 French tacos fromO'Tacos | |
| Type | Finger food,fast food,street food |
|---|---|
| Course | Main course |
| Place of origin | France |
| Region or state | Rhône-Alpes |
| Serving temperature | Warm |
| Main ingredients | Tortilla, meat,fries,sauce |
AFrench tacos[note 1] (US:/ˈtɑːkoʊs/,UK:/ˈtækoʊs/;French:tacos français,[takosfʁɑ̃sɛ], or commonlytacos[note 2]),Lyonese tacos (French:tacos lyonnais) ormatelas[1] (French for "mattress"), is afast food dish which usually consists of aflour tortilla grilled and folded around a filling ofFrench fries,cheese, and meat, among otherdeli ingredients.
Despite the name, the French tacos has little to do with thetaco and is more similar to aburrito orquesadilla. French tacos has also been compared to thepanini and theshawarma sandwich, and is similar to theCalifornia burrito.
The tacos consists of a flour tortilla wrapped or folded in a rectangular shape around a filling which usually includes:
It is then served warm by grilling (with the use of apanini grill) or toasting.
Many different recipes exist and it is common for French tacos restaurants to delivermade-to-order products by letting customers choose à la carte from the aforementioned ingredients.[3] Meat-free variants also exist.
Most French tacos made in France are marketed ashalal-certified and as such do not containpork, in order to accommodateMuslim customers.[2][4][5]
A newsletter ofVaulx-en-Velin described it as "In short, a rather successful marriage between panini, kebab, and burrito".[6]
There are conflicting accounts about the exact origin of French tacos.[2] Some accounts say it was invented in the mid-2000s byMoroccan born brothers Abdelhadi and Mohammed Moubarek as they were running a kebab shop inSavoy.[3] French documentary series66 minutes, on the other hand, credits Mohamed Soualhi, founder of the chain Tacos Avenue (formerly Tacos King) with inventing the sandwich inLyon in the late 2000s. However, Soualhi himself, as well as other sources, have affirmed that "French tacos" were first sighted in fast food restaurants in the city ofVaulx-en-Velin near Lyon in the early 2000s.[2][5]
By the late 2000s, French tacos had become popular among teenagers and young adults in Rhône-Alpes.[2][5] Years later, their popularity spread to the rest of France as dedicated chains ran massive ad campaigns, with the help ofsocial media and celebrity endorsements.[1][2][5]
In 2013, the Moubarek brothers launched "Tacos de Lyon," the first French tacos restaurant, inCasablanca,Morocco.[3][7] The sandwich quickly gained popularity among young adults in Morocco's major cities and was hailed byTelQuel in 2017 as "the new star of fast food in Morocco." By then, 50 restaurants, including 35Tacos de Lyon locations, were serving the dish nationwide.[3] French tacos establishments have also expanded to other countries, includingAlgeria,[8]Senegal,[3]Canada,[9]Switzerland,[10] andVietnam.[11] As of August 2023, the French chainO’Tacos operates 260 locations in France and has expanded toThe Netherlands,Germany,Italy,Belgium, andSpain.[9]
Some have also speculated that the idea was borrowed from the Greeks, considering it is a common and long held practice to put fries in Greek Gyros sandwiches.[citation needed]
The origin of the name "French tacos" is subject to as much speculation as the sandwich itself. Daniel Shkolnik ofVice describes the naming astacos as "a kind of marketing bait-and-switch, drawing people with the promise of a Mexican culinary icon and then selling them something completely different."[7] As its popularity grew, the sandwich was gradually branded astacos français to tell it apart from the originaltaco. In turn, the taco is sometimes referred to in France as "Mexican taco" (French:taco mexicain) to emphasize the difference between the two dishes.[citation needed]
