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Tucson

Years ago, there was a discussion of Arizona cuisine that was basically about pizza.

I may be headed to Tucson in a few weeks, and I’d be more interested in some specialty restaurants and regional specialties that may be less common in Chicago.

My current list of places and things I might want to check out:

• El Charro: birthplace (or so they claim) of the Chimichanga. There are few Tex-Mex places in Chicago, so that’s a point of interest
• Mesquite flour: new one on me – sounds like something people use mostly at home
• Fry bread or some other Native American stuff that’s not usually found in Chicago (except maybe at the annual pow wow, which is the only place I’ve had fry bread before).
• And, of course, the Sonoran Hot Dog

I’m less interested in “fine dining.” White table cloth places are okay, but I find that many feel so much like one another and are ultimately kind of boring.

I’m way open to other suggestions. Anyone know of any places around Tucson that serve food that’s relatively specific to the area (or that are under-represented in Chicago)?

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

David -- I have no restaurant/food recommendations. But if you have the time -- definitely go visit the Desert Museum. It's an amazing, wonderful place. It's located in proximity to the Saguaro National Park, which is a very beautiful and eerie place.

Sorry to get off topic....

I was just in Tucson over the holiday season. I felt that the food we ate did not warrant a full post, but I'll divulge the details below. The geography is gorgeous down there though- I second the recommendation for The Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum. Saguaro National Park is stunning as is Sabino Canyon.

The best thing I ate was the Sonoran hotdog at El Guero Canelo, which is the fast- foody Sonoran hotdog emporium that seems to be ground zero for the Sonoran dog. Sweet bolillo appropriately sized to the smallish probably 1/8# dog (unlike some versions around these parts). Bacon wrapped, topped with pinto beans, grilled and raw onion, tomato, mayo, mustard, and jalapeño salsa, a very nice rendition, everything playing its part in proper proportion. They had a pretty awesome condiment bar with many salsas, grilled cebollitas, jalapeños, and a variety of hot yellow chile.
I must say that their burritos looked pretty damn good as well.
I know that there are probably better versions of the Sonoran dog to be found at street vendors, but I was with my sometimes-vegetarian parents and they weren't up for intrepid, late night, greasy field work.

I must say that I was bored to death with Southwestern/ Sonoran style Mexican food by the end of five days.
The good: ubiquitous handmade flour tortillas. Burritos are a good option, often sparsely dressed with just meat, maybe beans or cheese.
Green tamales with fresh corn incorporated into the masa are nice.

The bad: carne seca. I thought this staple was just somewhat off tasting and I tried three versions, including El Charro's. It is dried, shredded beef that I reckon is given a run in the deep fryer. It has a somewhat confit- like consistency. To me every version I had tasted of spent oil and not so much like beef. You should try it and report back.

The ugly: "Enchilada style" a popular style to order a burrito- analogous to our northern "wet" style, smothered in bland chile sauce and copious amounts of cheddar cheese. Menus in Tucson go out of their way to flaunt "Wisconsin" cheddar. Totally bizarre, especially considering the proximity to the border and real deal Mexican cheeses.
We never ordered one, but a very popular appetizer offering at many restaurants was the "cheese crisp" which is an oversized deep fried flour tortilla covered in nothing more than melted cheddar.

It is clear that a lot of our Northern, gringo-ified Taco Bell- esque Mexican fare has its roots in this cuisine, from the blankets of orange cheese to the chimichangas and hard shelled tacos.
For my money the exemplar of this cuisine was found at El Charro. Granted, I did not sample the chimichanga and was very near tempted to try the hard shelled tacos. But, the barbacoa burrito I had was the best of the batch for the entire trip. Aggressively seasoned braised meat in a nice handmade flour tortilla, good stuff.

Restaurants to avoid:
Poca Cosa. This upscaled downtown spot showed some promise, with a seeming chef-driven nightly chalkboard menu. What was delivered was 2% alcohol mix- margaritas. Plates overflowing with garnishes of poorly cut and out-of- place fruits and vegetables. My carne de res en salsa de cacahuete was low rent round steak with zero character beyond chew in a both watery and greasy tomato sauce with an occasional bloated peanut surfacing from time to time. And a whole bunch of the fruit, grapes, kiwi slices, etc. also went buoyant in this swamp of a dish. Don't get me started on the "mole" that my sister ordered. Abhorrant, just awful, and insulting at $20+ a plate.

