Guide Note

Tacos are any variety of rolled tortilla with a meat or vegetable filling. Traditional Mexican tacos use primarily soft corn tortillas, though in the United States, they are frequently served in flour tortillas or a hard corn shell.

Fast Facts

1. Made with either corn or flour tortillas
2. Spanish for "plug"
3. 1914: First English-language taco recipe
4. Preformed taco shell was invented by Taco Bell founder Glen Bell

The most prominent taco found in America is virtually unheard of in Mexico. Most fast food chains sell a hard shell taco filled with ground beef, cheese and seasonings. Common in California and Baja California, Mexico are fish tacos, with fried fish and pico de gallo.

American and European restaurants are frequently introducing more authentic tacos to their menus, where meat is placed on top of a corn tortilla and heated on a grill. Mexican tacos are often filled with barbacoa, or sheep meat. Though often considered a Tex-Mex dish, taquitos are a true variety of taco, where the tortilla is rolled up tightly around the meat and fried.