Hard shell tacos do have a connection to Mexico, and while their exact origins are hard to pin down, they’re said to have been popularized by Mexican immigrants within the U.S.

Mitla Cafe, a San Bernardino eatery owned by immigrants Lucia and Salvador Rodriguez, was the first place to serve the Americanized hard shell taco, called "dorados," in the 1930s.

Tacos dorados were filled with what are now considered the go-to hard shell fillings — like ground beef and cheese — as those were the ingredients the eatery owners had access to.

Tacos dorados are sold in northern Mexico, but they feature soft tortillas, which are rolled up and fried, and classic Mexican taco fillings rather than standard hard taco ones.

Hard shell tacos shot to fame after the founder of Taco Bell visited Mitla Cafe and decided to serve them at his then-future eateries — first at

Taco Tia and later at Taco Bell.