El Mero Taco serves the kind of tacos that seem like they grew up splitting time between Memphis and Austin.

They’re wrapped in fluffy, medium flour tortillas and filled with Southern swagger, Mexican roots and a healthy respect for fried things and melty cheese. They’re big and a little messy but they don’t apologize for it.

For right around $11, I grabbed two tacos — no small feat considering each one is roughly the size of a folded paperback. These aren’t dainty, little street numbers; they’ve got heft, swagger and some serious, cross-cultural chemistry.

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First up: the Southern Fried Chicken. This one stole the show.

Crunchy, golden-fried chicken tender? Check.

Lava flow of queso blanco? Double check.

A bright scatter of diced tomato and cilantro, and a few zippy in-house pickled jalapeños to twist the tongue? Amen.

This taco nails the crispy-creamy-spicy trifecta. It’s like if your favorite bar snack went south of the border and came back with an accent.

Next: the Smoked Brisket. This Tex-Mex number’s for the slow-and-low purists. The brisket is tender and melt-in-your-mouth, coated in an herbaceous, green chimichurri. A gooey layer of Monterey Jack cheese adds richness, though if you’re like me, you’ll want to hit it with something sharp to cut through the beefy, fatty goodness. (Hot tip: Ask for Valentina hot sauce. It’s free, it’s tangy and it balances the beef like a charm.)

Together, these tacos channel a kind of South(west?)-meets-Mexico energy — part honky tonk, part taco truck. It’s clear that there’s some serious thought (and heart) behind the menu here, and you can taste it in every element.

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And here’s the pro move: all El Mero’s tacos are also available as quesadillas, which I will absolutely be investigating at some point in the future. Because if folding something in a tortilla is good, melting cheese through it until it’s a griddled dream is even better.

Bottom line? For around $11, you get two loaded tacos that feel less like a quick bite and more like a sit-down situation disguised in a paper-lined basket. And that works for you, because El Mero has a great atmosphere, decked out with a long list of cocktails.

If you’re jonesing for some torqued-up American food wrapped in a tortilla, El Mero is a solid bet.

Just don’t skip the fried chicken taco. Trust me on that one.

El Mero Taco, located at 8100 Macon Station in Cordova, is open Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The restaurant is closed Sundays and Mondays.