I Tried The Best Street Food In America

America has always gotten credit for two things fast food and fine dining.

But in between those two worlds there's something

that doesn't seem to get any credit:

street food.

Everywhere else in the world street food is a way of life,

but here in America I think it's often underappreciated and overlooked.

Often times the best food in the world isn't served on white tablecloths,

it's served from carts, trucks and Tiny Family -run stalls.

And today I'm going to uncover what America truly has to offer.

So we asked you the audience,

which cities have the best street food in America?

After thousands of responses we have our top four: New York, Los Angeles, Portland,

and Austin Texas.

I'm going to the streets of every single one of these cities

but I'm not going in blind.

In each city I've got a local street food expert to guide me through

their top five must-try spots

and by the end we'll have our answer.

The city with the highest-rated street food average wins the title of best street

food city in America,

starting with New York City.

Everyone knows the New York food scene is insane.

I ate the food from 20 plus countries in a single day here.

and that's why I Enlisted the help of Julian moo AKA Muber eats,

one of New York City's most respected street food connoisseurs

and he's going to show us his top five New York City spots,

starting with uh grills on the sidewalk?

We're Irie jerk.

I will say this is one of those things where

if you're walking on the side of the street

and you smelled what we're smelling you got to at least ask yourself should

I?

And the short answer is yeah cheers.

Succulent fall off the bone.

The spice levels are wonderful.

It's a little sweet.

It's seasoned perfectly.

Salt levels perfect, texture super moist, zero dryness present.

I've had jerk chicken it's a little too overs

and I don't mean spicy I mean like they mask the flavor of the

chicken this you're getting

that like nice chicken fat flavor

and it's perfectly balanced with the smokiness there's the sweetness of the sauce on

there and there is

that jerk chicken spice

that you want in there

but it's not too overwhelming I've had smoked chicken at barbecue restaurants in Texas

that had less flavor

and less smoke than this chicken right here

and it's cooked in a barrel on the side of the street this is

extraordinary really good I would travel out to eat this I would come travel

all the way out to come sit on the side of the road

and eat this texture

if it's all Leg it's a 95 flavor I'm going to give it a

92 out of 10 I mean this is like crazy thank you oh my

god unbelievable you got to come to Texas yo you have to invite me

I never been yeah we'll take you the barbecue guys you need to show

them a couple lessons I'm ready I'm going to be back I'm bringing my

wife moving on an incredibly strong start for New York City proof

that NYC street food is not only served from a food truck

or a cart like our next spot belian llama party there's no dining in

it's just a window on the street P.S I've never had believing in food

and I'm pumped to see how it Stacks up

so we're at probably it's fine just a gun two shots fired it's all

good three shots fired oh it's fireworks it's fireworks please help we are at

probably my favorite place in all of New York City it's Bolivian llama party

they specialize in Bolivian food what we have right in front of us is

the beef saltena it's a mix of a soup dumpling

and an empanada wow look at this beautiful dough toasted in the bottom it's

braided by hand I mean I love it the ideal way to eat it

take a small bite out of here let some of

that air out you take a little sip of the inside

and then you pour a little bit of the hot yaha inside wow this

is really something this is kind of perfect for this weather too by the

way it's freezing out here we have this like hot juicy sort of like

beef stew in the center it's spiced nicely the sweetness of the crust it's

got some crunch there's some softness there's some chew from the beef little Pops

from the peas It's like a god tier like Michelin level Hot Pocket I've

never heard that before absolutely delicious texture of the pastry I've had a lot

of different types of pastries

that are similar to

that texture on the inside I would bring

that sore down just slightly cuz I wish the beef were a little more

tender it's pretty chewy

but you know maybe that's the vibe it just kind of is a weird

contrast so I would give it a flat eight for texture flavor the spices

the garlic the onion all the things

that were in there were just exactly where I wanted to be it just

felt like I was eating a grandma food in the best way possible that's

a 7.5 out of 10 for flavor didn't blow my mind

but it's still a strong score moving on we're in Midtown right now we

got Halal Guys but why are we at Halal Guys this is one of

if not the OG street foods of New York City it's crazy cuz they

franchised they like started in the street

and they got out of the streets

and went big time most of these places now have run

because Hal guys has walked

so it better be good one thing I I know a lot of people

are going to say this Halal is not a type of food it's a

way of slaughtering animals

and that is true

but in New York City it is a thing

that people say I'm going to the halal cart on the corner is this

one of the best still it's a New York Street Food icon that's why

it's in here but there's a surprise

which we'll get to after we try this this is the OG the Halal

mixed platter chicken and beef over rice white sauce hot sauce one of the

things I love about Halal Guys I'm shocked at how much they've expanded

and how well they've maintained just the quality of everything the texture the rice

