Who has the best tacos in North Carolina? | Charlotte Observer

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.