Rosa's was straight up cheddar-ville. As gringo as it gets- packed with gringos as a matter-of-fact. So greasy my tummy hurt for 24 hours.

Mi Nidito seemed to be a favorite, we wweren't willing to face an hour + wait the night we tried to dine there.

Good luck! Enjoy the desert landscape, the cactuses, the warm and dry weather, and the Sonoran dogs!

El Guero Canelo
5201 South 12th Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85706
(520) 295-9005

El Charro
7725 North Oracle Road,
Tucson, AZ
(520) 229-1922

Cafe Poca Cosa
110 East Pennington Street,
Tucson, AZ
(520) 622-6400 ‎

Rosa's
1750 East Fort Lowell Road # 164,
Tucson, AZ
(520) 325-0362

Mi Nidito
1813 South 4th Avenue,
Tucson, AZ
(520) 622-5081 ‎

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blog E-Dogz

El Charro is pretty good. That's a hard part of the country for a visitor to find decent food in. Not much of a downtown. Lots of surburban sprawl and highways. Chain restaurant paradise!

Good luck!

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i used to milk cows

I forgot to mention that we had a really nice night of drinking downtown at District Tavern. A surprisingly hip vibe, great jukebox, and generous pours.

District Tavern
260 E Congress Ave
520.791.0082

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blog E-Dogz

David,

I happen to think Tucson has some of the best Mexican food in the country! What you will find there will generally be Sonoran Mexican, not Tex-Mex (which people in that area would take as an insult).

El Charro which you mentioned is the oldest (or one of the oldest) family owned Mexican restaurants in the country. Now it has become a bit touristy, and since they have franchised lost a little bit of quality. Stick to the original location, and you still can get a good meal there. I really like their salsa! They are famous for their carne seca (a sun dried marinated beef), but I just never really enjoyed that there. Their carne colorado chile stew is good, my wife likes the different enchiladas there, and they do have quite a few interesting things I have yet to try.

El Charro Cafe (the original location)
311 Court St.
Tucson
520-622-1922
http://www.elcharrocafe.com

Little Cafe Poca Cosa is my favorite place to eat in Tucson, and if it were located here would be a GNR for sure. Before you go there, you need to know several things about the place. First, it is only open from 7:30-2:30. It is a cash only business, and has no phone number. The music there is loud, and the owner (Suzana Davila) is a little gregarious (understatement alert) you may not be able to get out of there without a hug. Having said that the prices are great, the food is made fresh and has bright and colorful flavors and appearance, and they contribute to a lot of local charities. The first time I ate there, I sat down and was craning my neck to see the menu board. I asked Suzana what she recommended since it was my first time there. She just smiled and said "Let me feed you!" She asked if there was anything I don't like (so she wouldn't waste any food which is a big thing of hers) and proceeded to put together a beautiful combination plate of barbecoa, chicken mole, and a homemade tamale. She also brought me a glass of her pinapple and basil fruit drink (the different fruit drinks she makes are a must have). As an aside, while the owners of LCPC and the big Poca Cosa are sisters, LCPC is far less costly and much more interesting.

Little Cafe Poca Cosa
151 Stone Ave (at Stone and Alameda)
Downtown Tucson
http://www.littlepocacosa.com

You had also mentioned wanting Fry bread. When I visited Mission San Xavier (just south of Tucson, and worth a visit), quite a few of the locals would set up their stands in the parking lot preparing and selling fry bread with all sorts of different fillings. If you get up to Phoenix there is also FryBread House which is an interesting experience.

Mission San Xavier del Bac
1950 W San Xavier Rd
Tucson
http://www.sanxaviermission.org

Another family owned Mexican restaurant I enjoyed was Mi Nidito. It has been a few years since I was there, so I don't remember much about the meal except that I was brought there by a local friend and it was good.

Mi Nidito
1813 S 4th Ave
Tucson
520-622-5081
http://www.minidito.net

Also, as Earthlydesire indicated, the Saguaro National Park and the Desert Wildlife Museum are both worth looks. Have a great trip, I am jealous!