isn't overcooked it's chewy the salt levels are good

and it's fatty like it's it's just like rich

and juicy and the meat is seasoned perfectly with salt it's a little spicy

from the hot sauce I mean this is great T is a nine

and I'm not going to them for this

but their paa has always not been

that good just give me straight up H will you can just let

but everything else is lovely flaver an 8.8 I don't like giving franchises love

but Halal Guys always delivers somehow some way we do have something to say

we can't finalize this

because we have another one there's a competitor on the block now we're at

the surprise location of Dell some people are saying

that like Halal Guys has falling off

and these are the new ones is

that right this is the Halal darling right now it is 25° fah

and people are waiting in a line for cart food

so this is lamb

and chicken I'm going to try get a little bit of everything spicy rice

too that's a big difference I got to be real with you guys slightly

less good in my opinion

because it's not seasoned

as well it's not spicy at all there's no spice at all in there

this one's missing a little flavor to me the other one was more flavorful

it was more fatty

so you're saying that this line we should see in front of Hal guys

instead or split 50/50 I think it should be split 50/50 this seems like

a personal preference thing personally it's not seasoned

as well with salt I don't taste any lamb the lamb is not

that flavorful I thought the beef was more flavorful than both of these combined

the chicken is under seasoned try both pick your favorite I don't give a

they're both delicious but I'm going to give this one to Halal Guys that's

the one we'll enter in the competition wow shout out to them on to

the next thanks to the video where we ate around the world in 24

hours I've had some of Queen's most famous street food

so I guess Julian had a little curveball for me we're in a parking

lot where are we we're here at Rockstar tick in for palal Korean Fried

Chicken it is hot Korean sweet chili sauc wing spice level two out of

what I think out of two oh

so max this is the spiciest SAU

that you have they br it to order everything is made fresh everything is

handmade homemade that's hard work these are Sauced beautiful this is exactly how I

would sauce mine coated it's got breading on every square inch

as it should be oh yeah super super super tender almost falls off the

bone and the sauce is not too sweet

which I really appreciate yeah it has a little bit of

that kick that you really want I would take it spicier honestly the spice

level is good for the average Joe

if you were to come here

and get a two out of two I think most people can handle this

spice but it's just enough heat to keep it exciting first thing I got

to say is the chicken not even considering the breading was unbelievably succulent perfectly

cooked the crispiness I like my wings crunchier usually I don't think I've had

wings with that thin of a crust from a Korean Wing texture I'll go

with the seven chicken flavor was super apparent it was very chicken Ford I

like that the sauce didn't overpower the chicken flavor flavor a seven

as well New York City going strong

but with three huge cities to come tend to get a boost from the

final spot Steinway Halal where we not only got this charcoal grilled chicken

but two kinds of rice two soups

and a salad so all of this is like what like 30 40 bucks

$15 wow look I tried everything with how cold it was outside it did

kind of hit emotionally

but the main event chicken I got to be honest bit dry heavily UND

seasoned in my opinion the meal itself from a value perspective is incredible

but texture and flavor really just kind of fell flat for me just slightly

above mid with a 5.5 on flavor

and texture sitting at around 5.5 is

that a terrible score I would count

that as mid we still have some insanely high scores making Julian's top spots

hard to beat but we're moving on to the place

that I reside Austin Texas we now move on to a new co-host to

represent Austin the David Douglas a prolific Austin food reviewer a buddy of mine

who also appeared on our

which country has the best breakfast video listen Austin is a special place to

me and I know it's in good hands with his help we are starting

with high expectations here the potato Barbo breakfast taco at Michelin bib gormand Las

