Taco Nation

Tortillas in the U.S. Have Never Been Better—Here’s Why

A great taco must start with an excellent tortilla. The only question is, which one will you choose?
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Photo by Laura Murray / Courtesy Los Tacos No. 1

We get it: Selecting the proper tortilla for your taco is no easy task. (He says corn or bust! She swears by flour! They don’t eat grains! What’s that about crispy cheese?) But the good news is, whatever you choose and wherever in the USA you happen to be, there are more—and better—options than ever before. How did we get here? Let’s take a deep dive into the wonderful world of a taco’s most crucial component.

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    Photo by Alex Lau
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    Respect the Flour Tortilla

    In Houston I grew up eating Texas-style flour tortillas straight off the electric press as my mom rolled balls of dough while watching All My Children. When I moved to New York, my father mailed me tortillas from H-E-B, the world’s greatest grocery store, because nothing I found here would cut it. But today a wave of small-batch flour tortillerias are on a mission to make the world a better place.

    When Ruben Leal moved to Lawrence, Kansas, he was discouraged not to find a chewy, stretchy Sonora-style flour tortilla that lived up to his nostalgic needs. So he started Caramelo, which ships tortillas made with pork fat (as seen on our cover!), duck fat, or avocado oil nationwide. They’re so fatty and pressed so thin, you can hold them to the window and light will pass through like stained glass.

    At Sonoratown in L.A., Teo Diaz and Jennifer Feltham make their silky, supple beauties from Bonfil brand flour, driven across the border by a top secret individual from Diaz’s hometown in Sonora, Mexico.

    Here in New York, golden leopard spots mark where Vista Hermosa tortillas kissed an actual comal—not a factory blowtorch. I stock up and freeze them, and never suffer a weekend without breakfast tacos. Ah, what a relief! —Alex Beggs

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    PHOTO COURTESY OF SIETE FOODS
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    Get Down With Alt-Grains

    “Growing up Mexican-American, I considered tortillas part of my identity. But I have autoimmune issues, so about 10 years ago I went grain-free. My family joined me but I still felt like I was missing out. Carne asada just doesn’t taste as good on lettuce. So I got some almond flour off the internet and riffed on what I learned from my grandma, who always had fresh flour tortillas at her house. I made a grain-free version and my mom took one to Grandma. I wouldn’t believe what happened next if we didn’t have it on video: She said they tasted better than hers! Now we sell them, along with four other alt-grain tortillas, online and in over 13,000 stores across the country.” —Veronica Garza, Siete Foods

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    Photo by Chelsie Craig
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    Fresh Masa For the Masses

    Until recently a house-made corn tortilla probably meant one formed with masa harina, the just-add-water corn flour. Not anymore. Chefs in the U.S. and Mexico alike are now making masa the way indigenous communities have done for thousands of years—with nixtamalized, non-commodity heirloom corn grown on small farms. The ancient nixtamalization process involves hours of cooking, soaking, and grinding to unlock corn’s hidden nutrients. But the minerally fresh-corn taste (and extra dose of vitamins) is worth it. Need proof? Try the earthy, deep crimson tortillas chef Fermín Núñez makes from Texas-grown Bloody Butcher red corn at Suerte in Austin, or TJ Steele’s rainbow Maíz Bolita masa, which he uses in everything from pancakes to cocktails at Claro in Brooklyn. —Lesley Téllez

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    Photo by Alex Lau
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    Hard Shells Are Legit

    Long maligned as inauthentic, the crunchy corn tortilla deserves its place in the sun for mainstreaming Mexican cooking here in the States. Lucia Rodriguez used what was available to her in Depression-era California to engineer Mitla Cafe’s fried-to-order taco dorado. The legacy continues at spots like L.A.’s Mariscos Jalisco and Tlahco Mexican Kitchen in San Antonio. —Patricia Escárcega

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