Salem Taco Trials

A year-long quest to track down Salem’s perfect taco

The Salem Taco Trials is a personal project (of one of our Press Play favorites — but mum’s the word on who!) exploring taco offerings across the city, from brick-and-mortar restaurants to food carts. Each stop will feature three tacos: pastor, asada, and a rotating wild card.

Every taco is judged on the same criteria: tortilla quality, meat, salsa, the overall balance of the bite, consistency, and value. The goal isn’t just flavor, but finding the taco that delivers the best experience, bite after bite.

The trials began on March 1 and are being tracked in a public document so others can follow along. The goal is to visit every taco offering in Salem, which, yes, means the project may last longer than a year. But we’re prepared to do the research. For science. It’s a public service.   

Follow Along…

https://bit.ly/SalemTacoTrials

This story originally ran in Press Play Salem issue 27 (Spring 2026)

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Author: Carlee Wright

Carlee Wright is a community instigator with a grand love for Salem and notably fashionable shoes (Hello, John Fluevog!) who turns waste into wearable art in her "spare" time.