Santa barbacha looking good they didn't skimp on beauty

and it's loaded the up

and this is always how it comes by the way that's busting I don't

how long you've lived in Austin

but I've been in Austin for the better part of 6 to 7 years

roughly the barbacco is succulent it's fatty the creaminess from the avocado plays well

the tortillas are so fragrant like

when you lift this up to your mouth the first thing you get before

you even bite it is the smell it's almost floral

so nice shoe on the tortilla is great I have always felt the breakfast

taco was a bit overrated

and I think that

if you really want a good experience you got to go to a place

like this I love it I mean texture wise such a simple thing tortilla

egg cheese meat avocado

and it's getting an 87 it's a crazy high number flavor the Barbara Kaa

by itself that's like a 9 and5 I do wish there was a little

salt on the Avo to help bring it together flavor I'm going with a

seven this is easily the highest best breakfast taco I've ever had in Austin

that's what I like to hear I'm very competitive

and I'm giving Austin the best chance

so I want to see these types of scores every place on that's my

hope that's my dream let's make

that dream a reality moving on welcome to kg barbecue holy dude they loaded

us up I have always wanted to go here I just want to be

really clear the line is always

so long and for obvious reasons I'm glad

that they're hooking us up today

though holy they don't mess around here I'm half Middle Eastern

and the flavors here are what I grew up with

but with Texas Barbecue Cooking style

so the ribs are made the same way you'd make Texas style ribs they

have a pomagranate glaze pomegranates on top Zar dusted mac

and cheese look look look look look at this look at this the chef

grew up in Egypt

when he visited here he fell in love with Texas barbecue years later he's

here the James Beard nominated barbecue spot crushing it those are the most balanced

ribs ever they're not too sweet they're not too salty they're like a little

spicy the zatar comes in for some fragrance mac

and cheese fire cooked nicely shells are nice the sumac pickled onions crazy

and the rice is fragrant it's cooked nicely welcome to the culture brother lamb

bacon ribs right here oh my God they're

so juicy Loosey take a little this chimmy Cherry put

that right there that is phenomenal

that is one of the best bites of lamb I think in the city

anything you badly associated with lamb is replaced with fat

and flavor it's not gy it's just Smoky salty delicious melts in your mouth

super succulent look at this juicy lamb chop whatever there soic in this lamb

from as a God said this is

so perfectly seasoned with salt

and just flavor and smoke

and it's juicy this feels like the marriage of Texas

and Egyptian food together putting on a sauce would be wonderful

but it's so good on it own it doesn't need it you never get

barbecue that's balanced like this where you have a little bit of everything overall

experience for texture was incredible

but it did fall just a bit

because the sliced brisket was not great I'm not going to lie David said

it was an off day

but I'm still going with a strong nine there's

so many options here I think it still deserves

that I mean it's a Onslaught a flavor spices sweet sour tart salty fatty

acidic I mean what the else is there you could possibly want in one

meal what would have already been a nine I'm going to give a 9.3

out of 10 on Flavor we might have a winner on our hands

but there's only one way to find out moving on we are at desata

what I think is the most addicting Taco in Austin we've done a breakfast

taco but the taco scene in Austin is

so developed you really need to experience both

and discata does things differently they actually cook their tacos in one giant stew

that are made out of discs

and they render out five different types of neat this is beautiful Cheers Cheers

wa dude what the why haven't I been here I didn't know

that Austin did tacos like this yes I've been shoting on Austin's tacos scene

for way too long I'm from Los Angeles I think the best tacos in

America do not come from Texas I think they come from Los Angeles

that said this is blurring

that line pretty aggressively for me the meat is phenomenal it's perfectly fatty perfectly

seasoned with salt the flavor is wonderful it's just what I want it's a

little bit of sweet salty spicy this pickled habanero

when I put all

that on there I got a little scared

and it's all nice

and balanced out with

that really finely chopped p uh pineapple I almost said P Cola I can't

pick apart what is

or isn't wrong with it

because it's kind of all there honestly texture 9 free there was Zero dryness

it wasn't too fatty I've had tacos

that weren't dry but were almost too fatty these were very balanced I'm going

give flavor 92 very good delicioso I might say I cringed myself out on

that one all right we were driving here I looked at the map

and it said you are headed to cocky juicy we're being told

that it might be ey I think it's cocky I could be wrong I've

never seen Fried Chicken like this a corn Masa flour dredge

and a wakan chili sauce this is either going to be way too much

or a game changer we take a drumstick we take our lime we give

it a we squeeze take a bite wo

that really is cocky juicy

and then this is where I go right into the housemade queso the queso

I like it's a very naughty bite this is naughty

but the queso kind of Mellows out some of the spices cuz they're does

this is like drunk food

but it's so good it's Rich it's fatty perfectly crispy it's spicy it's sweet

it's salted nice ooh it is spicy wow

so I prepared a little surprise for us what goes well with fried chicken

oh wow sparkling wine dude you're a naughty boy he's been toing this around

all day for this fried chicken

and champagne or sparkling wine is one of the greatest combinations in human existence

