Feel like chicken tonight? 7 tacos in Tucson
- Updated
Our favorite chicken tacos from the 100 Days of Tacos series. The whole list at tucson.com/tacos
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
If you pass Aqui Con El Nene and keep going down Ruthrauff Road toward the Walmart, you'll soon come up to a sign that looks like it's from a greasy spoon diner. It says Guiso's: Mexican Soul Food, but the truck parked underneath it is actually borrowed from La Botana Fresco Grill on First Avenue. Here you'll find two women cooking up a fantastic array of Mexico City-style tacos.
First, it's the fluffy white rice that jumps out, spiked with just a touch of cilantro and tucked underneath the meat. But what really sets these tacos apart is the powerful salsas, tangier and spicier and unlike any Mexican food I've ever had. Plumps of chicken had been grilled with a juicy chile morita, a smoky dried red jalapeño pepper that leaves a lingering burn on your tongue. The symphony is topped with crunchy red onions and nestled into a hot fluffy corn tortilla, made fresh every day by a woman from Michoacán.
Weird fact: Huby's Munchies, the raspados joint next door that sells the Tostilocos and corn elote drinks? It used to be a Dairy Queen.
Location: 2120 W. Ruthrauff Road
Phone: No phone
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays, closed Sundays
Payment: Cash, debit or credit cards
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
It was only a matter of time until the banh mi sandwich — the famous culinary crossbread of Vietnam — became a taco. The fresh cilantro, the jalapeños, the shredded daikon and the carrots? Right at home on a taco bar ... And the Sriracha sauce? Destiny ...
But just so we know where Lucky Girl Cafe's coming from: The food truck is run by Mary Nguyen Hodges, who is of both Vietnamese and Lao descent. In addition to these Asian street tacos, she also does an East Asian cucumber and carrot slaw burger that she calls a Lucky Bun.
But back to the tacos, so fresh and flavorful they are! She braises the chicken in coriander and cumin, then throws it on a corn tortilla with English cucumber, cilantro and basil. A nice Southwestern touch: Instead of pickled daikon in the slaw, she uses jicama.
Weird fact: The truck was inspired by a story called "Lucky Girl" that Mary wrote during a creative writing class at ASU. Mary's mother-in-law, an English teacher, loved the idea of the Lucky Bun in her story and decided to recreate it. The rest is history ...
Hours and Location: Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays at Borderlands Brewing Co.
Dinner: 5 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, jumps between Borderlands and Dragoon Brewing Co..
Brunch: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at Exo Roast Co. Check luckygirlcafe.com for complete schedule.
Phone: 520-465-3902
Payment: accepts debit and credit
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Surrounded by the Panda Express and the Villa Italian Kitchen, the guys at Eat Fresh Mexican Food Raspados are keeping it real in the Tucson Mall food court. So thank you for that, and also thank you for serving me a legit chicken chipotle taco, in a real corn tortilla with chopped cabbage and cilantro.
Next time I hit the sale rack at H&M, I will remember you. I will also remember that corn masa huarache with the shredded beef and the avocado you gave me, because that's worth an article in itself ...
Weird fact: This restaurant opened downstairs earlier this year, but they have another location on the second level that serves raspados and Tostilocos ...
Location: Tucson Mall, 4500 N. Oracle Road.
Phone: 520-887-3314
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Payment: accepts debit and credit
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Chicken tacos are tough. Quite literally. Finding a truly wonderful one with plump and flavorful flesh rather than the chewy bland stuff ... It's pretty rare. But I've done it, by accident in fact! I was driving down Broadway and saw a bright yellow food truck The Happy Tummy - A Dining Experience on Wheels, over by The Encanto Pet Clinic.
The truck is run by Richard Hernandez, a former contractor who grew up around catering and restaurants, including a Chinese place in Hermosillo owned by his mom's godmother. His menu is a mix of Asian chicken wings, boba tea and "stuffed" burgers.
But he also does a Cancun Taco that sits in a light chiltepin salsa. The half-moon crisps fried in non-Gmo oil are rather elegant, with paper-thin radishes poking out of the white crema. And the chicken inside, roasted with lemon pepper to "lock in the good flavor": It's perfect. Crunchy and peppery on the edges, soft in the middle ...
