Why Do We Need a Taco Tournament?
We agree that tacos are wonderful
Hi friends,
The taco is one of the great human inventions. It's right up there with fire, the wheel, and Fairlife chocolate milk. The taco is both obvious and an enigma, commonplace and capstone, one thing and everything. And much like generations of writers might work to perfect the art of the essay, or a musician might work to perfect a D-major scale, with tacos we are similarly striving for the perfect balance of well-known rules, innovation, and execution.
Just like you will struggle to find someone who does not like music, reading, or art, you will struggle to find someone who categorically hates tacos. At the same time we are often snobs. I like music but not your music, my art and not your art, and I will drive 15 minutes past your favorite taco truck to have lunch at my favorite taco truck.
But we rarely agree on which tacos are best
Any serious taco fan has their go-to taco shop. And it’s often different from your taco shop. Ask your friends where they go when they want a really delicious taco, and you will frequently hear things like this (real quotes from people I know):
- "when I was pregnant I would have my husband bring me carnitas tacos, but they could only be from taco shop X."
- "Yeah I like tacos but only from the truck in the Home Depot parking lot."
I've been to both of these taco shops and guess what, they are not as good as my favorite taco truck. Sometimes we have to disagree about which taco truck is best, just like sometimes we have to agree to disagree about whether pineapple is an al-pastor afterthought or a glorious part of the marinade.
The solution: a contest of deliciousness
When it comes to taste, arguing cannot solve our disagreements. Even feeding people tacos from my favorite taco shop will not change all the minds in the world. So let’s have some fun and vote on it. We'll use the wisdom of the crowds to crown a taco champion, discover some hidden gems, and give us all some cold, hard facts to use the next time your crazy uncle tells you he only goes to that taco truck.
North Carolina 2026
On May 5th we'll open up voting on Taco States of America for 64 taco shops across North Carolina. Many have been nominated by you! Each round lasts for 2 days and the shop with the greatest number of votes will advance. The winner receives a pile of points for the leaderboard, a glorious window decal, and of course bragging rights till the end of time.
Set your phone alarms and tell your friends. Cinco de Mayo. NC Taco Tournament. Let's go!
Yours with onion and cilantro,
Bjorn