it's dare I say finger looking good let's talk about the texture the cook

on the chicken perfect it was very juicy no dryness present the crunch was

perfect I didn't want any more I didn't want any less I like

that it was a firm stiff crackly crunch that's how I make mine personally

love the addition of

that sort of like Flavor paste on the outside

if you will seems like they're dunking in Nashville hot oil I'll give it

a 92 cuz I have had better textured Fried Chicken

but not by much flavor unexpected it's sweet it's spicy it's salty it's garlicky

it's fragrant might be one of the best fried chickens I've had I mean

it's also a 91 I would say on Flavor Austin rolling after four spots

but the final spot needs a 12

or higher to take the lead against New York City

and our gu's choice could be a little risky street food with sushi hand

rolls cheers after trying all three rolls my Top Choice with the hamuro I

love Hamachi it was wonderfully seasoned the crispy shallots the whiskey ponzu you know

the flavor was really an 8.5 now let's talk about texture

as I was chewing I started to realize something I think this was just

a simple mistake and it happens from time to time I honestly don't even

blame them maybe they had a rough day

but the rice was undercooked

and crunchy and sometimes

that happens I wouldn't hold it against them

and I absolutely will be going back

but I've got to say

that really hurts my score here

so I'm giving the texture a flat five

which is still pretty high considering the rice is the most important part

when it comes to eating sushi that's going to happen sometimes I won the

perfect day in Austin Texas for Joshua Weissman

and I couldn't get Perfection

but I got as close

as I could and I hope we put up a good fight against those

bigger batter cities oh man Austin SLE average takes a big hit with

that last score unfortunately

but it's still in the lead

as we head to Portland Oregon it's a city I've never been to

but supposedly the food is great we'll see about

that our Portland guide is Mike th a longtime food writer former J beard

judge food festival founder

and let's be honest General Portland Food expert he's starting us off with Korean

food at one of Portland's most iconic

and longest running carts Kim Jong gillin now originally we were going to try

the gby beam box

that you see here

but Midway through the owner Han surprised me with a Korean inspired hot dog

that he thinks will steal the show oh dude it's bread holy dude in

the sauce in here wow

if somebody was like what is Korean Aman

that would be it I'm sorry Vic

but this like totally demolishes any Chicago dog that's ever exist I never ever

want to see a white hot dog bun ever again after trying this cuz

the baguette is like somehow like crispy

but the crispness is

so thin and the inside is

so soft and fluffy it just it doesn't fall apart it's just nice

but then also that BonChon daon

and then this creamy sort of like acidic a little bit sweet with a

little bit of spicy Umami sauce in there brings it all together it's like

glazed spam when you take spam

and you put a little goddamn sweet soy glaze on

that this is giving

that Vibe but new way I get the texture of solid like nine

which is so weird giving

that to a hot dog

but it's like the sourcing of the bread

so much better than any hot dog bun you'll ever have

because it's not even a hot dog bun he's using a bon me bun

I mean it's genius the crunch from the bonchan at the bottom

and then that soft like almost juicy pickled mango on top I don't know

that a hot dog could be better than

that score for flavor I think a solid nine

as well two n anything above a seven I'm usually bewildered

but right now I'm I don't know how we're going to find a number

one here moving on we are at the Midtown beer garden specifically what we're

trying here is Bing me

which is the only place in Portland

that really specializes in Northern Chinese style Jang Bing these in particular it's like