Interesting newsy bit: Richard plans to open a second truck Neo Nacho: Mexican Asian Kunfusion in the same lot in the next couple weeks.
Location: southeast corner of East Broadway and South Columbus Boulevard
Phone: 520-273-2446
Hours: hours vary, but he tries to stay open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
I had given up on finding Cuitlacoche, a delicacy of the Aztecs that's been virtually untapped this far north. For those who don't know it, Cuitlacoche is corn smut: a mossy gray fungus that grows inside corn husks after the rain.
In Mexico City it's treated like a truffle, stuffed into meats and quesadillas for a springy taste of the earth. Up in Tucson you might see it at a special theme dinner in a gourmet restaurant, but other than that, nuthin'.
But travel down to Tubac and you'll find it any day, hidden inside a gorgeous plate of rolled tacos with red cabbage and smokey chipotle salsa. Elvira's Restaurant works with Mexican distributors to import baggies of the corn smut already peeled off the cobs. The Cuitlacoche is stuffed into the tacos along with shredded chicken, onions and jalapeños, then rolled up and fried in oil.
Rip open one of the tacos with your fingers and you can pick out the little black bits: They taste like mushrooms, with just a hint of raw corn. Life is full of delicious, subtle surprises ...
Interesting fact: Cuitlacoche is actually one of the restaurant's specialties (aside from their incredible mole): Right now they're running a special chile relleno stuffed with Cuitlacoche and Oaxaca cheese, battered in egg and topped with truffle oil and a basil chipotle portofino sauce. They also sell jars of Cuitlacoche in the gift shop, $12.95 for 325 grams from Old Mexico Gourmet.
Location: 2221 E. Frontage Road
Phone: 520-398-9421
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays.
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
The Iguana Cafe, that nondescript gray storefront across the street from the Ronstadt Transit Center, has gone strong for almost 12 years as other bars on Congress fell by the wayside. Jesus and Rosie Padilla's bar is a subtle reminder of the old downtown, before redevelopment brought in all the gourmet and the glamour.
During the day it's got a working class kinda vibe, with people sipping beers along the square bartop that takes up most of the room. An old jukebox seemed to be playing Carlos Santana's entire discography ... A fitting soundtrack for these tacos dorados, some of the tastiest I've had downtown or anywhere.
My chicken was shredded real soft, with little bits of tomatoes and onions giving it some extra juice. Then it was rolled up in a corn tortilla and fried to a perfect crisp. Nothin' fancy, just good old fried tacos with an unassaulting "guacamolito" sauce of finely blended avocado. Good stuff!
Weird fact: If you eat here you gotta roll with the punches, 'cause weird stuff might happen: One guy was caught trying to walk in smoking a cigarette, and I got in a conversation with another dude about how eating iguanas is good for you and gives you "mucho mucho power." No iguanas on the menu though, just chicken.
Location: 210 E. Congress St.
Phone: 520-882-5140
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Just this one time: Pass up the oxtail stew and the curry goat for a plate of jerk chicken tacos with habanero salsa. Seems strange, but it's perfectly natural over at D's Island Grill Ja., the colorful Jamaican restaurant at Fort Lowell and Country Club.
D's started out as a food truck, where fusion tacos are just par for the course. The Morant Bay, Jamaica native Duwayne Hall went brick-and-mortar in 2013, putting traditional dishes like ackee and salt fish on the menu with his sandwiches and quesadillas.
The tacos start the same way as his jerk chicken, rubbed in a dry seasoning powder imported from Jamaica. Then Hall adds a wet rub, blended from standard jerk ingredients like allspice and Scotch bonnet pepper. After a trip to the smoker grill in the back, the chicken is seared in a combination of garlic butter and coconut oil to give it "an island taste."
All chopped up and spread over flour tortillas with melted cheese, the plumps of chicken aren't nearly as saucy as you might expect. But of course there's the tangy jerk sauce on the side, which I liberally poured over the top. Even the coleslaw, sweet and stringy with a bitter bite, was delicate and displayed care.
Insider's tip: The D&G Pineapple Soda is quite lovely and sweet.