Glenn

Some very helpful recs. Thanks.

It's a shame that "Tex-Mex" is apparently a slur. Last summer, I was with some former New Mexico residents and I referred to a dish as "Tex-Mex" and they seemed kind of offended. I used to think of Tex-Mex as a neutral term for regional type of food, like Cajun, but apparently it carries some negative connotations.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

There's a big difference between Tex-Mex (gloppy cheesy pseudo Mexican dishes) and New Mexican. I can see why they would take offense.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

My understanding is that Tex-Mex is not "pseudo Mexican" but rather a kind of hybrid. Burritos, chili con carne, even nachos and other Tex-Mex standards can be quite good: A Burrito to Remember.

If the food is gloppy and cheesy, that seems a problem with execution.

When people take offense at the term "Tex Mex," however, it's probably for exactly the reasons you stated, but that view of the food tradition seems unneccesarily narrow.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

The original El Guero Canella is a Tucson must. Another place I like on the East side of Tucson is Gus Balon's. Balon's bakes in house and is locally know for their cinnamon rolls , pies and bread. They also do a mean green chille and cheese omelette!
Time permitting you can cut out the Tex and go straight to the Mex.A few hours and a world away from Tucson thru some beautiful sceanery to Puerto Penasco, Mex.(AKA Rocky Point / Arizonas Beach!) on the Sea of Cortez.
Abundant seafood, great taco joints, homemade fireworks, Cuban cigars ,cut-rate pharmaceauticles....Think Maxwell St. by the beach.
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=19394&p=194959&hilit=penasco#p194959

You are correct. Tex-Mex is its own genre. However, in terms of thinking that proper execution can make it wonderful...well, I guess you haven't spent much time in Texas.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

No one used the word "wonderful," but I'm willing to give it a chance.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Here's a few more spots:

Robert's -- a breakfast/lunch only. I can't clearly remember what I had, but I do remember loving it. I think they bake their bread in-house -- the rye was exceptionally good.

Cafe 54 -- Located in downtown, I believe that Cafe 54 is open for lunch only. It's a place run in part to train and assist individuals with mental illness integrate in the community. I remember really enjoying the food. The staff at the restaurant was amazingly welcoming, too.

Mona's -- a Danish bakery. If I lived nearby, I think I might go every day. Their "snails" are a cinnamon roll that is a little dense and a little crisp. My sister was in Tucson over the holidays and, bless her heart, she mailed me a few. Even a few days old, they were awesome.

Cup Cafe -- Located in the old Congress Hotel downtown. I really wanted to love this place, but it was a little bit too hipster for me. Still, not a bad place for lunch if you find yourself nearby.


Robert's Restaurant
3301 E Grant Rd
Tucson, AZ 85716
(520)795 -1436

Cafe 54
54 E Pennington Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
520-622-1907

Mona's Danish Bakery
4777 E Sunrise Dr # 113
Tucson, AZ (520) 579-1959

Cup Cafe
311 East Congress Street
Tucson, AZ (520) 798-1618

Hey man, thanks for chiming in. El Guero Canella is interesting (any idea what caramelos are? I doubt they're caramels).

I remember that post of yours about Puerto Penasco -- plans are still in flux, but PP sounds worthy (as you might have guessed, the Maxwell St. ref sold me).

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Maybe too obvious a point, but one reason people in places such as Arizona, Nevada, the Inland Empire and New Mexico take offense to visitors calling the local Mexican cuisine "Tex-Mex" -- they are not in Texas.

