These Are the 12 Best Tacos in Los Angeles

Javier Cabral is an LA-based journalist who has been writing about food professionally since he was a teen. At 21, he became a restaurant scout for legendary ‘Los Angeles Times’ restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. Now, Cabral is the editor of the James Beard Award–winning food and culture website L.A. TACO, a coauthor of a cookbook about Mexican grilling, and a taco curator for Netflix’s ‘Taco Chronicles.’ Whether you’re after tacos packed with mesquite–grilled asada or slow-cooked tripe, he’s your guy. So when in search of the very best tacos in LA, we turned to Cabral to put together a guide.This is perhaps the most exciting time (dare I say ever?) to love tacos in LA. There are so many different styles being cooked across the city, from regional classics to vegan variations—but it wasn’t always like this. Over the 18 years that I’ve been writing about food in the city, I’ve seen the taco scene evolve from the same five tacos (asada, carnitas, tripa, al pastor, and chicken), to tacos th...