Location: 3156 E. Fort Lowell Road
Phone: 520-861-2271
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
If you pass Aqui Con El Nene and keep going down Ruthrauff Road toward the Walmart, you'll soon come up to a sign that looks like it's from a greasy spoon diner. It says Guiso's: Mexican Soul Food, but the truck parked underneath it is actually borrowed from La Botana Fresco Grill on First Avenue. Here you'll find two women cooking up a fantastic array of Mexico City-style tacos.
First, it's the fluffy white rice that jumps out, spiked with just a touch of cilantro and tucked underneath the meat. But what really sets these tacos apart is the powerful salsas, tangier and spicier and unlike any Mexican food I've ever had. Plumps of chicken had been grilled with a juicy chile morita, a smoky dried red jalapeño pepper that leaves a lingering burn on your tongue. The symphony is topped with crunchy red onions and nestled into a hot fluffy corn tortilla, made fresh every day by a woman from Michoacán.
Weird fact: Huby's Munchies, the raspados joint next door that sells the Tostilocos and corn elote drinks? It used to be a Dairy Queen.
Location: 2120 W. Ruthrauff Road
Phone: No phone
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays, closed Sundays
Payment: Cash, debit or credit cards
It was only a matter of time until the banh mi sandwich — the famous culinary crossbread of Vietnam — became a taco. The fresh cilantro, the jalapeños, the shredded daikon and the carrots? Right at home on a taco bar ... And the Sriracha sauce? Destiny ...
But just so we know where Lucky Girl Cafe's coming from: The food truck is run by Mary Nguyen Hodges, who is of both Vietnamese and Lao descent. In addition to these Asian street tacos, she also does an East Asian cucumber and carrot slaw burger that she calls a Lucky Bun.
But back to the tacos, so fresh and flavorful they are! She braises the chicken in coriander and cumin, then throws it on a corn tortilla with English cucumber, cilantro and basil. A nice Southwestern touch: Instead of pickled daikon in the slaw, she uses jicama.
Weird fact: The truck was inspired by a story called "Lucky Girl" that Mary wrote during a creative writing class at ASU. Mary's mother-in-law, an English teacher, loved the idea of the Lucky Bun in her story and decided to recreate it. The rest is history ...
Hours and Location: Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays at Borderlands Brewing Co.
Dinner: 5 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, jumps between Borderlands and Dragoon Brewing Co..
Brunch: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at Exo Roast Co. Check luckygirlcafe.com for complete schedule.
Phone: 520-465-3902
Payment: accepts debit and credit
Surrounded by the Panda Express and the Villa Italian Kitchen, the guys at Eat Fresh Mexican Food Raspados are keeping it real in the Tucson Mall food court. So thank you for that, and also thank you for serving me a legit chicken chipotle taco, in a real corn tortilla with chopped cabbage and cilantro.
Next time I hit the sale rack at H&M, I will remember you. I will also remember that corn masa huarache with the shredded beef and the avocado you gave me, because that's worth an article in itself ...
Weird fact: This restaurant opened downstairs earlier this year, but they have another location on the second level that serves raspados and Tostilocos ...
Location: Tucson Mall, 4500 N. Oracle Road.
Phone: 520-887-3314
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Payment: accepts debit and credit
Chicken tacos are tough. Quite literally. Finding a truly wonderful one with plump and flavorful flesh rather than the chewy bland stuff ... It's pretty rare. But I've done it, by accident in fact! I was driving down Broadway and saw a bright yellow food truck The Happy Tummy - A Dining Experience on Wheels, over by The Encanto Pet Clinic.
The truck is run by Richard Hernandez, a former contractor who grew up around catering and restaurants, including a Chinese place in Hermosillo owned by his mom's godmother. His menu is a mix of Asian chicken wings, boba tea and "stuffed" burgers.
But he also does a Cancun Taco that sits in a light chiltepin salsa. The half-moon crisps fried in non-Gmo oil are rather elegant, with paper-thin radishes poking out of the white crema. And the chicken inside, roasted with lemon pepper to "lock in the good flavor": It's perfect. Crunchy and peppery on the edges, soft in the middle ...
