“National food holidays are inherently silly,” writes Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger, “but I’ll never pass up a reasonable excuse to chat about tacos. Even though I wouldn’t think too hard about why National Taco Day is Oct. 4, why not use this as an excuse to look back on the past year?” It was his good fortune over the past 12 months to eat even more tacos than usual. That research culminated in his list of the 31 best tacos in the city, which is still a helpful overview of the taco scene around Chicagoland. But as is always the case, great taco spots continued to open even after that feature was published. Plus, @nkindelsperger wanted to highlight a couple new spots that almost made the cut. While the hottest filling of 2020, quesabirria, continued to expand around the city, this past year saw a remarkable proliferation of real al pastor. That means that chefs are marinating thick slices of pork and cooking them on a trompo, or a vertical rotisserie. “Considering it’s my favorite taco style, I followed this development with a fair bit of enthusiasm. But that’s just the beginning,” writes Kindelsperger. Click the link in our bio for his favorite tacos from places that have opened in the past 12 months. (Nick Kindelsperger / Chicago Tribune)

“National food holidays are inherently silly,” writes Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger, “but I’ll never pass up a reasonable excuse to chat about tacos. Even though I wouldn’t think too hard about why National Taco Day is Oct. 4, why not use this as an excuse to look back on the past year?”

It was his good fortune over the past 12 months to eat even more tacos than usual. That research culminated in his list of the 31 best tacos in the city, which is still a helpful overview of the taco scene around Chicagoland. But as is always the case, great taco spots continued to open even after that feature was published. Plus, @nkindelsperger wanted to highlight a couple new spots that almost made the cut.

While the hottest filling of 2020, quesabirria, continued to expand around the city, this past year saw a remarkable proliferation of real al pastor. That means that chefs are marinating thick slices of pork and cooking them on a trompo, or a vertical rotisserie.

“Considering it’s my favorite taco style, I followed this development with a fair bit of enthusiasm. But that’s just the beginning,” writes Kindelsperger.

Click the link in our bio for his favorite tacos from places that have opened in the past 12 months. (Nick Kindelsperger / Chicago Tribune)