Critics’ choice: New triumphs of the haute-taco revolution

Guerrilla Tacos Los Angeles

Plenty of other cities have standout taco trucks, but “you’re not going to find cooking like this anywhere but L.A.,” said Jonathan Gold in the Los Angeles Times. Wes Avila was an Alain Ducasse protégé when he quit haute cuisine to start serving tacos on street corners downtown, and he was still working from a couple of card tables when he earned his way onto my “best dishes of 2013” list. I chose to spotlight an Avila taco stuffed with roasted squash and Oaxacan cheese, but I could just as easily have honored any of several others. As great as Avila’s new truck is as a place to grab an alfresco breakfast, you should think of it as “a kind of tasting-menu restaurant whose dishes happen to be composed on tortillas instead of on fancy plates.” Bring a few friends and order every taco on the changing menu: sea urchin, wild boar, seared cauliflower with raisins. But schedule your lunch early, because Avila runs short fast, and “there is nothing sadder than seeing the last of the grilled sardines with preserved lemon go to the dude in front of you in line.” 582 Mateo St., (818) 640-3033

Mission Cantina New York City

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“Rarely are chefs poets,” which is why Danny Bowien is an unusual talent, said Rafi Kohan and Joshua David Stein in The New York Observer. The creative force behind Mission Chinese in both San Francisco and New York, the 31-year-old Oklahoma product seems to worry little about building operations that last, but he has an enormous talent for “free-verse flavor-associating.” At his new Lower East Side cantina, Mexican cuisine is less a program than a muse: “How else to account for the union of braised octopus and chicken wing in a single mind-blowing taco,” or the peanuts and pickled tomatoes that punctuate his beef-tongue taco? He can go authentic when he wants to. His alambres taco, which combines grilled brisket, onions, bacon, and Oaxacan cheese, is as heart-stoppingly delicious as the best Philly cheesesteak. But order Bowien’s whole rotisserie chicken, and it’ll arrive stuffed with rice, chorizo, and pecans and drizzled with chicken fat and brown-rice vinaigrette. “There’s almost nothing Mexican about it.” Instead, “it’s distinctly Bowien and distinctly delicious.” 172 Orchard St., (212) 254-2233

Fusion Taco Houston

“Clarity of vision is what sets Fusion Taco apart from all the other taco places in Houston,” said Kaitlin Steinberg in the Houston Press. Owners Julia Sharaby and David Grossman have been thoughtfully blending Asian and South American influences since serving their first tacos from a truck four years ago. Now that they have a brick-and-mortar spot, choosing a favorite has become harder than ever. The tart peanut sauce on the grilled chicken taco “grabs you at first bite.” A “vaguely Italian” cilantro pesto adds worldliness to blackened tilapia. Even the tofu taco surprises—its slab of tofu breaded, fried, and dressed with Napa cabbage slaw and a dash of ginger. “This is not your abuelita’s taco, my friends.” My sole complaint is that their tortillas could offer bolder taste. Everything else at Fusion screams bold. 801 Congress Ave., (713) 422-2882