Interesting newsy bit: Richard plans to open a second truck Neo Nacho: Mexican Asian Kunfusion in the same lot in the next couple weeks.
Location: southeast corner of East Broadway and South Columbus Boulevard
Phone: 520-273-2446
Hours: hours vary, but he tries to stay open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
I had given up on finding Cuitlacoche, a delicacy of the Aztecs that's been virtually untapped this far north. For those who don't know it, Cuitlacoche is corn smut: a mossy gray fungus that grows inside corn husks after the rain.
In Mexico City it's treated like a truffle, stuffed into meats and quesadillas for a springy taste of the earth. Up in Tucson you might see it at a special theme dinner in a gourmet restaurant, but other than that, nuthin'.
But travel down to Tubac and you'll find it any day, hidden inside a gorgeous plate of rolled tacos with red cabbage and smokey chipotle salsa. Elvira's Restaurant works with Mexican distributors to import baggies of the corn smut already peeled off the cobs. The Cuitlacoche is stuffed into the tacos along with shredded chicken, onions and jalapeños, then rolled up and fried in oil.
Rip open one of the tacos with your fingers and you can pick out the little black bits: They taste like mushrooms, with just a hint of raw corn. Life is full of delicious, subtle surprises ...
Interesting fact: Cuitlacoche is actually one of the restaurant's specialties (aside from their incredible mole): Right now they're running a special chile relleno stuffed with Cuitlacoche and Oaxaca cheese, battered in egg and topped with truffle oil and a basil chipotle portofino sauce. They also sell jars of Cuitlacoche in the gift shop, $12.95 for 325 grams from Old Mexico Gourmet.
Location: 2221 E. Frontage Road
Phone: 520-398-9421
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays.
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
The Iguana Cafe, that nondescript gray storefront across the street from the Ronstadt Transit Center, has gone strong for almost 12 years as other bars on Congress fell by the wayside. Jesus and Rosie Padilla's bar is a subtle reminder of the old downtown, before redevelopment brought in all the gourmet and the glamour.
During the day it's got a working class kinda vibe, with people sipping beers along the square bartop that takes up most of the room. An old jukebox seemed to be playing Carlos Santana's entire discography ... A fitting soundtrack for these tacos dorados, some of the tastiest I've had downtown or anywhere.
My chicken was shredded real soft, with little bits of tomatoes and onions giving it some extra juice. Then it was rolled up in a corn tortilla and fried to a perfect crisp. Nothin' fancy, just good old fried tacos with an unassaulting "guacamolito" sauce of finely blended avocado. Good stuff!
Weird fact: If you eat here you gotta roll with the punches, 'cause weird stuff might happen: One guy was caught trying to walk in smoking a cigarette, and I got in a conversation with another dude about how eating iguanas is good for you and gives you "mucho mucho power." No iguanas on the menu though, just chicken.
Location: 210 E. Congress St.
Phone: 520-882-5140
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
Just this one time: Pass up the oxtail stew and the curry goat for a plate of jerk chicken tacos with habanero salsa. Seems strange, but it's perfectly natural over at D's Island Grill Ja., the colorful Jamaican restaurant at Fort Lowell and Country Club.
D's started out as a food truck, where fusion tacos are just par for the course. The Morant Bay, Jamaica native Duwayne Hall went brick-and-mortar in 2013, putting traditional dishes like ackee and salt fish on the menu with his sandwiches and quesadillas.
The tacos start the same way as his jerk chicken, rubbed in a dry seasoning powder imported from Jamaica. Then Hall adds a wet rub, blended from standard jerk ingredients like allspice and Scotch bonnet pepper. After a trip to the smoker grill in the back, the chicken is seared in a combination of garlic butter and coconut oil to give it "an island taste."
All chopped up and spread over flour tortillas with melted cheese, the plumps of chicken aren't nearly as saucy as you might expect. But of course there's the tangy jerk sauce on the side, which I liberally poured over the top. Even the coleslaw, sweet and stringy with a bitter bite, was delicate and displayed care.
Insider's tip: The D&G Pineapple Soda is quite lovely and sweet.
Location: 3156 E. Fort Lowell Road
Phone: 520-861-2271
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
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