In life, there are a few timeless questions: Why are we here, is there really a heaven — and who has the best trompo tacos.
That last question was posed on Fort Worth Foodies, the buzzy Facebook page with an astronomical 205K-plus followers, by Preston Paine, the brand-name chef at the Crescent Hotel the property in the Cultural District that opened in 2023.
Paine, who also won a CultureMap Tastemaker Award in 2023 for Chef of the Year, asked: "Who has the best trompo or pastor tacos in Fort Worth?"
According to Google AI (which is slowly but surely destroying the internet), trompo tacos, also known as tacos al pastor, are a popular Mexican dish of pork that's marinated and cooked on a vertical rotisserie.
In response to Paine's inquiry, the Fort Worth Foodies came out strong, offering recommendations for dozens of favored tacos in Fort Worth.
We're not going to beat around: The clear winner was Taqueria Temo, the restaurant in northwest Fort Worth, not far from Meacham Airport, which garnered the most recommendations. But plenty of other worthy names were volunteered.
In order of how many votes they received, according to the braintrust at Fort Worth Foodies, here's the best trompo or pastor tacos in Fort Worth:
Taqueria Temo, 3405 N. Elm St. (They also have a location in Haltom City and a food truck in the FW Stockyards) - 9 votes
Family-owned restaurant started out as a taco truck in 2007. In addition to praise-worthy trompo tacos, they do an authentic Mexican street-style taco plate, plus tortas, burritos, sincronizadas, Mexican hamburgers, and menudo on weekends.
Guajardos al Pastor, 1703 NW 28th St. - 3 votes
No website or Facebook page, just scads of positive reviews on Yelp and Google for their authentic Tacos al Pastor. Limited menu, only Tacos al Pastor and Tortas, a bowl of beans, and a salad. As one fan notes, "That’s literally all they sell."
Taqueria El Arquito, nine locations across DFW including 4325 Berry St. and 3621 Sycamore School Rd. - 3 votes
Family-owned business, founded in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, earned high praise as a trompo master, as well as its 10 tacos for $18.99 deal.
Tres Betos Taqueria, 2408 NE 28th St. - 2 votes
Known for its $1 street tacos, Tres Betos is the small restaurant famous for combo plates, which recently relocated to a bigger space. Truthfully, they're probably better known for birria tacos than trompo, but they still got 2 votes.
Los Guapos Mexican Street Food, 301 S. Sylvania Ave. - 2 votes
Spinoff of popular gas station taqueria Guapo Taco from Angel Fuentes, the Fort Worth chef who made a name for himself at Mariachi’s Dine In.
Los Mamones, 3310 N. Main St. - 2 votes
Hyper-authentic taqueria food truck is favored not only for its trompo tacos but also for clever spinoff specials like a trompo burger.
Taqueria Ortiz, 2657 E Vickery Blvd. - 2 votes
Authentic taqueria and Mexican restaurant took over this location near Polytechnic High School that has seen more than one concept come and go. They also have a food truck off James near Seminary.
365 Tacos, 3101 North Fwy. - 2 votes
North Texas chain has five locations including this truck stop/365 travel center with a Mexican restaurant inside, northeast of the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Tacos Los Irresistibles, 1308 N. Sylvania Ave. - 2 votes
Taqueria in the Scenic Bluff neighborhood serves authentic Mexican street tacos and dishes.
These suggestions all got one vote each:
- Mi Tierra, meat market chain touted for $1.59 tacos just opened location at 3233 Alta Mere Dr. in west Fort Worth
- La Tortlandia, old-timer at 1112 W Berry St. since 1986
- Hurst Texas Tacos, family owned restaurant with years of experience making authentic Texas tacos.
- Pantry On Magnolia, best known for its dumplings, including pastor dumplings.
- Fitos Tacos de Trompo, a chain with 11 locations mostly in Dallas but also at 2356 E. Pioneer Pkwy., Arlington.
- Taquikardia, located way down near Venus, 33 miles SW of Fort Worth, and better known for fish tacos.
- Taqueria Haltom, highly rated taco shop in Haltom City at 1718 Haltom Rd.
- Taqueria Taxco, bustling family-run chain at gas stations across DFW — specifically the Arlington location.
- Taqueria Chacko, Foodtruck with authentic tacos at 6701 Rufe Snow Rd. in Watauga.
- Taqueria Ruby, at 1101 Terminal Rd. is known for delicious tacos at a reasonable price.
- Taqueria San Luis, 3 locations include N. 28th Street and Seminary Drive, but 1901 8th Ave. is the favorite.
- Mariscos El Malecon, tacos and festive atmosphere at 7630 NE Loop 820 in North Richland Hills.
- La Casa De Lina, new-ish spot in SW FW near I-20 and Granbury Road with authentic Mexican and home cooking.
And because there is always one of these guys, commenter Adrian Silva piped up: "My house."