Good Morning America Proclaims Miami Taqueria Tops in U.S.

Update published 9/1/2023 9:30 a.m.: It's official: Miami is home to the best tacos in the USA.

At least according to Good Morning America (GMA), which has been working to answer that question this week with its four-city "United States of Tacos" tour and competition.

This morning, GMA named Uptown 66 chef/owner Nuno Grullon's birria taco tops in the nation. The honor was accompanied by a check for $20,000 from sponsor Taco Bell.

Grullon tells New Times he was shocked when he learned he'd been tapped as one of the show's potential contestants last month.

"At first I wasn't sure if I was going to participate. Our menu at Uptown is so diverse. We aren't just a taqueria — more like a Mexican cantina," Grullon says. "But our tacos are among the best of what we put on a plate in terms of quality, with everything from salsa and tortillas made fresh in-house."

That includes the braised beef the kitchen prepares for its winning birria tacos — a dish born as an off-menu item that has since become Uptown 66's top-selling taco. The blend of oxtail, beef cheek, and short rib is stuffed into house-made tortillas with a blend of cheeses, seared to melting on a hot griddle, and served with a side of consommé.

"We couldn't be more proud to have entered the competition and won, knowing we're offering the best of Miami to our customers," Grullon sums up.

Here's a video of the September 1 GMA segment. The original story is below.
Is Miami home to the best tacos in the USA?

Good Morning America (GMA) will endeavor to answer that question this week as the venerable ABC morning show stages a four-city "United States of Tacos" tour and competition.

Wednesday morning found the GMA crew at the Loews Miami Beach for a showdown that pitted chef Mika Leon of

GMA's four-city event launched in Chicago on Monday, August 28, stopped in Dallas on Tuesday and will make its way to Atlanta for a Thursday segment.

Earlier this week found the GMA crew at the Loews Miami Beach for a showdown that pitted chef Mika Leon of Caja Caliente in Coral Gables against Nuno Grullon, chef/owner of Uptown 66 on Miami's Upper Eastside.

On Wednesday, ABC News reporter Will Reeve was on hand as host, as a panel of guest judges — music producer DJ Khaled, singer Joey Fatone, and local chefs Lorena Garcia and Chris Valdes — performed taco-tasting duties. Ultimately, Grullon's birria taco beat Leon's Cuban-flavored pulled-pork offering.
After winning on Wednesday, the restaurateur flew to New York to compete in the final round of the competition where he battled it out in GMA's Times Square studio against taco restaurants from Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta.

Grullon, whose taqueria snagged "Best Tacos" honors in New Times'  2022 "Best of Miami" edition, prepared his birria tacos for the judges.

Previous iterations of GMA's "United States of" series have spotlighted the best chefs behind quintessential American fare, including pizza, burgers, barbecue, pies, and breakfast.

Good Morning America. Airs live on ABC at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, visit abc.com.