Timed Reading — Street Food

The taco is one of the most popular street foods in the world. At its most basic, it is a small corn or wheat tortilla folded around a filling. The filling can be almost anything — grilled meat, fried fish, beans, or vegetables. A little onion, some fresh herbs, and a squeeze of lime juice finish it off. Simple, fast, and delicious.

Tacos come from Mexico, where people have been eating corn tortillas for thousands of years. The word “taco” first appeared in the late 1800s. At that time, taco sellers were common on the streets of Mexico City. Most of these sellers were women. They carried their food in baskets and sold tacos to workers for a few coins. City officials sometimes tried to move them off the streets, but the sellers always came back.

In the early 1900s, Mexican immigrants brought tacos to the United States. For many years, most Americans did not know what a taco was. That changed in 1962, when Glen Bell founded the fast-food restaurant Taco Bell where he sold his own version of the taco. It was not the same as a real Mexican taco, but it introduced millions of people to the idea.

Today, tacos are eaten all over the world. You can find taco stalls in Tokyo, London, and Seoul. Chefs in many countries have created their own versions, using local ingredients and flavors. The tortilla has become a kind of global wrapper — simple enough to travel anywhere, and popular enough to stay.