So Many Tacos, Not A Big Enough Stomach: Top Taco

September 8, 2021

I am not small, because the fact is, I can eat a lot of tacos, but there is no way to eat all the tacos at Top Taco. If you haven’t heard of this event, I am sorry. It has passed so you’ll have to wait until next summer.

It’s held at Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, and there are 100 restaurants and bars at the event. Yes, a lot. Plus there is tequila. A lot of tequila.

I won tickets on Instagram and then was upgraded to a VIP by Visit Aurora, a tourism entity I have known for many years in my job as the Mayor of HeidiTown. Ryan got to go too, after all, he is the Mayor’s main squeeze.

The event was literally a practice in over-indulgence in one of the world’s greatest foods, tacos. There was every type of taco imaginable, plus, some you probably haven’t imagined. I had everything from a Korean BBQ beef taco to an octopus taco with squid ink.

While both were good, I am pretty traditional about tacos these days, and I loved Beltran’s Meat Market‘s taco. I honestly can’t remember what exactly it was – did I mention there was tequila? But I do remember that it was simply amazing. By the way, Beltran’s got 3rd in the People’s Choice voting in the traditional category.

Our Visit Aurora tent was alive with flowers of every color. We even got flower crowns and had our own bar. Plus, we had our own tattoo artist. She sprayed on fake tattoos of course, and I took full advantage. I was heading to Hot Rod Rock & Rumble, a rockabilly festival next, so a guitar and notes just made sense.

If you like tacos, why would you not? You should make sure this event is on your calendar. The best place to keep tabs on the festival is at TOP TACO Denver | Facebook.

Since you’ll probably drink some tequila at the event (and by some, I mean a lot), stay at the nearby Hyatt Regency. We stayed there and shuttled to and from Top Taco. I highly recommend it for all your Aurora hotel needs.

It’s across the street from UCHealth Anschutz and up the street from an amazing Korean fried chicken joint. I go to UCHealth once a quarter to see my specialist eye doctor, so we’ve been using this doctor visit as an excuse to dine out in Aurora.

Believe it or not, exploring the food scene in Aurora, starting with Stanley Marketplace is highly recommended. As is Top Taco.

Until next time, eat a taco.

Thank you to Visit Aurora and Hyatt Regency for making this a night to remember.

By the way, I am writing about this event over at HeidiTown too, so I stole my own photos to post here. That’s why they are all marked HeidiTown.com. I got my start highlighting festivals more than a decade ago, so I was happy to go to an event that killed two birds with one stone, HeidiTown and TacosandPho.