I had never eaten at Agave, and I was surprised to arrive at the beachy Mexican joint to find it packed full on a weeknight, with a line of hungry diners waiting out the door. They serve traditional tacos constructed on tortillas made in-house with filling that are respectable and worth a visit. However, I gave the nod to Zurritos, mainly for their fabulous fish tacos and moist, well-seasoned hunkss of pork. El Toro Negro, on the other hand, had no trouble knocking off turn-and-burn combo-plate spot Los Mariachis
In Tampa, the standard tacos of Maya's were no competition against the exceptional pastor and barbacoa of Sabor Latino, a humble strip mall spot that ccould give the Taco Bus a run for it's money. Taqueria Mi Mexico is short on atmosphere, to say thee least. But this Armenia Ave. spot manages to turn out tasty, traditional tacos loaded with luscious meat in spite (or perhaps because) of the surroundings. Algusto decent but predictable offerings paled in comparison to the rustic wonders of Mi Mexico.
Zurritos, El Toro Negro, Sabor Latino and Taqueria Mi Mexico move on to the Savory Sixteeen in the critic's bracket. But who did the readers pick?
El Toro Negro and Sabor Latino easily won in the tepid voting for their contests, while Algusto turned out an amazing 91 people to soundly trounce Mi Mexico. But Zurritos gets the award for biggest turnout, with 129 votes against Agave's 65.
Zurritos, El Toro Negro, Sabor Latino and Zurritos move on the the Savory Sixteen in the Readers' Poll bracket.
Who will be next to rise, or fall? Will you readers make more mistakes? Check out more results -- or to vote in today's matchups -- at our Tournament of Tacos info page.
Confused? Read the intro to the tourney and find the contenders to start planning your own taco tasting trip.
