KCRW and Gustavo's Great Tortilla Tournament is Back, Better Late Than Ever!
For the past six years, COVID-19 pandemic be damned, I have organized a #tortillatournament for KCRW — 64 tortillas, 32 corn and 32 flour, broken up into four seeded brackets like a sports tournament to find the greatest tortilla in Southern California — complete with a grand finale.
This year? Um…the hardest-working reporter in the 92815 got busy, what with the 2024 elections (presidential and local), the Dodgers’ World Series championship, and other hilarity, so not only did we not hold a grand finale, I’m about about two months late on doing the #tortillatournament in the first place.
OOPS.
But, as a wise person once said, the tortilla must be heated on both sides, so behold a truncated — but no less brilliant — edition, our seventh.
Because the point of what myself, tortilla judges Connie Alvarez, Mona Holmes and Evan Kleiman, and tortilla scout Sean Vukan do in eating dozens of tortillas is not personal glory but something serious: trying to get ustedes to eat better tortillas and patronize local tortillerías in Southern California and beyond. Even a shortened #tortillatournament will draw attention, and hopefully more business to the best of the best.
So over the next two weeks, we will do a speeded-up version of what usually takes two months to unspool. You’re not going to get the same avalanche of tortilla articles we usually offer — just the winners, Jack. And to make things even more confusing, you’ll be reading most of the results here on my seldom-used Substack, but will have to subscribe to the KCRW Insider newsletter to discover who’ll be our Suave 16 and Fuerte Four finalists, and our eventual winner of the Golden Tortilla.
Why the split? Because KCRW Insider is short and sweet and to the point, and what we do in #TortillaTournament is Talmudic and deserves all the space in the world, which I can do here and not over on KCRW Insider.
I’m posting this short intro on Thanksgiving weekend to just put out #TortillaTournament to the world. On Monday, I will reveal on Substack the winners of our San Diego mini-tournament, our official contestants for this year, and first-round results, all in different posts. Wednesday, you’ll have to switch over to KCRW Insider to see who gets into the Suave 16.
And then after that? Well, subscribe here and there, and let’s see where we announce the winner. Think of it as the AFL and NFL, and next year we’ll merge!
Methodology
The method to our Tortilla Tournament madness will be familiar to anyone who follows the NCAA's March Madness or the FIFA World Cup knockout stage: We'll start with 64 tortillas — 32 corn, 32 flour — split into four brackets of 16. Within those brackets, every tortilla is assigned a seed, so that the highest-ranked tortillas are up against the lowest-ranked ones in the early rounds. That makes it easier for the best of the best to advance toward the finals, but also allows for upsets.
How do we determine which tortilla gets which seed? The Suave 16 from the previous year get assigned the top four seeds in each bracket depending on where they placed. Every other seed, Gustavo determines after scouting tortillas across Southern California throughout the year.
San Diego has its own Tortilla Invitational, and the two finalists for corn and flour (announced next week) move on to the bigger tournament and take the #5 and #6 seeds in the corn and flour brackets. Once again, we've included 16 corn and 16 flour tortillas from across San Diego County, and will continue to do so… until we start incorporating other regions of California and beyond and eventually have tortilla LEAGUES.
Judging
Evan and Connie have the corn category this year; Gustavo and Monday, flour. For the first two rounds, we buy the tortillas fresh, then freeze them that day to see how they hold up after defrosting. (Pro tip: dust off all the ice when you take them out of the freezer, toss out the top and bottom tortillas once they're ready to eat, and get a towel to sop up any additional moisture.)
We do this long before we announce the contestants because it's physically impossible to eat all the contestants fresh in the first two rounds — we're talking at least 16 tortillas per judge in the first round then 8 in the second. By freezing, then defrosting, judges can better plan so that tortillas are all on equal footing. Besides, a great tortilla will maintain its brilliance after a freeze.
After we've locked in the Suave 16, we'll buy new packs of the advancing tortillas and eat them fresh until we get our Fuerte Four finalists.
This year, like last, we had sad developments with some of our 2023 Suave 16 finalists. Golden Tortilla winner Taco María is not in — both because it shut down, but more importantly because it became the first two-time winner, and we ban anyone who does that from participating except for our coming #TortillaTournament of Champions (more details next year). The tortilla Taco María beat on the way to the Fuerte Four, Tallula’s? Shut down completely.
Folks: We do #tortillatournament so these businesses get more customers. If one of our contestants shut down, it’s on YOU.
In their place, we've brought previous Fuerte Four finalist Kernel of Truth Organics to replace Taco María as the #1 seed at Chef Carlos Salgado’s request. They’re probably the best machine-made corn tortilla in Southern California, so we welcome then again. We replaced Tallula’s with Masienda, purveyors of heirloom masa and makers of their own organic corn tortillas, because more than a few tortillerías are beginning to use their masa for their handmade tortillas, and owner Jorge Gaviria is now ubiquitous because of his Capitol One commercial. I wonder how much is in HIS wallet…
Tasting Parameters
How do we determine what makes a great tortilla, and what doesn't, especially when food is so subjective? After years of doing this, some parameters of tortilla taste have emerged.
When it comes to corn, there can't be any bitter flavor. That's the telltale sign of preservatives, that there is something in the ingredients other than the holy trinity of corn, water, and lime. The best corn tortillas taste like, well, corn: earthy, almost funky. Flavors can vary depending on the type of corn that's used but if you're not feeling thousands of years of tradition in your tortilla bite, then you're not eating a good corn tortilla.
When it comes to flour, there can't be any bitter flavor. That's the telltale sign of preservatives, that there is something else in the ingredients other than the only four things a great flour tortilla needs — water, flour, a binding agent like lard or butter, and baking powder (okay, maybe salt). Flour is a harder category to judge, though, because there are so many different varieties — Tex-Mex, Sonoran, Chicano, New Mexican — but in general, we're looking for something that doesn't taste like paste. Pretty simple.
For both corn and flour, issues like thickness, size, and how it cooks are nearly irrelevant. Flavor rules all.
The Fine Print
We know that your tortillas (or that of your parents, your tías, grandmas or comadres) are better than everyone in our competition. But unless those homemade tortillas are available for sale — via Instagram, a restaurant, a taco tent, or even a kermes — we wouldn't know. So tell them to start selling!
Your favorite tortilla didn't make it this year? They've probably participated before, and lost — go to this website to find all of our previous contestants. No hard feelings. My favorite corn (Miramar Tortilleria in East L.A.) and flour (Jimenez Ranch Market in SanTana) in SoCal haven't been in #TortillaTournament in years. We haven't gotten to your favorite yet? Send me their name, and we'll consider them for the next time — and there's always a next time. If you have a problem with the seeding or the entries, hit me up, and only me. My name is in the tourno, after all.
Wait until Monday for all 64 participants! Don't forget to use #TortillaTournament in your social media posts then. Stand by…