I love, love the early gringo-ized versions of Mexican food slung out of pink adobes around the Southwest. Many bear only a passing connection to actual Mexican food and indeed feature a lot of bright yellow cheese. Few remain. My all time fave was Gay & Larry's in Redlands, near Riverside/San Bernardino, it was all red vinyl and sombreros going back to the 40's or 50's and you could see the bloodlines linked to early Taco Bell clearly. I'd hate any newer place selling that kind of stuff. Such places are obviously distinct from Sonoran and even TexMex. And even in Texas, there are distinctions between TexMex and Texas Mexican. One of my favorite exchanges from several years back, a team of coworkers eating at a Gay & Larry's type place with the boss deferring to the youngest member of the group and asking "What part of Mexico is your family from?" Answer: "Texas." They'd been there for 150 years plus. I guess the point is, unlike Chicago where you can get a pretty clear idea what region the cook and his/her food is from, in the Southwest it's endlessly complicated and interesting as old Mexican traditions change and merge with gringo touches and new immigrants from further south in Mexico. Add to that the fact that different regions have different gringo influences (eg, German/Bohemian in TX), and it's all the more complex.

you might enjoy the Desert Rain Cafe on the Reservation:
http://www.wanderingnotlost.org/2011/01 ... he-people/

Tepary bean and cholla bud are exactly the kind of stuff I'd like to explore. Thx, bbqboy.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Hi Dave,
I would highly reccd. reading the Sonoran-Style Hot Dog posting already on this section.....
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=23228&hilit=tucson
In which I covered the Sonoran Hot Dog stand on Alvernon, called "Bettos" ( Bobby's).
After trying one of his sublime creations,while sitting under the shade of his awning,
on the crunchy gravel parking lot- you will find the El Guero Canelo version about as tasty
as a 7/11 weenie is, in comparison to Hot Dougs.
Avoid at all costs- a highly commercialized /gringoized version of a brilliant idea.

Do try and stop at a great taqueria in "southern" Tucson called Pico de Gallo. .
It's a very nice family owned business that serves Carne Asada, Al Pastor (grilled/not al Trompo)
and very nice fruit cocktails w/ lime salt and Chili powder.
Pico de Gallo
2618 S. 6th Ave.
Tucson, Arizona

I found the junkyard for airplanes incredibly fascinating- it's where old jetliners go to die....
National Aircraft is near the Airforce Base (AMARC facility)-S.E. of Kolb Avenue- near Davis.
Sadly, every-time I've been there- the owner hasn't(so no one else can "set" the prices)....as a result, the "Ejection Seat"
I wanted to repurpose into a residential project- had to be left back in the desert..

Seat by Man_of Steel, on Flickr

North - a very nice restaurant in the hills above Tucson (where the Crate and Barrel is located) is a nice spot to go for pre-sunset cocktails, wood burning oven for tasty gourmet pizzas and antipasto salads.
NoRTH Tucson
2995 East Skyline Drive
Tucson, AZ 85718
P: 520.299.1600

It's been a year since we last visited Tucson-so I will check with my sources for other more current updates.

We just got back from a wedding in Tucson, and while we had little opportunity to hit restaurants (dinners on Thursday, Friday and Saturday were all taken by wedding activities), we did stop for lunch one day on the groom's recommendation at La Olla, which is quite a bit north of downtown - address is Tucson but I think it's in Marana? - but not terribly far off of I-10. Also happened to be close to the couple's house, where we had been helping out with some things. Slightly different takes on Sonoran, but good stuff. We were in at lunch when they had both their regular menu and what they call a "recession buster" menu but was basically a lunch menu with smaller portions and smaller prices than the full menu. Delicious. Carnitas are done right, the calabacitas is great. I had the "La Olla Wrap" which according to the description was "Tender morsels of steak wrapped in a flour tortilla with jalapeno bacon, sautéed mushrooms, salsa freaca, avocado, cabbage slaw, and a citrus garlic aioli." I just call it delicious. Worth a stop if you find yourself to the north.

La Olla Mexican Cafe
8553 North Silverbell
Tucson, AZ
http://www.laollamexicancafe.com/

Oh Sweet Carol Channing's Ghost, why did I not heed the words of Hombre de Acero?!

Because I couldn’t.

I had to try El Guero Canelo. Ditto El Charro. Why? Because they seemed historically relevant places, and I felt the need to log experiences at both to round out my education.

If you’ve been to the original EGC (we just drove by -- we should have taken JSM's advice and gone to that one), get a load of the new place: all the charm of a Costo .