a super crispy thin crepe filled with egg kind of a nice spicy sauce

a crunchy wanton cracker

that you know you can literally hear people bite into from across the room

I heard him cutting into it yeah literally freezing out here I was warming

my hands up probably I don't know 10 to 15 ft away from the

cart and I heard a crunch

and I turned and it was

that man yeah we have two types you have the sort of classic one

that everyone kind of raises about the most that's the roasted duck

and then this one here is the Chinese sausage two of my favorite things

oh yeah I want to rewind to

when we went to New York we got Jang Bing in New York this

is way better than

that one there's a perfect amount of duck in here it's super fatty

and Rich within that you've got this nice refreshing crunchy cucumber

and it's seasoned beautifully you've got the Chinese sausage cheers

which one's your favorite I kind of like the sausage cuz it has the

same kind of sweetness

as the duck but it's a little more salty I think it just sort

of works the palette a little more it gets you the extra saltiness to

get the rest of the way there

and the fattiness from the Chinese sausage

and look how thinly cut it is it's

so thin and almost like melts on your tongue you got a little bit

of spiciness from it too it's sweet it's like almost caramelized in a way

I've had both easily the Chinese sausage one is the Hallmark one to me

I'm going to give the rating to this texture solid 9.3 flavor 9.1 Jang

Bing wow one of the top scores of the entire journey I should probably

go before I eat this whole thing moving on we're in the Knob Hill

food cart pod in Northwest port we're here for bajala

which is one of the newer food carts

that we're trying today they're known for seafood Centric Baja style Mexican food

and we tried three total tacos here first sturgeon

which was a bit odd I got to be honest not expecting

that then the fried shrimp

but our final Taco was by far my favorite we're also doing the ganador

which is flow tortilla with really really nice cheese fresh vegetables

and cooked in a lot of butter oh my god dude this is way

better than I thought it was going to be we had a taco very

similar to this V I don't know

if you remember this was

when I almost shot in Mexico City

and we had a taco

that was very similar to this with cheese quesadilla a little bit of butter

I think maybe that was their inspiration of it being like a Baja inspired

one I don't know this is 10 times better than

that it's salty get a little bit of a crispy skirt of cheese around

the taco the texture is wonderful

because you got all this vegetable

and like you've got some fresh tomato with perfectly cooked shrimp

and then little pieces of pablano

that are charred and nicely softened

but still They're Not

So Soft that they're gooey this like Takes the Cake this is something special

so this is what I'm going to rate texture the butter adds this unbelievable

crispiness to the outside of the tortilla

while remaining that elastic chew

then there's all those different textures the fresh tomato it's juicy it's cheesy it's

got a little bit of toothsomes from the shrimp

so texture I'm going to give a solid 8.9 out of 10 flavor often

times when you see tomato in a taco like this the first thing

that happens is you lose salt

because the Tomato then dissolves the salt

and dilutes the intensity of flavor that's not happening here the seasoning is throughout

flavor of the shrimp is fresh it's not fishy it's Oceanic it's got brightness

I think this is also a nine Baja what's going on bring the Baja

to make me go baa moving on we are here at the Little America

food cart pot and we are at a Korean Fried Chicken Place specifically called

frybaby owned by Sunny hatch this is like his rookie Endeavor was Fred baby

that's the first thing he ever did

and immediately is the most talked about food card in the city of Portland

Oregon we tried two items the classic go Jong wings

and the snow cheese Wings little unusual

but supposedly they say mac

and cheese meets chicken wing

and it's one of the most talked about street food dishes in all of

Portland yeah I mean it looks almost like an unfinished gem it feels like

if you ran this through a polisher what would spit out is possibly a

chicken wing shaped diamond they also gave us a dime bag of what they

call Korean Sparkle it's like brahen powder love

that so they were nice enough smart enough

and kind enough to give us what I like to call condoms for eating

their gloves here we go the snow cheese this giant monstrosity where do I

even begin wow wo it's good right dude what the TR a little Sparkle

in there with wings one of the hard things about it is you kind

of get like a wet crunch yeah this is a really nice dry crisp

crunch that immediately hits you

and I don't know what the they did like you can see the separation

of the seasoning and the chicken

so the seasoning form like a crispy barrier

that is substantial I'm not picking up tons of cheese notes I'm picking up

a subtle toasted parmesan flavor

and I really like it

and then if you use a little bit of the Korean Sparkle you add

a little bit of omami a little bit of salt a little MSG in

there that's really hitting I will say like

if I were to have one critique I wish there was like a touch

more salt before I go any further let's try the go Jang oh dude

come on this is another Portland versus New York situation Korean Fried Chicken in

