This Golden gem doesn’t merely assemble tacos, it composes them with epicurean flair (and a sprinkling of queso fresco): Try the campechanos with steak, chorizo, grilled onion, and chipotle salsa or the grilled shrimp with bacon, onion, tomato, and poblano, washed down with a margarita like the kiwi-infused Catrina.

Where there’s consomé, there’s quesabirria — and this truck parked on the corner of West Colfax and Xavier does a fine version of both. The broth is light and citrusy, the tacos slightly puffy and plenty cheesy, and the red and green salsas that come with not only these but all the tacos on offer are primo.

Speaking of birria, there may be no better outlet for it in town than this West Highland truck. In fact, it has earned quite the avid following, so prepare to wait a bit for those drippingly delicious tacos — with or without cheese — accompanied by gently smoky and sweetly spicy consomé as well as cucumber and radish slices and a blistered jalapeño.

Modest on the outside, colorful and welcoming within, this Jefferson Park charmer doesn’t do anything particularly unusual to stand out, it just does everything right: well-cooked meats from adobada to chorizo, fresh and well-proportioned garnishes on street-sized tortillas, and all. A full bar slinging cervezas and cocktails aplenty only sweetens the pot.

Having long ago proved she’s got the meats at Work & Class, the inimitable Dana Rodriguez (aka “Loca”) brings them to bear on the tacos that center the menu at this modern LoHi cantina. In addition to flawless barbacoa and carnitas, don’t miss the stellar, perfectly flaky fish fried in beer-infused tempura batter or the juicy coriander-roasted lamb; frequent specials might include carne asada or chicken tinga. Cocktails featuring Rodriguez’s own agave spirits brand, Doña Loca, make it a meal.

Not for nothing did this three-decade-old institution in the Santa Fe Arts District receive an America’s Classics Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2020. Whether topped with carne asada, lengua, or tripe along with a bit of onion and cilantro, the tacos here are textbook, reflecting the skill and consistency of the veteran crew behind the counter. Order a full plate; the beans and rice it comes with are exemplary too.

Though it also offers all the standards — cochinita pibil, adobada, and so on — the name says it all when it comes to ordering tacos at this strip-mall joint on Santa Fe Drive. Stick with straight-up carnitas or go for the carnitas mix, which includes skin and other delectable bits; it’s top-notch either way.

Living up to its billing as the “home of the fried taco” (pictured at the top left of the plate), this Ballpark institution fills its surefire hangover cures with steak, ground beef, or chicken, plus cheese, lettuce, and tomato — and, for a little extra, bacon or avocado.

The ultimate hole in the wall (or in this case gas station), Garibaldi is beloved for out-of-the-ordinary items like the tacos azules — blue corn tortillas piled high with chorizo or cecina (cured beef), queso fresco, sauteed onions and nopales, and more — as well as a vegetarian version featuring poblanos and mushrooms. Stretching the category a bit, it also makes tacos dorados stuffed with chicken or potatoes.

Don’t knock gourmet tacos before trying Manny Barella’s. The Monterrey, Mexico–bred talent treats his ingredients as though they were destined for a four-star tasting menu, and it shows in the sumptuous yet soulful results. Encased in a crispy flour tortilla, the costra de ribeye is melt-in-the-mouth rich with housemade chorizo, queso Chihuahua, and salsa verde; so is the shrimp variant, enhanced by shrimp-infused butter and tomato cream. Meanwhile, the king-trumpet mushroom al pastor is a vegetarian revelation with charred pineapple.

Just for fun, this breezy tropical escape in RiNo serves its tacos unassembled, giving diners the chance to mix, match, and mash it all up at will. Some dos and don’ts: Do add chorizo verde or rojo to the fabulous smoked potatoes dusted with chile-garlic crunch, and ask for extra crema. Don’t sleep on the coconut-braised pork shoulder with fried sweet plantains and pickled red onion. And pair it all with the spicy mezcal margarita.

Not unlike campechanos, tacos de discada are topped with a mix of chopped meats, which are traditionally cooked together with veggies on a discada, or plow blade. They alone are worth the trip to this East Colfax fixture, where they come crispy and juicy with steak, marinated pork, bacon, and ham as well as ground beef and sliced hot dogs, plus onions, peppers, and a sprinkling of queso fresco and cilantro. But running a close second are the tacos al carbon, which here involve grilled beef cooked with chunks of potato and pico de gallo. The salsa on the side is also worth traveling for.

The menu here is billed as a “mashup of the world’s street food,” so expect a touch of the unexpected at this funky, graffiti-splashed spot on East Colfax where old boom boxes line the entrance and cassette tapes serve as table signs. Speaking of funk, the mushroom taco with beans is a sure thing, as are the braised lamb with griddled cheese and chile jus, and the tempura-fried fish with jalapeño tartar.

In addition to especially luscious carnitas, this friendly full-service spot also makes must-try tacos topped with chorizo and scrambled eggs for something a little off script — plus delightful aguas frescas to wash them down.

Tacos al vapor over here and tacos de canasta over there. Cheesy tacos de alambre on handmade tortillas in this corner, Guatemalan-style tacos graced by grilled onions in that one. Tacos loaded with longaniza, camarones, and al pastor straight off the spit from one vendor, quesabirria from the next. At La Esquina del Sabor — a magical marketplace in the parking lot of Aurora’s La Plaza Colorado — around 20 food trucks gather to form a rainbow of styles and specialties; the result is flavor like no others in town.

The barbacoa’s like butter, the adobada’s got extra zip, the salsa bar’s loaded (try the orange one, a house specialty), and all in all the widespread adoration for this family-run Aurora fixture is more than justified. Not that the menu itself is out of the ordinary — nine options run from asada and carnitas to lengua and buche — but the execution is a cut above. Come on a weekend and throw a bowl of menudo into the mix. (P.S.: There’s a second location in Littleton.)