Had your fill of pricey concessions at Cowboys Stadium? Want something a bit more authentic to help you remember your time around the big game? No better way for us to send you on your way than with a few suggestions for tacos, which has rapidly become the state food of Texas (just in case you didn't notice):
Taquería Mexicana
This pequeño shop serves all manner of real-deal eats across the street from the main event, for those non-designated drivers working off a championship drunk. Aside from the superior barbacoa, pastor and carne asada, what distinguishes this taquería from many others is a drive-thru window and an English-speaking staff.
Taco Loco
Also a crosswalk -- or parking lot -- away from Cowboys Stadium, the tacos at Taco Loco are cheap and plentiful. The options include some rarities and jewels. Along with lengua -- that's tender, melt-in-your-mouth cow tongue, cheeseheads -- the kitchen offers pork tenderloin, fried fish and breaded beef fillings. Breakfast tacos, the most perfect way to start your day, are available from open to close. The menu doesn't stop at tacos, though. Other items available include burritos, gorditas and tortas.
Chili's Grill & Bar
Founded right here in Big D in 1975, Chili's now has more than 1,400 locations. Yet, the suits in charge haven't forgotten the roots of the restaurants. Those football fans who are far from home and crave the cookie-cutter trappings of a chain resto, but are willing to dig something local, can munch on specialties like the chicken club taco platter (a trio of flour tortillas filled with grilled chicken, applewood smoked bacon, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and ancho-chile ranch dressing) or the crispy shrimp taco platter (three flour tortillas with tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, honey-chipotle salsa and ranch dressing).
El Fenix
Another locally founded chain, this culinary icon, pronounced like the capital of Arizona, has been serving addictive Tex-Mex combos since 1918. Although the menu offers an abundance of classic and popular regional dishes, this list is about tacos. Here, the tacos are of the Tex-Mex stripe: crispy, cheesy and puffy.
Fuzzy's Taco Shop
Dallas seems to be getting the lion's share of Super Bowl love but Cowtown deserves much recognition, particularly since this is where the chain started. The tacos here are Baja-style, which is to say, fish loaded with lettuce and crumbled cheese. (There are shredded beef, shredded pork, grilled veggies and shrimp selections.) Some people like that. We go for the nachos and the schooners of beer from Franconia, the McKinney-based brewery.