New York in the freezing cold we're in the freezing cold again

but this time in Portland we have two great goliaths in the Fried Chicken

world and the question is who had the better Korean fried chicken to me

by far the one in the lead is Portland it's got more depth of

flavor it's got that rich pepper go Jong flavor this is like how I

would make mine I hate

that I'm comparing it to the way

that I make mine

but if I were to rate one of these I'm honestly going to go

with the original one I hate to be a bit of an outlier I

know everybody's saying that the cheese one is their favorite the cheese one is

delicious and I will come back for

that I think it's a unique offering

but if we go to the Classic this is a banger texture nine easy

this has been sitting here with the sauce in the cold

if it were my wings they would have been soggy by now the fact

that they're still Crunchies I think speaks volumes to them flavor it's got all

the flavors that I want I almost wish there was just a hint more

saltiness like maybe a little bit of soy sauce flavor flat eight

which is strong Portland our Korean Wing champion

and through four spots Portland is killing it

but our next spot Matt's barbecue tacos listen taking a Texan for barbecue

and Tacos that's a risky Behavior here's the real question this spot could backfire

and completely ruin Portland's average

and thus kick them out from even winning mats needs to score 13.5

or higher to hold Portland's current lead

and two tacos will decide

that the brisket breakfast taco

and the barbecue porkbelly Taco what makes this really special is they make their

own flower tortillas I will say a lot of the places even in Austin

don't make their own tortillas

so they've got a leg up immediately first bite the promise is there

and they delivered first of all this brisket is cooked really nicely it is

Cho brisket which I should say kind of gives a a little bit of

a leg up shop brisket is the easiest to make good

because you're tossing with barbecue sauce

and you're chopping the lean with the fatty

so you can hide all the imperfections with all the fatty cuts

that said I got a big chunk leine in

that and it was moist it was tender it did not have a steaky

chew but one the first thing I noticed was

that nice Smoky flavor the eggs are cooked nicely they're not like super rubbery

they're nice and tender it's like flaky almost you can see there's a little

air pockets going on in there

and I like that that's adding the density of this taco

and it creates a formidable base to hold all this meat

and also by the way potatoes are really good wow I'm like nervous almost

unbelievable the importance of this is picking the right cut of belly it's not

too fatty it's got the perfect ratio of meat

and fat it's really hard to find pork belly like

that it's almost got a bacony cure to it I don't know

if you feel that way yeah totally I'm going to vote for the breakfast

taco as my favorite of the two this is a top 10 breakfast taco

firstly it's the homemade tortilla

but more importantly the eggs were actually properly seasoned with salt this stands

that a solid eight for texture

and eight for flavor

but Austin chefs more specifically the ones serving breakfast tacos please hear me out

it's time to step it up guys

if you make breakfast tacos in Austin step it up you got to show

these guys up I got to say I had much better of an impression

than I expected from Portland not

that I thought it would be bad

but it exceeded my expectations

which means it's now in the lead after conquering two of America's top Street

Food Cities except there's one more missing

that we have to see

and that is where I was born Los Angeles it's a city celebrated for

its street food but it's faced troubling times devastating wildfires in early 2025

that left unimaginable destruction behind

and as an LA native witnessing this was heartbreaking to say the least it's

one thing to see it on the news it's another thing to see it

in person but even in tragedy food is at the heart of this city

chefs line Cooks street food vendors restaurants despite being part of such a vulnerable

industry are among the first to step up feeding those in need without hesitation

today we're joined by memo Torres of La Taco a James Beard award-winning publication

that not only shares the best taco spots

but also covers the true Community behind the beauty of food during the fires

they were on the front lines amplifying the stories of the tragedy the recovery

and the taco vendors who turned their food stands into relief stations one of

those taco vendors on the front lines is our first stop today Marisco's halisco

arguably LA's most famous taco truck thanks to honestly a very simple creation just

a shrimp taco how good is it going to be really this is one

of the most addictive tacos you can get in

that and it always hits it's always the same

and never disappoints I always say oh seafood tacos are underrated right cuz a

lot of people don't order them

and I always try to push people to order a little bit more seafood

tacos just try them

if anyone were to start here you would never want to order a meat

Taco again this is Bonkers like phenomenal I've had over 1,000 tacos in La

there's very few I crave

and I run back to this is one of them there's

so many things going on the first thing I noticed is like the temperature

youve got this like really beautifully like hot on the inside a little bit

warm on the outside

and then that cold refreshing salsa on top the cold refreshing avocado it plays

really well together temperature I don't even think it's been a topic of conversation

until now this is the first time

that we're talking about it in the whole video texture is unbelievable by applying

