MAIN INGREDIENTS
Tacos gobernador (lit. governor's tacos) are Mexican tacos named after a Sinaloan governor. In order to prepare the dish, warm tortillas are filled with a combination of shrimps, grated cheese, coriander, onions, and tomatoes. The tortillas are then folded in half, brushed with butter, and cooked on a griddle over medium heat.
When served, tacos gobernador are often accompanied by lime wedges and hot chili sauce. Apart from Sinaloa, these tacos are also quite popular in Baja California.
MOST ICONIC Tacos gobernador
Tacos al carbon is a taco style where meat is grilled over hot coals. It consists of a corn flour or wheat flour taco filled with a variety of grilled meats such as skirt steak, although any type of meat will do. The taco is additionally topped with bell peppers, onions, and freshly chopped coriander.
It is recommended to serve them warm, preferably with a squeeze of lime juice and a dollop of sour cream on top.
MOST ICONIC Tacos al carbon
Burrito is a dish consisting of a wheat flour tortilla that is wrapped in such a way that it is possible to fully enclose the flavorful filling on the interior. The filling consists of a combination of various ingredients such as meat, beans, rice, lettuce, guacamole, and cheese, among others.
Its name means little donkey in Spanish, and a popular theory suggests that it stems from the way the bedrolls and packs appeared on the donkeys that carried them. Some claim that the dish originated in the 19th century by either the vaqueros in Northern Mexico, farmers in California, or the miners from Sonora.
VARIATIONS OF Burrito
MOST ICONIC Burrito
MAIN INGREDIENTS
The first, original plate of nachos consisting of tortilla chips, melted cheese, and jalapeños was made for a group of military officers' wives in 1943 in Piedras Negras, Mexico. The ladies of the US Army Air Force base went over to a restaurant in the city, called the Victory Club.
Its maitre d', Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya couldn't find the cook, so he combined some readily available ingredients for the ladies and presented them with canapes of tortilla chips, cheese, and jalapeño peppers. Nachos were created, and Anaya became the restaurant's head chef a few years later.
VARIATIONS OF Nachos
Danger dog consists of a bacon-wrapped sausage that is grilled until crispy, then stuffed into a bolillo roll and topped with a variety of ingredients such as beans, tomatoes, onions, jalapeño salsa, mayonnaise, and mustard. This unique variety of hot dog originated in Hermosillo in the 1980s, and were sold from the street carts by the vendors called dogueros.
This behemoth of a hot dog is traditionally served with a roasted chile güero on the side. Today, apart from Mexico, danger dog is also extremely popular in the United States, especially in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona.
VARIATIONS OF Danger Dog
Empalme is a Mexican sandwich consisting of two lard-brushed corn tortillas filled with refried beans and tomato salsa. Additionally, chorizo, hot chile peppers, and queso fresco can also be added to the dish as flavorful fillings. The sandwich is a specialty of the Mexican state of Nuevo León, and is sometimes compared to a stacked enchilada or a Mexican pizza.
With its bold flavors and the pork fat differentiating it from other similar dishes, empalme is guaranteed to remain a staple of Mexican street food.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 6 Traditional Street Foods in Northern Mexico” list until January 29, 2025, 2,223 ratings were recorded, of which 1,684 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.