(Travel + Leisure) Robert Flicker recently experienced a conversion—of the tortilla-wrapped variety. “I’d been a believer that a truly great taco must be served in a dive and consist of chicken, beef, or pork,” says the Nevada communications executive.

But the taco appetizer at Mandalay Bay’s Fleur—with tuna tartare, ponzu, serrano peppers, and an avocado cream—changed his mind. “It elevated the taco,” he praises, “into the realm of fine-dining legitimacy.”

For comfort-foodies who embrace the nuances of grass-fed burgers and artisan donuts, the taco is finding a new picante status. Even high-end gourmands are on board: chef René Redzepi of Copenhagen’s award-laden Noma recently tweeted his enthusiasm for the distinctly non-high-end, Queens-based Tacos Morelos.

When we looked around the nation for the best tacos, we focused primarily on taquerias where the hand-held delicacy gets top billing—and we still found more style and variety than could fit in any one Tuesday.
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Food in the Field gives a sneak peek into what CNN's team is eating, and the food culture they encounter as they travel the globe.
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Grabbing some Taco Bell is an easy task for most Americans but for the residents of Bethel, Alaska it is a four hour journey to the nearest town. Needless to say, most people in Bethel were super-excited when signs popped up announcing that a Taco Bell was coming to their town this July.

Alas, it was all a hoax and Bethel’s taco dreams came to an abrupt halt. But there is more to the story.
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We're highlighting local and regional bloggers we think you ought to know about. We can’t be everywhere at once, so we look to these passionate eaters, cooks and writers to keep us tapped into every facet of the food world. Consider this a way to get to know a blog’s taste buds, because, well, you should.

Who: José Ralat-Maldonado, of Taco Trail
Where: Dallas, Texas
Twitter: @TacoTrail
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