this sort of like a little bit more moist a little bit more wet

salsa it calms down the crunch without losing the crunch you now have a

little bit of chew

and then of course the inside is just like this luscious moist ooey gooey

I don't even know what the is in there to be honest with you

but it tastes nobody knows what's in there it's a secret people haveed Pride

out of him we don't know what what's in this memo also recommended the

Poseidon tostada which looks insane it's very tasty

but truthfully I really was more focused on the shrim taco textured I think

it's a 94 honestly it's like the best textured shrim Taco in human history

flavor dude it's 940

that might be the highest rating I've ever given crazy work moving on we're

at taka which is one of the OG beta trucks I know be exploded

everywhere but these guys have been doing it for a long time one of

the special things about these guys

that other beta trucks on do is

that they do goat

and they do beef

and on top of

that they make their own handmade tortillas I like

that they do both beef

and goat cuz I feel like often times any time I've gone anywhere it's

either one or the other

and most of the time nowadays it's beef you don't really see goat anymore

that's obviously the more traditional route I like

that they're kind of trying to cater to both parties nothing much you got

your cons there too let's see you do it oh F yeah this has

flavor I want to like try

and persuade you here for anybody who has had Bea before you really should

be looking for the goat variety I think

that you're going to get a more authentic flavor

but it's really not like I think

when everyone's afraid of it's going oh it's going to be gayy I'm not

going to like it first of all you got to try it before you

start talking second of all beef to me is

so mellow that it gets lost in all the power of this flavor you've

got chili you've got the onion the fresh cilantro

and of course that nice cons that's just like enrobing this Rich bite

but the beauty of having goat in there is you can actually taste the

meat so now it's a whole experience I think this is great this would

definitely go in one of my top contending bira it was far better than

the one that we had in Mexico City in my opinion the whole history

of bira it was created to tame the gaminess of goat

if you ever get a goat taco

and you still taste a goat they didn't do it right all right I'm

going to break this down texture super crisp on the outside

and a lot of tortillas this is why you can tell

that they're making them here

when they try to get

that crispy exterior in their older tortillas they do get a little crispy

but they're kind of like leathery this is like a nice snack it's still

a little bit elastic from the tortilla you've got the cheese in there that's

kind of promoting that chew even more

and the meat is

so soft it melts in your mouth not too spicy at all I almost

wish it was a little spicier for me personally

but that's what the salsa was for

so there you go honestly I'm going to give the texture a 9.1 out

of 10 flavor I almost wish there was just a tiny tiny bit more

salt I wouldn't say this is UND salted even without

that though the flavor is

so intense I think I'm going to get the flavor an 8.8 out of

10 very very very very strong start we have much more to go moving

on so I'm super excited to bring you to the spot it's one of

my newest favorite spots we're in Cypress Park down the hill from Dodger Stadium

and this is one of the first tacos I've been into immediately was like

this is a winner this is their alaur taco

and one of the unique things

that they do here is they're The Offspring of a good franchise in Tijuana

called taso which used to be called takaso

so like the tortillas they're all from Tijuana he's got his great marinade on

it and one of the most unique things

that he does that you won't see anywhere else is

that cilantro cream on top yeah I love

that there's two sauces basically go ahead

and take a bite better than any alpast store

that we had in Mexico City by far this is exactly what people imagine

when they see that juicy trumpo hot

and sweaty seasoned to the maximum with salt there's zero dryness it's nice

and fatty it's luscious it's unctious

and then all that richness gets cut by the acidity in the pineapple the

sweetness of the pineapple it's nice

and acidic in the crema too the crema is not overwhelmingly creamy exactly

because I think if it was it might almost be too much it's also

very fresh I'm like drooling over here yeah one of the most unique things

about this Sakara though is

that he takes after his father who taught him this trick he has a

specific salsa and a specific tortilla for every meat

that you want this is why I always say the best tacos in America

do not come from New York they do not come from Texas they come

from California in Los Angeles

and this is an exact epip moment you'll have

if you come me here you'll know what the I'm talking about I'm not

joking and I know a lot of people are going to think oh you're

so biased I really don't give a

that is what I believe

because when I put it in my mouth I want to take my pants

off do you understand flavor the meat I taste the anxiousness of the pork

and the spices and it's garlicky

and Rich and you can get

that a little bit of

that achiote it's got

that cream herbaceousness from the cilantro cream flavor 96

and I think I'm going to give the texture a 95 this is the

highest score of the video

so far and that means

that we've only got a few more places left to see

if that can be beat moving on okay

so we went a little bit off the path here we went to KI

