A petition to make tacos the State Food of Texas is nearing its goal of 1,000 signatures.

Chili has been Texas' official food since 1977, but the Texas Taco Council (largely made up up food journalists) argues that tacos best represent Texas' pre-revolution roots and it's diverse modern culture. Their petition at Change.org had 939 signatures as of Monday, February 27 - just 61 signatures short of its goal.

The petition seems like a stunt to raise awareness of a book entitled "Tacos of Texas", co-authored by food writer Mando Rayo. Rayo told the Texas Standard, "Whether you grew up here in Texas or you got here as soon as you could, you’re eating tacos. People here eat tacos five days a week. Tacos were here before Texas was Texas." He argues that you can find tacos anywhere, from barbecue joints to Asian restaurants.

Stunt or no, it's hard to argue with Rayo's logic. Tacos can be eaten any time of the day and can contain just about anything you can think to stuff inside a tortilla. Then again, chili conjures images of cowboys sitting around a fire under a clear, star-filled Texas sky, and chili cook-offs are still a huge deal in our state.

What do you think? Is it time for tacos, or is chili still the champ?

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