El Tragon Taco
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Yelp has released its list of Best Taco Spots in Every State. And for 2024, that honor in el Restaurante’s home state of Illinois goes to Chicago’s El Tragón Taqueria, a “cozy taqueria, located in a gas station parking lot,” that Gerardo Madrigal opened in homage to his home state of Jalisco in 2021 — 3 years ago this September 14.
The award-winning tacos coming from El Tragón’s kitchen include “juicy” al pastor, “moist and tender” birria, and an “absolutely killer” veggie option with mushrooms, peppers, avocado, according to Yelp. What do “Yelpers” say? Here’s one example from Jennifer K.:
“These are the best tacos I’ve had in a very long time. We ordered the quesabirria, bistec, and al pastor tacos—all equally tasty, absolutely excellent! The green and red salsas were delicious as well. You can tell that they put a lot of heart and soul into everything they make here.”
How has Madrigal managed to turn out tacos that are getting such rave reviews — and a lot of publicity — from such a small, unassuming spot?
As he told Block Club Chicago: “I better have a good product if I want people to come here. My thinking was, ‘Let’s make the customer happy every day — with great food — and that [is] who is going to spread the word.’”
So how did Yelp the best spots in every state?
“We identified businesses in the taco category with a large concentration of reviews mentioning relevant keywords, and then ranked those spots using a number of factors, including the total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning those keywords between January 1, 2019, and July 1, 2024,” information from Yelp explains. “If a business with multiple locations appeared on the list more than once, we only included the highest-rated location. All businesses were marked open on Yelp as of July 18, 2024. When available, all businesses on this list have a passing health score as of July 18, 2024.”
Watch for information about the best tacos in other states coming soon at elrestaurante.com.
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