Taco Madness 2015: Let the Madness Begin

Welcome L.A. Taco lovers, it's that time of year again, when we band together as a community and argue passionately over what is our city's best taco. This year we've shaken things up a little bit, let us walk you through the basic changes.

Update 4-9-2015
We have a winner! Congratulations to Guerrilla Tacos in their first Taco Madness victory. It was incredibly close, and clearly both spots were deserving of victory. Both will be at our event on April 19th!

Update 4-3-2015
Our Taco Madness Party at Villain's Tavern is ON. April 19th is the new date. Get Tickets now! There will be tacos, DJs, live art, and surprises!

This year, tacos are in four brackets. They aren't geographical but related to the most popular ingredients in L.A. Tacos. We have asada, pork, mariscos, and wild card for all the tacos that don't quite fit into the first three. Our expert seeding committee has helped create lists of the top four in each category, in order, to create a balanced 16-taco draw that will pit the best against the best.

We went smaller this year, our 7th, (we've been at 32 spots since 2011) in order to make the voting process simpler and less overwhelming to the taco lifestyle community. This year's focus on only the best, along with the smaller draw, means that many neighborhood favorites and even past champions didn't make the cut. For that, we are sorry, but there's always next year.

Voting this year will take place using Facebook. Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/losangelestaco.

Keep reading to see the complete bracket, and to learn more about some of the first round battles and some of the trends in this year's pool... Also, we'll be kicking everything off with a sweet party!

One first round battle that everyone who loves al pastor should pay attention to is Tacos Tamix vs. Tacos Leo. The latter ended up being the #2 seed in its category due to their famous mid-city trompo. Tamix never gets as much attention, but our seeding committee felt it was worthy. If you haven't tried both, go tonight and do a taste test before you vote. Anyone who does this and tweets/instagrams the results gets an L.A. Taco Zine and Sticker package!

Another interesting battle could be called the battle for the South L.A. Asada crown. The "Tire Shop Taqueria" was the clear #1 seed in its category, but Tacos Los Poblanos also got a lot of attention. We were clued into both spots by Bill "StreetGourmet LA" Esparza, but you should go find out for yourself and help us crown the winner! Again, if you stop by both spots in one night and tweet/insta about it, you win a prize pack!

Chef battle! The first round Wild Card pairing of Colonia Taco Lounge pits two creative next-generation taqueros against each other. Wes Avila and Ricardo Diaz have different approaches-- one manages a growing restaurant empire centered in Whittier, and one has a famed food truck in the Arts District, but both make some of LA's best and most creative tacos.

List of the 16 Finalists with Yelp Links:

"Tire Shop Taqueria"
Tacos Los Poblanos
Taco Love
Mexicali Taco & Co.
Guerrilla Tacos
Colonia Taco Lounge
Los Originales Taco Árabes de Puebla
Tacos Cuernavaca
Mariscos Jalisco
Coni'seafood
Tacos Punta Cabras
Ricky's Fish Taco
Carnitas el Momo
Tacos Los Güichos
Tacos Tamix
Tacos Leo