As I was going full dimwit with this lunch, I got the Sammie Dog, which is basically just two mediocre franks jammed into a bun, with lousy tomatoes, limp onions, mustard and mayo, no jalapeno sauce (which jefe reported having, so maybe I just got them on an off-day)
and imperceptible bacon. (Of note: Sonoran style dogs sometimes are served in a more traditional bolillo, but as often as not they’re served in a customized hot dog bun, thicker and more capacious than a Chicago hot dog bun but not as dense as a bolillo. There seem to be several varieties of these buns floating around, some with crusts on sides, sometimes not).



This Sammie Dog was abhorrent. A giant belly bomb of tastelessness. A complete waste of gastrointestinal real estate. Good for instructional purposes only.

The moyete (torta buns with beans) was in many ways more satisfying, though tasting like precisely like what you’d expect, no more or less, exactly equal to the sum of its parts.



Like the original Portillo’s in Villa Park, the owners of El Guero Canelo have created a little shrine to their empire, showcasing their first cart in the parking lot:



Incidentally, we drove by the abandoned aircraft repository on way home – didn’t have time to stop, but it looked very cool. Next time.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

And if you are heading east toward Willcox, AZ on I-10, stop at Stout's Cider Mill for their 10# apple pie.

http://www.cidermill.com/

She's STILL not dead!

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"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

Thanks to everyone for the recommendations, I'm about to head back to Tucson later this week and am trying to find some new places. The last time we were there we went to Vivace (Italian) and really liked it. We also went to The Grill at Hacienda del Sol and had a great brunch, and beautiful views as well.

Vivace
4310 N Campbell Ave
Tucson, AZ 85718
www.vivacetucson.com

The Grill at Hacienda del Sol
5601 N. Hacienda del Sol Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85718

I should note that I also recommend Cafe Poca Cosa (both little and big).

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It is VERY important to be smart when you're doing something stupid

- Chris

agreed, but if one just can't get down to EGC, BK will do. (bolding mine) agreed, the carne seca sounds so promising, the description from their menu reads: A deliciously grande ½ pound portion of our World Famous El Charro Carne Seca. Dried in the Sonoran desert sun, our marinated lean Angus beef is shredded & flash-grilled with green chile, tomato & onions. Served with guacamole, Pico de Charro salsa, arroz & frijoles refritos or Charros, and handmade flour or corn tortillas, Sounds great doesn't it??!!, It was only ok.

There are a number of taco trucks to the south near the airport, I tried a multitude of items, don't think I had a bad experience, loved them all.

We really enjoyed Inca's Peruvian Cuisine http://www.incascuisine.com/ this place we didn't think much of as well pulled up, it knocked our socks off, here is the Tucson Weekly review www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/incas-peruv ... id=1909786
we were never able to make it there, yet! I've only heard good things. Same with the Pima Air & Space museum: www.pimaair.org

Some other activities we enjoyed while in Tucson

driving to top of Mount Lemmon, yes one can drive all the way to the top: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Lemmon
Titan Missle Silo Museum, a very neat tour: http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/
Sabino Canyon, a tram can take you near the top so it is easy to walk down (or take the tram back down): http://www.sabinocanyon.com/

The town of Tubac is about an hour south of Tucson and is an easy drive, LOTS of arts/crafts at great prices, some very neat stores,
make sure to dine (we went for lunch) in the Tubac Golf Resort, very old place, great atmosphere http://www.tubacgolfresort.com/

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I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.

A really cool restaurant in Tuscon is on Mission Rd. which used to be the old bypass between the Nogales highway and the highway heading out west to Phoenix in the pre Interstate days. One of the few remaining remnants of the old tourist route is the Karichimaka Restaurant. It looks like something straight out of a 1950 Holiday magazine. A total southwestern timewarp. It is run by a Japanese and Mexican Family who have 5 generations working there. It is not uncommon to have a waitress cradling a baby while taking your order. The place specializes in Sonoran cuisine (and cheap pitchers of beer). They also have some dishes unique to their restaurant which usually feature huge homeade flour tortillas in a variety of configurations. The place is always packed with locals who seem to know each member of the family by name. There may be a little wait to get seated, but it is worth it.

Karichimaka Restaurant
5252 S Mission Rd, Tucson, AZ 85746
(520) 883-0311

Near the intersection of S Mission Rd and S Rosepine Rd