It’s a little early for Final Four brackets, so we’ll call it the ultimate lunch run-off election: Strange Carolinas, a website that devotes itself to tracking the odd and offbeat in North and South Carolina, is running a bracket-style tournament for the best tacos in North Carolina.
Good to know: At the start of the contest, Charlotte had the most restaurants and food trucks in the tournament, with nine – Anita’s Mexican Grill, Bakersfield Tacos, Babalu Tapas & Tacos, Cabo Fish Taco, La Poblanita, Paco’s Tacos & Tequila, RuRu’s Tacos, Sabor Latin Street Grill and TIN Kitchen.
Bad to know: After the first two rounds of voting, Sabor and Bakersfield are the only ones left. (I did a deep dive into Charlotte’s taco offerings last September, and I think they missed a few classics.)
You can keep Charlotte in the running, though. The third round of voting is open from 8 a.m. Sept. 19 until 8 p.m. Sept. 20.
The matchups:
Carne Asada:
Sabor Latin Street Grill vs. Crafted The Art of the Taco in Greensboro and Winston-Salem.
Los Portales Taco Bar, Wilmington, vs. Mamacita’s Taco Temple, Asheville.
Pescado:
Villa Del Mar Mexican Grill, Greensboro, vs. Black Cat Burrito, Boone.
Burrito Shak, Hampstead, vs. Burrito Bros., Marion.
Al Pastor:
Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn, Carolina Beach and Wilmington, vs. Carrburritos, Carrboro and Davidson.
Coyote Kitchen, Boone, vs. Mi Taqueria, High Point.
Pollo:
Bakersfield Tacos, Charlotte, vs. Beer Barrio, Wilmington.
Original Flying Burrito, Raleigh, vs. El Tacorriendo, Lenoir.
Download the bracket for the next round of voting at www.strangecarolinas.com.
Kathleen Purvis: 704-358-5236, @kathleenpurvis
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