I really adore tacos, in all their infinite varieties - even the "crappy" taco kits have a place in my heart (stomach?) on occasion.

On the more luxe side is the Carne Asada recipe available in Santa Fe's Cafe Pasquale cookbook. I'll try to post the recipe in full later today (the book is only available for purchase at the cafe). A simple, marinated skirt steak, with loads of lovely onions - grilled, served on a fresh tortilla with fresh guacamole. Lovely.

Salsa Verde and a squeeze of lime on a fresh fish taco makes it for me.

you know, authenticity and goodness aren't the same thing, folks. :) it's okay to enjoy a "nonstandard" taco. really.

like any street food, you make it out of what you have available. that's why you get fish tacos in baja and goat tacos in guadalajara. i have to say i don't recall ever being offered guac (or radish) as a condiment, but i only traveled through the central and southern parts of the country. a couple of squeezes of lime juice was common.

once, in veracruz, i had tacos made of pork rinds and, uh, assorted meat bits (i never did, and never wish to, find out what they were).

I have to laugh whenever I hear these discussions on the perfect taco (or any other Mexican food), and especially the "I'm from California/Texas" tone of authority (no offense, SK). I have spent time in Mexico, and what Mark Bittman said yesterday in the Times is right on the money -- a taco is basically just a sandwich. And just like sandwiches, there are infinite varieties -- none are "right" or "perfect". I have had amazing tacos in Mexico City at stands that specialize in carne asada, but I have witnessed Mexican friends place some cheese and avocado in a corn tortilla and popped in a toaster for warming -- not OUR gringo fantasy of a taco, but a taco nonetheless.

One of my favorites that I learned in Mexico is called a synchronisada (meaning syncronized): place one corn tortilla in a pan, top with sliced ham and then sliced or shredded cheese, then some sliced pickled jalapenos (available canned) or favorite salsa, top this with a second tortilla and flip once or twice to heat evenly through. Delicioso!!!! (And yes, sounds suspiciously like a ham-and-cheese sandwich mexican style!)

The perfect taco is one that makes you perfectly happy. So, as they say south of the border, buen provecho!!!

I should add that my favorite ingredient for tacos is "Salsa de chile de arbole" -- literally "tree chile" sauce. It has a woodsy, earthy flavor and a very subtle bit of chile heat, and is the perfect accompanient to some cheese with a little diced tomatoe. It can be found in mexican markets, so if you happen to see it sometime, I do suggest trying a bottle.

i made tacos last night as i was inspired by the debate and the ny times. i marinated chicken breast in beer, basalmic vinegar, and garlic. i then seared it in a sautee pan then baked it. i sliced the chicken super thin, almost shredded. i layered two corn tortillas, added the chicken and topped it with shredded red cabbage, cilantro, red onion, queso fresco, and homemade tomatillo salsa. yum!

I agree with liz and frank . . .

favorite that someone else makes: pork cooked twice to make the magic tacos al pastor

favorite traditional that I make: skirt steak marinated with limes, onions, tomatillos and grilled, on corn tortillas with onion, cilantro and radishes

all-time favorite, that I made: taco of grilled fish vietnamese-style (with ginger and fish sauce), with fresh cilantro and jicama
that fusion one is totally traditional in a way . . .

biggest taco disappointment: that fish tacos that made so many people swoon were made of battered fried fish

favorite taco stand in Mexico City:
David's, in the Condesa neighborhood. It's a whole different game there. Mmmmm, nopales, huitlacoche, and flor . . .

posted this in the other taco thread, but wanted to mention it here:

tacos abound, cheaply, fantastically, amazingly, in QUEENS. all over astoria, jackson heights, woodside. Maybe it's 'cuz mexican folks live there, and they cook there for one another. And they're making things like huitlacoche quesadillas.

huitlacoche is corn fungus, that grows like crazy on sweet corn, and is by far one of the strangest mushrooms I have ever seen. But it tastes amazing, as the Iowa farmers who encouraged me to "just take that thing home, slice it up and fry it with butter in the pan."

Corn tortillas are a must for any great taco, as is fresh tomato salsa, although I have had a few delicious peach salsas in my time. Red onions, cool sour cream and creamy guacamole are also vital. I can't wait to make tacos for dinner this weekend!

For me, any taco is good as long as it has homemade/fresh tortillas. With that, even the simpliest one becomes sublime. I've had just a few slices of avocado and a sprinkling of kosher salt in a taco and it was yummy.

as originator of this hullabaloo i just want to say that frank, that ham & cheese taco sounds sublime!
and guido, dude, i am SO there with you
after years and years of hearing displace west coaster cavil about the lack of fish tacos, i expected something more than a riff on fish&chips!
thankfully i found my perfect fish taco on a beach in cozumel at a palapa all coated in achiote and served with pickled onions and habanero salsa
mmm... tacos

i'm with WBGuy (who believes a taco, like the one on the right, should only contain the following: two layers of fresh tortillas, some kind of seasoned meat, salsa, onions and cilantro.) the only thing i'd add is lime. we either make 'em like that at home, or we go for avocado tacos (not guac.): same as WBGuy's recipe but replace the meat with sliced avocado. chicago has so many places for perfect tacos! click my name for the maxwell street market taco pics (scroll all the way down).

and yes, frank, perfect is in the taste of the beholder...!

