The delicious insanity of Taco Madness
Good Food
KCRW
4.6 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 24 April 2026
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on Good Food:
- Javier Cabral and Memo Torres hunt down the best tacos in Los Angeles for Taco Madness.
- Tostadas, tetelas, tamales — Jorge Gaviria shares a dose of Vitamina T, Mexico's unofficial food group.
- Crystal Wahpepah weaves together stories and intertribal recipes from Oakland's Native American communities.
- Peaches aren't yet in season but you can get a taste with peach leaves, which chef Harry Posner is using in a dessert.
Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From KCRW, I'm Evan Klyman, and this is good food. |
| 0:05.2 | If there's anything LA takes very seriously and personal, it's one, their neighborhoods and two, their taqueros. |
| 0:12.7 | If you want to start a fight in Los Angeles, ask people to name the best taco in L.A. |
| 0:18.4 | No one knows this more than the folks at L.A. Taco, who launched Taco Madness |
| 0:23.3 | in 2009. The annual showdown pits all kinds of tachoreas against each other in a bracketed |
| 0:30.8 | format, and let's just say that competition is fierce. This year's champion will be announced live next Saturday, May 2nd at a festival in downtown |
| 0:40.3 | L.A. Joining me are editor-in-chief Javier Cabral and director of engagement and multimedia journalist |
| 0:47.8 | Memo Torres. |
| 0:49.3 | What up? How you doing, Evan? |
| 0:51.2 | What's up? Oh, it's so great to have you both at the same time. |
| 0:55.0 | I feel very lucky. |
| 0:57.1 | I know. |
| 0:57.6 | I think it's going to feel like a party line on good food with both of us here. |
| 1:03.1 | Yeah, awesome. |
| 1:04.5 | A throwback. |
| 1:05.7 | So, Javier, tell us a little bit about the history of Taco Madness. |
| 1:09.9 | Why was it important for you to create this |
| 1:13.5 | taco tournament? And how has it changed and grown over the years? So believe it or not, |
| 1:18.8 | this is the 17th year of Taco Madness, which is crazy. You have to remember, there was a time in |
| 1:24.2 | LA when tacos weren't so beloved. I mean, food trucks, |
| 1:28.9 | taco trucks were illegal back in the day. I'm sure you remember those iconic shirts that |
| 1:32.8 | Karnasada is not a crime. So L.A. Taco has always, you know, uplifted and connected people |
... |
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