The tacos on their own are great, but the best move at La Selva is to get a nicely charred, well-spiced pollo al carbon, whose outdoor grilling noticeably fills the air around this colorfully decorated restaurant in Richmond’s 23rd street corridor. A full order of this chicken comes with tortillas, excellent, creamy-chunky beans, and fragrant rice. Make sure to sample every salsa from the salsa bar as you build your own tacos.

Located directly across the street from La Selva is another 23rd Street gem, this one is a truck that never moves. The outdoor seating here is lovely for a warm day, as the charming lights and tables make eating tacos al fresco quite appealing. Fans of lengua and shrimp tacos will find themselves delighted by the offerings here. Get your tacos spicy for the full effect and enjoy the charred peppers that come with each order as well.

If you’re taco crawling through Richmond (you really should be), it’s easy to breeze past Portumex, which looks from both the outside and inside as if it were more of a diner from another era. And though there are diner-style menu items like full breakfasts and burgers, the tacos here are quite delicious, especially when done in a crispy shell. The classic Mexican-American ground beef tacos with neon cheese and lettuce are nostalgia-moan inducing, especially paired with salsas that go far beyond the FIRE level at Taco Bell.

In the never-ending debate about which taqueria or taquero slings the best al pastor, a good case could be made for this tiny sliver of a taqueria in Point Richmond. Located in a you’ll-walk-right-past-it shop adjacent to a dive bar, the trompo here turns out crisp, succulent al pastor, as well as all of the other classic proteins. Veggie options are solid here, too, with butternut squash being a great option.

Anyone who’s had a great night out at the Hotsy Totsy Club has probably dined at Tacos El Autlense without ever knowing its name (if you Google Hotsy Totsy one of the results is “Hotsy Totsy taco truck”). Unless an order of the excellently flavored carne asada, al pastor, or cabeza is taken inside the bar or to go, or eaten in a car parked on the street, there is no place to sit, so plan accordingly. The salsas here are perky and bright, and the cooks and staff are incredibly friendly.

Traffic on Grand Ave. leading onto the Bay Bridge freeway entrance nearby can be a drag, so it might be a good idea to make that trek a little better with some great tacos from this randomly located truck nearby. Tacos Panzon boasts the standard proteins and is not too deep on the offal-based tacos, but getting a couple of flavor-packed and nicely crisped carne asada and chorizo tacos here is the way to go — especially with the pro move of making them “deluxe” tacos with melty cheese and slices of avocado.

This wonderful taqueria presses its own tortillas and boasts an especially lovely al pastor that comes from an ever-turning and ever-busy trompo. There is also an excellent fish taco on the menu and a hearty veggie taco; salsas come in too-small thimble-sized cups, but asking for more isn’t a problem.

It would be a strong and solid move to just try all of the regular tacos here, especially the pollo tin-tin (described as “umami-rubbed’ on the menu), but also amazing here is the First Friday, a fried chicken taco inside a flour tortilla. It comes with a tart curtido on top and creamy remoulade that pairs well with the crisp chicken.

You can also catch this truck when it’s parked at East Brother Beer in Richmond, but really any time and any place you can find it is going to be worth it. La Santa Torta does a take on birria de res, and these are some of the best bites in the whole East Bay. Labeled here as “red tacos,” the tender, beefy, drippingly savory birria comes topped with Oaxacan cheese, pickled onions, and a piquant red salsa. Regulars know to get a side of consom as well.

The birria de res dorados tacos are excellent here, with a shatteringly crisp shell that gives way to succulent meat. Even more delicious are the campechano tacos, filled with varied meats that vary between crisp and soft; get it tongo style to add their nice beans as well as fresh cheese. Also of note for vegetarians here are the sweet potato tacos.

Part of the empire that is the El Grullense trucks in the East Bay, this particular truck stands out for its truly stunning seafood tacos. All of them are vivid in flavor and appearance, but the true standouts are the camarones a la diabla, with a burns-so-good salsa on top, and the platonic ideal of a surf-and-turf taco that is El Grullense’s steak and shrimp taco. Also excellent is the mango habanero fried fish taco, with the tart fruit and stimulating habanero salsa contrasting the deep-fried richness.

Attached to the Aloha Club and featuring a La Cocina pedigree, this outstanding spot features a regular menu and also some rotating tacos. The smoky, tender barbacoa is a standout, and the vegan tacos are some of the best in the area.  Ask for the hottest salsa, which doesn’t skimp on flavor in favor of spiciness.

The best-named taqueria in the East Bay also serves some of the most varied and tasty tacos in the already taco-notable Fruitvale district of Oakland. Don’t be weirded out by the strange ordering system; instead, just tell the cashier how many tacos you want and, at the next window, pick your fillings. Standouts here in addition to the typical carne asada and al pastor orders are the tripas, which aren’t overly chewy, and the creamy sesos (brain) tacos.

This restaurant is called three different things depending on the platform you use to look it up, but whatever name it goes by, it’s hard to argue with birria tacos that have lamb, goat, and beef options. Order the three-taco option and ask for one of each meat and have a fun time deciding which one is best (there is no best, they’re all delicious).

With a cute interior and festive patio complete with a trompo cart out front pumping out al pastor in the evenings, Los 3 Gallos also benefits from some of the juiciest and crispiest chicken for any taco on this map. The restaurant keeps its salsas in a chilled container with onions and cilantro — the tacos come without these, so customers can add them to taste.

Much like the Matrix, one has to actually see Senaida’s to actually understand it fully. It primarily functions as a drive-thru, and nothing about it appears to have changed in its nearly forty years of existence. However, if the yearning for hard-shell tacos becomes a powerful craving, grab the ground beef tacos here, with a great crispy shell and those fast food-esque fillings that define the best of this genre. There is actual bench seating, but it’s more fun to do the drive-thru.