Street taco on organic corn tortilla with onions and cilantro.
The ground beef Tex-Mex taco is an American invention that became so ubiquitous that it is now its own category, entirely separate from Mexican taco culture. It arrived in the United States in the early 20th century, was systematized by Taco Bell in 1962, and has been feeding Americans ever since. The seasoned ground beef, the shredded iceberg lettuce, the cheddar cheese, the sour cream, the hard shell or soft flour tortilla — none of these combinations exist in Mexican taco tradition.