Carne asada tacos, Sonoran hot dogs and street bites

Border cities like Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa have developed a vivid street-food culture that still reads clearly as northern Mexican. Here, tacos de carne asada with flour or corn tortillas, tacos de barbacoa de res, “vampiros” (cheese-topped, crisped tortillas), gringas (al pastor with cheese on flour tortillas) and northern-style quesadillas are everyday staples.