This taquería attracts the area’s college crowd, so expect piles of nachos and taquitos alongside the tacos.

The restaurant is huge, but there’ll always be a line. It’s worth it. While you wait, read all the newspaper clippings and fan testimonials on the walls.

This awesome barbacoa spot has killer chilaquiles and three salsas that the waitresses present to you fresh. Sit down, or order from a to-go counter.

Located in a small picturesque downtown, Streetzlan offers a constantly changing menu of everything from Sonora dogs to hamburgers. But go early — they’re usually out of food by 2 p.m.

This food truck sets up in a strip mall. Go with the tacos de canasta, a Mexico City classic that steams the tacos so that the ingredients turn into something approaching a confit.

Make sure to order some handmade tortillas to-go along with your order at Arroyo’s — a Stockton Cal-Mex classic — so they’ll be ready for you when you leave.

An old-school Cal-Mex diner with encyclopedic menu. No matter what you else you order, don’t forget to get chicanas (steak ranchero) as an appetizer.

It’s a convenience store-cum-ice cream shop that just happens to have a restaurant. The food is fine, but the guajolota is exceptional.

This collection of trucks assembles next to the railroad tracks every day. Combined, they offer everything from seafood to tacos to weekend birria.

You can eat here for a year and not get tired of all the offerings, but a good start are all the gorditas trucks. Get your agua fresca at other stalls, though.

Get there early for weekend brunch, and watch the drinks: They’re potent. The mole is on-point.

Only come here on weekends, when La Michoacana sets up tents on the driveway and offers awesome birria and menudo complete with thick, handmade corn tortillas.

It’s so homey here that there are couches toward the back for people to hang out. Get the enchiladas michoacanas, folded over like corn-tortilla quesadillas and light on the stomach.

Ask if they have pulque (they usually do), and order a tlayuda to share; it’s as big as a large pizza and loaded with toppings.

It’s pure taco insanity, period. The asada and adobadas are must-orders.

Along with the seasonal menu, try chef Martin Franco’s refreshing aguas frescas — perfect for the brutal Central Valley summers.

Located right off the freeway, this sit-down restaurant is the perfect spot to relax and refuel after a long drive.

This place is also right off Highway 99, so there’s no excuse to skip it. Load up on the free frijoles for the drive home.

Carved out of a gas station convenience store, El Burrito House makes its own flour tortillas here. Get the steak ranchero burrito, a gargantuan thing that you need to eat fresh to truly appreciate the Central Valley’s favorite Mexican dish.

The lines are long at this lonchera, but especially so on Sunday afternoons when people load up on the way back to Los Angeles. Order a vampiro, essentially a cheesy tostada made with a freshly fried corn tortilla.

Standard Mexican fare here — tacos; menudo on weekends. But go for the fettuccine alfredo with carne asada, and douse it with the off-the-menu salsa picante.

This restaurant makes a cameo in 2015’s McFarland USA starring Kevin Costner. Order the potato tacos, which come five to an order with a good salsa roja.

This Bakersfield chain sells tacos, burritos, and Bro-Mex dishes like a burrito stuffed with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos that’s not half bad.

Go ahead and order in or for takeout; the service is fast and the Mexico City-style tacos reliably great.

A food trailer on the edge of a busy industrial highway, they only sell brisket and charbroiled chicken, because what else do you need in life?