HOUSTONIA’S TACO LOCO, presented by Uptown Park Houston and Uptown Houston, is coming right up on June 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. A new event for the magazine, our goal was to spotlight Mexican restaurants that represent cuisines from across the vast country's regions, but also allow non-Mexican eateries to get a chance to show their unique ideas for how best to fill a tortilla.

As a judge, I'll be working with a panel of Houston luminaries to declare our choice for the best taco of the competition. But all attendees have a voice—you'll cast your vote for peoples' choice, too.

Are unlimited tacos of exceptional quality from 15 vendors (including veggie options) not enough to get you there? How about cerveza by 8^th Wonder Brewery, live music and margaritas. That brings us to our first reason to jump on the Taco Loco Train.

Margarita Mix-Off

Little J’s Bar, Weights + Measures, Cyclone Anaya's and Bosscat Kitchen + Libations are among the participants in our contest-within-a-contest. Yep, it's your job to drink all the margaritas in order to decide who concocts the best of the best. Poor you.

Broken Barrel

Chef-owner Hilda Ysusi is a Mexico City native with a gourmet pedigree, but most of the cuisine at her eclectic Woodlands restaurant doesn't hearken south of the border. Who knows which part of the globe she'll choose to settle on for her entry?

Cochinita & Co

The only catering company in a field of restaurants, Victoria Elizondo's cuisine must stand out. In fact, she's a specialist in the hard-to-perfect Yucatecan dish, cochinita pibil. Elizondo marinates her pork in achiote and citrus for 24 hours before she cooks it to fall-apart tenderness. 

Los Cocos Restaurant

One of the only restaurants in Houston focused on Pueblan mountain cuisine. Does that mean we can expect mole Poblano? Or perhaps one of the restaurant's special moles will be on offer. If they serve up spicy mole de torta de queso, it could be an unusual vegetarian treat.

Sammy's Wild Game Grill

Is an explanation really necessary? We're expecting nothing less than the exotic from this game specialist. Looking to eat an animal you've never tried before in an approachable taco form? This is the way to potentially sup on iguana, kangaroo or python.