Oregon 99W runs about 100 miles from Southwest Portland to Junction City, passing through suburbs and sleeper communities directly to Oregon wine country, taking on the character of its communities along the way. In Tigard, 99W is a transportation planner's nightmare of red lights and stop-and-go traffic. In Dundee, it's a bottleneck. South of Corvallis, it's a dream, the road twisting and turning through hazelnut farms and open vistas.

And, like its twin sister, 99E, it's a great place to get tacos, with fast-food chains and family-style restaurants giving way to restaurants and food carts run by longtime local families and chefs from some of the Willamette Valley's grand dame dining destinations.

Earlier this year, we drove the highway's length, searching for great tacos within one block of 99W wherever we went. In the midst of this fall's costly avocado shortage, we found large tacos made with house tortillas (albeit from dried corn flour, not fresh masa) and ate well at restaurants, truck stops and outdoor bazaars, particularly in Newberg and McMinnville. And we found at least one taco truck that's worth a trip all on its own. Here are our 10 favorites.

Inexpensive tripe and carnitas tacos from Tigard's Taco Del Sol.

No. 10: Taco del Sol

13165 SW Pacific Hwy, Tigard

Park near the still-working drive-through (can you guess which fast-food chain Taco Del Sol took over?) and slip your way across the just-mopped tiles. Taco del Sol's tacos ($1.25-$1.50) are petite, barely larger than two half dollars, but are surprisingly good. The star of the meats is the crisp tripe tacos which hold their crunch nicely even when doused with salsa from the salsa bar. Skip the pollo, but consider the carnitas, for its super-rich crunch.

Order this: Tripas tacos



No. 9: Taqueria La Fuente

12198 S.W. Pacific Hwy., Tigard

Comfy booths sit under photos of Uruapan -- Michoacan's second city and the heart of Mexican avocado-growing country -- at this downtown Tigard restaurant. Of the four tacos ($2.75 each) we tried, the barbacoa didn't pack much punch, the steak tasted a bit like Korean bulgogi and the carnitas were insanely rich, all three coming inside the wide, floppy tortillas we associate with Tigard, probably because of Sanchez Taqueria nearby.

Order this: Super-rich carnitas tacos



99W's best tacos 29 Gallery: 99W's best tacos

No. 8: Martha's Tacos & More

440 Third St., Lafayette

This family-friendly restaurant in sleepy Lafayette makes some of the best tripas tacos on 99W, sliced thick and fried crisp like crunchy bacon. We didn't have much luck with chicken on the trip, but Martha's pollo tacos ($1.75), lightly braised and served with a dollop of salsa, were among the best we ate.

Order this: Tripas tacos



No. 7: Sanchez Taqueria

13050 S.W. Pacific Hwy., Tigard

If Portlanders know about any 99W taqueria, it's probably this one, either for its silly taco mascot or its tasty weekend menudo. The tacos ($2.50) are huge, with pale tortillas that approach burrito size. They come folded around cilantro, onion, cabbage and various meats, including juicy chicken tinga, ground chorizo and our favorite, the charred al pastor, or spiced pork.

Order this: Chorizo tacos, al pastor tacos



Longanisa and ranchera tacos at Pastorcillos in Newberg

No. 6: Pastorcillos Tacos

105 S. Main St., Newberg

This simple taco cart on the western edge of downtown Newberg serves at least two tacos ($1.75) worth seeking out. The longanisa, a cousin to chorizo, is probably the specialty of the cart, but the ranchera, a sort of pork-fried steak with bacon, onions and jalapeno, was the surprise of the day.

Order this: Ranchera tacos, longanisa tacos



No. 5: Ricky's Tacos

2505 E. Portland Rd., Newberg

This graffiti-covered taco truck sits one block away from our favorite taco truck on 99W (see below). No pressure! We enjoyed the truck's street-style tacos ($1.75), with tortillas gently fried in oil and topped with thin-sliced steak, rough-chopped chicken and good carnitas, and the fish tacos topped with sour cream and diced tomato.

Order this: Carne asada tacos



No. 4: Taqueria Kopitos

501 E. First St., Newberg

You're not necessarily here for the tacos ($2-$2.75), though they're very good, especially tucked inside the pillow-soft house tortillas, which you must request. There are huaraches and gorditas and other masa bases worth exploring as well. What you're actually here for is one of Oregon's most intriguing salsa bars, with chile, chile-nut and chile oil sauces in a rainbow of muted colors. Try the campechano, a mix of seared steak and chorizo, with a few drops of the dim-sum-style chile de arbol oil.

Order this: Campechano tacos



McMinnville's Tacos El Gordo has a colorful DIY salsa bar and the vibe of an outdoor bazaar.

No. 3: Tacos El Gordo

Behind Tequila Grill, 325 99W, McMinnville

This sheltered taco kiosk is something of a wine country legend, a place locals and noted chefs talk about with equal reverence. It's not the quality of the meat, though that's fine, nicely spiced carne asada and chicken piled up in little hillocks to be quickly spun into giant burritos and the fat tacos that give this place its name. It's the totality of the experience, the fact that the cart is parked just outside a full two-story restaurant that no one seems to prefer, that it's indoor seating seems to have been hollowed out from a former hotel, its walls plastered with fake rocks, its windows mostly covered with plywood. It's the lightly crisp tacos ($1.95), the DIY salsa bar, with its bright pink pickled onions, carrots, juicy limes and quietly deadly pale green and orange salsas.

Order this: Carne asada tacos



No. 2: Sanchez Cantina and Restaurant

10075 S.W. Barbur Blvd., Portland

This mom-and-pop restaurant sits on Barbur a literal stone's throw from I-5 and has no connection to Taqueria Sanchez farther down 99W. The walls are purple, there's Univision on the flatscreen, there's a full bar, and boy are we glad we didn't pass it by. The street-style tacos ($2; $2.50 with house-made tortillas, which we opted for), were very good, with seared steak and achiote-rubbed chicken, crisp buche (pork stomach) and tender carnitas served with cilantro and onion and fresh tomatillo and habanero salsas. Ordinarily there are fried chicharrones simmered in green or red salsa, but they were out on our visit. We'll be back.

Order this: Buche tacos, carne asada tacos



Dos Mundos, a Newberg food cart along Oregon 99W run by Jesus Hernandez (left), Miriam Cuenca and their son Eddie Rodriguez (right).

No. 1: Dos Mundos

Near the Starbucks, 2401 Portland Rd., Newberg

This six-month-old food cart in the parking lot of a pawn shop makes cheeseburgers, burritos and one of the state's best fish tacos, each with a freshly fried hunk of rockfish dressed to the nines with pico de gallo, cabbage mix, pickled onions and chipotle crema. Dos Mundos owner Jesus Hernandez alternates between tradition -- al pastor with pineapple, shredded chicken in a dark mole -- and more modern expressions -- beautifully braised pork belly with a creamy avocado-tomatillo salsa -- all elegantly tucked into pillowy soft handmade tortillas, each for $2-$3. This isn't just one of the best taco spots on 99W, it's one of our favorite food carts in Oregon.

Order this: Fish tacos, pork belly tacos

Bonus: If you continue down 99W past Junction City, where it merges with 99E and becomes plain old 99, and into Eugene, you'll find $2 tacos and other masa-based creations at El Buen Sabor, 650 Blair Blvd., plus non-traditional (but tasty) $3.50 tacos, including hunks of carnitas topped with whole clementine lobes, nearby at Tacovore, 530 Blair Blvd.

-- Michael Russell and Samantha Bakall