I was simply stating my own preference for the stripped-down, most basic of tacos, without all the extra fancy toppings.

That being said, there's more than enough room in the world for new innovations in the art that is the taco. It's what you like that counts. So, if you like your tacos with chopped M&Ms and cheez wiz, more power to you. Just don't try to market it as the authentic thing.

Man, I could really go for a cabeza taco just about now.

Whatever you prefer, whatever is locally available, etc, goes. It's up to each cook to give it the taste & presentation they wish, right? All the combinations mentioned sound good to me. I don't think there's a wrong way.
It's a tortilla, with stuff on it!:)

My only criteria is a soft corn tortilla & cilantro---After that petty much anything is good.

In Wisconsin we actually have a large growing Hispanic population, so we have many wonderful Mexican restaurants. One of the best tacos around here is 2 steamed corn tortillas, meat (like pastor pork or chirozo), enchillada cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro and home-made hot sauce.

KWJ,

I agree. Queens has the best tacos!

I love fish tacos, and I have never even seen a fried one. I've only had it with grilled fish.

I don't eat red meat, so I'll either use beans or make the Morningstar crumble kind. I don't care if they aren't authentic!

The best tacos I ever had were also had were also achiote-red fish tacos with pickled onions, although mine had slices of avacado on top. Of course, the most important ingredient was probably the turquoise Caribbean water a few feet away.

Back here, I only recently discovered that my favorite tacos are of the "lengua" variety.

minipanda, I'm hoping that you have the chance to post the recipe from that Santa Fe cookbook that you've mentioned before!

Ah, the trinity is all you need: good corn tortillas, good meat, good salsa roja with onions and cilantro.

Aah, I have just returned from a trip to San Francisco where I filled up on tacos and Mexican food every single day. Being a California native, I truly believe that finding good, fast Mexican food is very difficult in states which do not have a large Mexican population. I have lived in New York for nearly two years and am still looking for a burrito that will quench my craving, not to say that I have stopped looking but I haven't found it yet.

The great thing about California is that there is a rockin' tacqueria every few blocks. It's the New York equivalent of a slice of pizza and good slices are hard to find in California. Then again, the Italian population in California is a good deal smaller than that of New York. Call me crazy but I think there's a parallel here.

I miss the authentic stuff so much that I end up eating it twice a day on trips home.

What I miss the most are the delightful burrito bars, where you choose between three types of beans (I am a whole pinto lover myself), 5 types of meat (carnitas or verde chicken), your choice of jack or cheddar or both, salsa crudo, or roja, guac, sour cream and Mexican rice. All 1200 calories wrapped up for less than $5.00, which is great if you are broke and in college. It's amazing how long these burritos will last.

Tacos? Oh gawd, naming the perfect one is an impossible endeavor because there are so many kinds!

I'm personally in love with three styles:

The Tex-Mex taco: seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomato, shredded cheddar on a crispy corn tortilla

Taco al Pastor: shredded pork meat cooked with sauteed onion, topped with cilantro on a warm, soft corn tortilla (usually two because it's so juicy)

Baja Fish Tacos: a white fish like mahi mahi (fried or grilled), shredded cabbage, cilantro, and some mayo-based white sauce on a warm, soft corn tortilla.

I wish we could get one of those Cali fish taco joints to open up here in Austin, TX. Might be hard to sway people though. We like our beef here. :D

i'd definitely echo the suggestion of Queens as the taco capital of NYC. if you're a carnivore, there's a taco truck about every 10 blocks in along Queens Blvd. from Queens Plaza out into Jackson Heights, serving everything from barbacoa to tongue in taco form. if you're a veggie (and even if you're not), the best veg taco i've ever had is at Tacos Mexicos at 38th St. and Broadway in Astoria. which, btw, is hands down the best for-mexicans-by-mexicans joint i've seen so far here in NYC. whether we're talking tacos or anything else.

fish tacos, however, are another story. i think the deal is that NYC isn't historically a big point of immigration for mexicans, and the mexicans who've come to the city in recent years are from a totally different part of the country than those who immigrate to california, texas, and the southwest. i've had much more luck with mole than fish tacos in these parts...

TO -- you are right, Mexicans in NYC are almost invariably from Puebla, which is landlocked, but is considered the home of mole. (Puebla is the state immediately east of Mexico City.)

I live in Chicago where we have fantastic Mexican food and lots of great taco variations. My favorite is flour tortilla, marinated goat meat, onions, cilantro, salsa.

Another easy approach is what I call my "trailer park tacos." Here's the recipe:

1. One rotisserie chicken from the supermarket
2. One bag of tortillas
3. One bag of shredded cheese
4. One jar of salsa
5. One bunch of cilantro
6. One lime

Take it come, rip the meat off the bones, and stuff the tortilla. You can get dinner for six this way it it costs less then $10. Prep time is five minutes. Enjoy!