Fort Worth taco shops included in Yelp’s list are:

  • Mami Coco in Dallas, listed at No. 10. The original is on Bryan Street in Dallas and the owners recently opened a new taco shop near I-30 and Grand Avenue. The Advocate has the sweet story of owner Gustavo De Los Rios, who commuted an hour to Crowley, Texas, for his first restaurant before he found a closer-to-home spot to sell tacos. The most popular items are tacos and enchiladas, even though tacos weren’t on his first menu, according to the Dallas Observer. Now that’s a fun twist for a story about a taco shop landing on a “best tacos” list.
  • Tranky’s Tacos in Garland is No. 18. It also made Yelp’s list of Top 100 Places to Eat in Texas in 2022.
  • Taqueria Nuevo León in Carrollton is No. 56 on Yelp’s list. Food YouTuber Mikey Chen — who moved to Dallas-Fort Worth in 2021 — visited Taqueria Nuevo León in Carrollton in 2021. The more-than 800,000 views on that video surely sent some foodies to the Carrollton taqueria. Pro tip: Trompo tacos cost 99 cents on Tuesdays.

In tandem with the release of this Top 100 list, Yelp plans to pay one “taco trailblazer” $20,000 to eat at restaurants on the Top 100 list over a four-month time period. Yelp will accept applications between now and Oct. 4, 2022.

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100 best taco shops in the United States, according to Yelp

Restaurants in Texas have been bolded; restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth have an asterisk.

1. Fernandez Restaurant - San Diego

2. Taco Nazo – Bellflower - Los Angeles

3. Taqueria Mi Ranchito - Los Angeles

4. Granny’s Tacos – Austin

5. Los Tacos No.1 - New York

6. Tacos Sinaloa - San Francisco

7. El Primo Tacos - Los Angeles

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8. Bajamar Seafood & Tacos - Las Vegas

9. Shaka Tacoz - Hawaii

*10. Mami Coco - Dallas

11. De Cabeza - San Diego

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12. Deckhand Dave’s Fish Tacos - Alaska

13. Jazzy’s Kitchen - Hawaii

14. Taqueria El Asador – Pensacola

15. Mariscos Mi Gusto Es - San Diego

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16. Street Tacos and Grill - Los Angeles

17. Tacos Jalisco – Key Largo

*18. Tranky’s Tacos - Garland

19. El Chile Toreado - Santa Fe

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20. Birrieria Little Tijuana - Los Angeles/Riverside

21. Cocina Madrigal - Phoenix

22. Edgewater Tacos - Chicago

23. Chicali Tacos - Las Vegas

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24. Tacos Aya Yay - Denver

25. La Bamba Mexican Grill Restaurant - Phoenix

26. Taqueria Pollo Asado - Seattle

27. Tlaolli - Indiana

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28. Del Seoul - Chicago

29. Str8 Up Tacos - Los Angeles

30. Porque No? Tacos - San Francisco

31. Kiss Pollos Estilo Sinaloa - Phoenix

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32. Guerra’s Krazy Taco - Ohio

33. Tacos Del Chavo - Atlanta

34. SoyMexican Veggie-Vegan Eatery - Las Vegas

35. Frogtowns Gourmet Tacos - Los Angeles

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36. El Gallo Giro Taco Truck - San Francisco

37. Xicamiti La Taquería Bistro - Denver

38. Tacos La Pasadita - Utah

39. Dos Mundos - Portland

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40. Tacos Y Mariscos Las Islitas - Hawaii

41. Tacos El Gordo - San Diego

42. TaquerEATa - Hawaii

43. Tacos Los Panchos - Utah

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44. Tacos El Chilango Food Truck - Virginia

45. Fish Company Taco - Galveston

46. TACO-BOOK Taqueria - Seattle

47. Benny’s Tacos & Rotisserie Chicken - Westchester – Los Angeles

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48. Taqueria La Loma - Ohio

49. Tres Amigos - Arizona

50. Birria & Barbacoa de chivo Los Compadre’s - Louisiana

51. Sangria On the Burg - San Antonio

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52. Tacotarian - Las Vegas

53. Antojitos Izcalli - Alabama

54. Cuantos Tacos – Austin

55. Birria Landia Williamsburg - New York

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*56. Taqueria Nuevo Leon – Carrollton

57. Los Mariscos - New York

58. Sabrina’s West Street Kitchen - Reno

59. Xochi - Seattle

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60. Taqueria El Amigo - Boston

61. Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos - Memphis

62. El Super Taco – Phoenix

63. Los Agavez Taqueria - Ohio

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64. La Lupita Taco Restaurant – Houston

65. Los Bocados – Parkland, Florida

66. Titas Taco House – Humble, Texas

67. Just Tacos and More - Phoenix

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68. Chris’ Ice Cream - Indianapolis

69. Chino Loco Taqueria - Michigan

70. Lolis Mexican Cravings - Tampa

71. El Cuate - Oregon

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72. La Cocina Mexican Street Food - Utah

73. Taco Culture Taco Shop Arizona - Phoenix

74. Tacos Nayarit - South Carolina

75. Arun’s Indian Kitchen & Taco Masala – Lauderhill, Florida

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76. Slope & Hatch - Colorado

77. La Calle Taqueria Y Carnitas - Colorado

78. El Taco Feliz - Hawaii

79. Yellow City Street Food - Amarillo

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80. Forastero - Chicago

81. Acevedos Hawaicano Café - Hawaii

82. Lane’s Quickie Tacos - Arkansas

83. 143 Street Tacos - Arizona

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84. Tacos Doña Lena - Houston

85. The Taco King – Houston

86. La Plaza Supermarket - Ohio

87. Nanys Tacos - Arizona

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88. J Zapata - Pennsylvania

89. Cafe Nube - New York

90. Flavia’s Kitchen – Austin

91. Taco Bamba - Virginia

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92. Tacos Pihuamo - Oregon

93. Taco El Chingon - NY State

94. Cinco De Mayo Taqueria – Spring, Texas

95. Quesabirria Jalisco Tacos - Chicago

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96. Las Palmas - Pennsylvania

97. Dos Hermanos Taco Truck - Alabama

98. El Paisa - New Mexico

99. Alegria Tacos – Oakland Park, Florida

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100. La Reforma Brewery - New Mexico

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.