I picked this out it's been around for a long time actually it's been

around so long that I would argue it might

as well have been one of the first most important food trucks of the

United States of America they kind of kicked off basically the food truck scene

I grew up eating off of these growing up with my dad

and you know working around La after Ki took over the truck style

and did his thing Roach Coach is no more it was like the fusion

trucks the food trucks

and the whole scene exploded all over not just LA

but the US it made the public com able with eating street food in

a big way across the US in other countries it's very common no one

thinks twice about it

but in America we're all about sanitation

and oh my God I don't know

if I can eat

that off the street

so we got the sliders we got the Korean K Dog what we're going

to do is we're going to try these whichever one is better is the

one that we are going to rate okay it's good yeah the Korean barbecue

sauce on that when I saw the bag shredded cheese scared you a little

bit didn't I got scared yeah

but that fear turned to Joy the meat is super tender it's not chewy

nice little sear the Korean I guess barbecue sauce whatever is on there is

sweet it's salty it's perfectly balanced it's a little bit acidic too I like

the acidity in there that's really important you got the crunch from the Fresh

cabbage it's got a little bit of like a kimchi flavor to it

but this bun is like remarkable I don't know where the they're sourcing these

buns this might be one of the best slider buns I've ever had in

my life it's not like a King's Hawaiian rooll

but it's very similar yeah it's not

as sweet but it's soft like it

and it's buttery honestly forget the K dog cuz

that thing look whack

as I'm just going to vote for this you sure I mean you don't

want the Gizzy the way

that that is slung over let's just let them have this win

and call it a day I'm curious man I'm going to give it a

try this dude really wants this we had it I got all all right

all right was that right yeah

that bun was not it man okay okay texture can I get a drum

roll please we're going with an unbelievable 9.2

and flavor 9.3 maybe one of the most surprisingly tasty sliders I have had

in a very long time still got it man K still got it good

for you just maybe not the dog now Laie score might look big

but remember this is just the current average this number could go down depending

on how the final spot goes

and yes it could still lose the lead it all comes down to mam

Mia schwarma if they score a higher than a 13 La will officially be

the best street food city in America the energy emanating off of these guys

is crazy they've been around for under two years they're still very new they've

got that excited energy

that kind of goes away after you run an establishment for like four

or 5 years and you've been killing it for

so long you know it kind of goes away the magic

and they still got the magic

so there's a strong chance we could have a winner

so this is a Jordanian Style Chicken schwarma the guy it start at schmorgasburg

La this is my most favorite Street Food Festival ever it happens every week

it's massive there's of people everywhere

and loads of very unique food by some of the most passionate people I

can think of in restaurants

but for Chef Yas the magic really started back home in Jordan he brings

this bread which is like a beautifully thin translucent bread that's handmade from Jordan

and the spices do here we go cheers this is not any schwarma I've

ever tasted in my life at first I was like why is there a

line of people on the side of the road in front of the car

wash parking lot and

then I see these hot long crunchy boys going to people's mouths I think

I'm getting it what garol he puts on there too mhm some pickles it's

like a perfect bite

that is exactly what I was going to say this is a perfect bite

God that bread is

so thin it's so delicate

and because it's so thin it's really just doing the bare necessities of its

job it's holding everything

and all the goodness together texture really crispy here super soft

and chewy almost like a super thin tortilla mixed with the naan the inside

the protein is salted perfectly you're getting from the pickle the meat is moist

it's got a nice toothsome to it it's fatty it's not dry at all

I don't even know what kind of meat it is come on look at

this look at this dude it's

so thin wow I can't believe we've arrived at the final moment after four

cities endless flavors it all comes down to our final score

which city is our champion of American street food it's

so difficult think about New York arguably many people would look at

that place as the greatest place for a dining experience in the United States

of America globally people would say

that but then again Portland has won over the hearts of culinarians around the

US and Austin a bit of a newcomer

but still killing the game I mean I live there for sake I love

the place but if mam Mia scores higher than a 13 Los Angeles wins

the competition all right texture 95 flavor

though solid 9.4 out of 10 this is a banger

that means La winner La one it is what it is here's what I'll

say we've been all over every single place has blown out our expectations every

single place that we ate at easily has gotten the highest ratings

that we've ever done period out of any video we've eaten all over the

globe by far this video we've rated food the highest of all time

so I think everyone deserves a round of applause great food doesn't have to

be made over a shiny cooktop just needs to be made with great ingredients

and some good intention we love you subscribe bye