Tacos are like politics or religion. Everyone has an opinion on the subject, but voicing it brings out the claws, the eye rolls and the jeers, even among the best of friends. And I can hear it already: “You think who makes the best barbacoa?” “You didn’t pick my favorite al pastor?” “Pff!”

So be it. What follows is a list of the best and worst tacos I’ve eaten in Orange County in recent months. This is still a work in progress, a temporary snapshot of a never-ending quest for the perfect taco. Corn tortillas or flour? Large or street-style? Carne asada or carnitas? There’s no right or wrong ideal. I’m willing to give most styles a shot. And while I vehemently dislike prefabricated hard-shells, I do not discriminate against crispy tacos or yellow cheese. A good taco is a good taco. A bad one is a bad one.

SOME OF THE BEST SO FAR

My favorite place thus far is probably Carnitas Los Reyes in Orange. I like all the tacos here: al pastor, chorizo, chicharrones, carne asada … . But as the name suggests, the thing to focus on is the carnitas, which are filled with so much delicious pork fat it’s hard to get through a taco without the double-stacked tortillas falling apart. That’s why they have forks. That’s also why they wrap their tacos with tissue paper on one end, to give you something to hold onto without getting it all over yourself.

Whenever I meet someone who says crispy tacos aren’t legit – and it happens regularly –I send them to La Choza in Huntington Beach to taste the shredded beef crispy tacos. It’s hard not to fall in love with these ultra-thin tortillas that are fried until barely crisp, then stuffed with slow-cooked beef and heaped with shredded iceberg lettuce and finely grated cheddar.

Roman’s Taqueria in Costa Mesa makes my favorite barbacoa. The beef is braised for hours with dried red chilies, resulting in an intoxicating barbecue that is spicy and earthy and unapologetically greasy. Stuff it into a tortilla, and the tortilla instantly turns orange. And your fingers will, too. Bonus: The salsas here are some of the best and spiciest I’ve found.

El Campeon in San Juan Capistrano makes some of the finest al pastor I’ve found. This is not the type of barbecue pork that’s sliced from a slowly rotating spit – I’m still looking for the best of that genre. Rather, this is the kind of pastor that is chopped and marinated, then cooked on a flat-top griddle. It is rich and fatty and intensely flavored with chili sauce. I like the stewed goat meat and beef tongue here, too, but whenever I get a plate of all three, it’s always the pastor that I find myself eating first.

In the mobile arena, I find myself returning again and again to Mulitas Original Grill, a truck in Santa Ana that parks at Main and Bishop for lunch then moves to Walnut Street for dinner. The menu is vast, so it’s sometimes hard to think strictly about tacos when you’re standing in line – and you will have to stand in line, salivating all the while. The pastor and chorizo tacos are definitely worth the wait. Mulitas serves the same wet, sautéed style of pastor as El Campeon, and it’s just as good. That said, I actually prefer their chorizo, which pairs so perfectly with their spicy arbol chili sauce. Ask for sautéed onions on the side.

And on the gourmet end of things, I keep coming back to Red O at Fashion Island, which is a lovely restaurant at lunchtime, and the tacos are terrific. Among my favorites: house-made corn tortillas stuffed with achiote-marinated skirt steak and fried potato chips, or crispy pork belly with shredded cabbage and cotija cheese.

El Gallo Giro is a bakery, taqueria and tortilla factory with locations all over, and I frequently find myself at the 24-hour branch on Bristol in Santa Ana after everything else has closed. Day or night, I’ve always encountered a crowd, and it seems like most people are lined up to buy carnitas by the tub with tall stacks of freshly made corn tortillas. They have a vast selection of meats, including pig lips and beef head, neither of which have I learned to love. I frankly do not like their barbacoa, either, which is studded with bones. But the carnitas? Oh, yeah. That’s what you need to order here.

At The Original Taco Factory in Tustin, I was surprised to see far more customers eating burritos than tacos. But when I sampled both, I understood. Yes, the carne asada tacos are good. The steak that fills the restaurant’s namesake is nicely charred and crispy around the edges while retaining its juices and integrity. But dang if the wet burritos aren’t even better, especially the chili colorado beef.

THE MEH AND THE DOWNRIGHT BAD

I really wanted to love George’s in Huntington Beach. Their crispy shells are truly beautiful, fried to that perfectly precarious state halfway between soft and crispy. Sadly, the shredded beef stuffed inside of those amazing shells tasted like shoe leather. I also wanted to like Taco Mesa in Costa Mesa. More people have recommended this place to me than any other taqueria, so I’ve tried it several times. But on every visit, I’ve come away unimpressed. The meat always seems dry, whether I’ve ordered the pastor, carnitas or carne asada – and the overly timid salsas don’t help much.

I like Avila’s El Ranchito for enchiladas and margaritas, and their tortillas are very good. But why are their tacos so bland? Their carne asada tastes like it’s been steamed instead of grilled, and it’s begging for some seasoning. And to make matters worse, the salsa tastes too much like Pace Picante Sauce.

The worst tacos of the year? That dubious distinction goes to Two Madres, a new quick-service restaurant from the owners of Wienerschnitzel. It’s a blatant ripoff of Chipotle but with even less emphasis on authenticity. The tacos at Two Madres taste like something from a bad airport cafe a million miles from Mexico. I’m guessing the madres are fictional.

Contact the writer: bajohnson@ocregister.com