Here's the beef! 11 killer carne asada tacos
- Updated
Our favorite steak tacos from the 100 Days of Tacos series. The whole list at tucson.com/tacos
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
The taco trail begins on a forlorn street corner west of the Tucson Mall, past the line of palm trees and the Honda dealership. There, parked in front of the Rusty Nail Tavern, is one of Tucson's most well-kept secrets. The hungry masses flock to Aqui Con El Nene for chipilon hot dogs and pork-stuffed potato papanchas in the style of Ciudad Obregón.
But while you're there, you've got to try the Taco Yaqui. It's a fat slab of roasted green chile covered in carne asada and bacon, melted cheese and springy sliced mushrooms. Plopped on two flour tortillas brought up from Hermosillo, the plate is quite the show. Throw on some pico and eat it burrito-style underneath the tent by the flatscreen TV. When you're done, you will be full.
Weird fact: Waiting to order, I had to do a double-take at the curly-haired dude who stepped behind me in line. It was none other than the king of Tucson culinaria, Janos Wilder himself! (He was apparently getting takeout.) Aqui con el Janos!
Location: Northwest corner of West Wetmore and North Flowing Wells roads. (Also inside the Shell gas station at 1570 W. Grant Road.)
Phone: 520-312-1666
Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, closed Sundays.
Payment: Cash only
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Half of what they do goes through the drive through. But La Fresita isn't your regular Viva Burrito or Los Betos. The little shop on St. Mary's Road turns out everything from shrimp cocktails to mango raspados, as well as your regular tacos and burros. (Owners Maria and Ramon Diaz are from Agua Prieta, Sonora, and make a special "pollo empanizado estilo Copa Cabana," a breaded and fried chicken with french fries, salsa and bread.)
But we were here for the fresh tortillas de maiz, made in-house and toasted up to order on the comal in the back. At this point, meat is just a garnish for the perfect puffy dough, so much crisper and thicker than your store-bought stuff. We got the carne asada taquito, folded it up, and ate it within a minute flat ... Oops!
Weird fact: The little dining room was packed around 3 p.m. with workers watching telenovelas on the TV and ordering huge combo plates of carnitas and rice. Fun place to party!
Location: 1450 W. Saint Mary's Road
Phone: 520-622-4005
Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays
Payment: Accept credit and debit
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
They don't have tacos in Peru. But if they did, I could imagine they'd be something like this: juicy chunks of charred steak smothered in a garlicky green spread of parsley and aji pepper. The South American version of pesto, this chimichurri sauce is so biting and herbal it belongs in a garden. But there we were, standing in an empty parking lot eating while standing up.
We had traveled half an hour to get these hybrid tacos at Gigi's Mexican Peruvian Fusion food truck. Which, honestly wasn't the wisest decision, as the truck goes all over town. I was so hungry when we got there I ditched my "one taco" rule and ordered the $8 taco plate, which also came with a mango chipotle chicken taco and a creamy cilantro lime fish. But the chimichurri carne asada was my favorite, mostly because of that euphoric sauce, so good I lost control and let out a deep "mmmmm" for the surrounding landscaping.
Weird fact: The office building next door looked like something out of the Jetsons, with this wavy red water slide motif and a fountain shaped like a Mayan water temple. This should be a landmark ...
Location: We caught them at the LivingSocial building on 250 S. Williams Blvd. But the truck goes all over. Check its Twitter page for updates: twitter.com/gigismexican
Phone: (520) 222-9108
Payment: Accepts debit and credit
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Say it loud and proud, "One Taco Cheese, please!" But be prepared to receive something completely unexpected ... The little soft taco from Whatachon food truck is smothered with a meaty blanket of finely-chopped carne asada. And the queso itself? None other than the light, luscious melted Mozzarella ...
It's almost like a pizza, except instead of tomato sauce you get a zippy red chile salsa. And in place of buffalo wings, a thin roasted guero chile that starts off like heavy earth and then erupts into a sizzling peppery burn.
Weird fact: Their name is a play on the word huarache, which signifies both a sandal and a lovely fried masa snack. But how they got from that word to Whatachon, I honestly don't understand ...
Location: I caught up with them on the southwest corner of West Irvington Road and South 17th Avenue. But they're moving over to Irvington and 13th ...
Phone: (520) 406-3939
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Closed Sundays and Mondays.
Payment: cash only
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Behind the McDonald's on Silverbell Road, there's a bright blue building perched on the top of a hill. The lofty restaurant, Teresa's Mosaic Cafe, is shaped like a wheel, with large wooden beams strung with fluttering Mexican paper cuttings. At the center: a woman with a comal.
The fresh tortillas that come off of it are the heart of this restaurant, elevating Sonoran standards like cheese crisps and huevos rancheros into quite extraordinary dishes. Puffy and warm with just a hint of chewiness, the corn tortillas felt natural on my fajitas tacos. Despite the fact that, well aren't they supposed to be on the side?
But over here, you can get fajitas made up into perfect bites, with curly strips of steak and soft onions and peppers and silken guacamole already on top. I guess when you've been around for 30 years, you can do whatever you want!
Weird fact: On Teresa's website, you can watch the TV episode that made them famous, "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." They may have lost, but it was pretty funny watching Bobby Flay trip over the door at Hotel Congress ...
Location: 2456 N. Silver Mosaic Drive
Phone: 520-624-4512
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays
Payment: accepts debit and credit
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
The truck's specialty is the Percheron: A heaping hot burrito packed with carne asada, avocado and mozzarella cheese. But I think people really come here for the pepperoni.
Diego Armando, who's been running this stationary taco truck What A Burro on South Twelfth Avenue for the past couple years, says Italian burritos are common where he's from in Hermosillo. He brings one out, unrolled with all the ingredients intricately layered like a casserole: carne asada, pepperoni, mushrooms, avocado and mozzarella cheese.
They don't do this on the tacos, so I got the Percheron piled high with plump cuts of diesmillo and topped with avocados and a sprawled out green chile. Gosh, I love carne asada. As far as regional specialties go, we've got it pretty good up here in Sonora, the land of juicy soft steaks with that perfect crunch. Put whatever you want on them, they're gonna be great.
Weird fact: They've also got a calzone quesadilla with pepperoni and mushrooms.
Location: northwest corner of West Irvington Road and South 12th Avenue
Phone: 520-272-5490
Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 1 to 10 p.m. Sundays
Payment: cash only
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
If you've ever looked at a carne asada taco and thought, "I wish this was heavier!," I have the dish for you. It's called the taco alambre and it is carne asada plus bacon, mushrooms, bell peppers and melted cheese. The name, which means "wire," is thought to refer to skewers of meat done kabob-style, but the style is more often likened to fajitas.
Up at San Carlos Grill in the Oro Valley Marketplace, the tacos are anything but wirelike. Piled high with iceberg lettuce and tomatoes, they look like something a talented 16-year-old would make after soccer practice. Except that everything was perfectly executed: the sirloin springy and soft with the crisp bacon strips that still had a little bit of flex to them. The melty Monterrey Jack cheese on the bottom. Even the blended red table salsa on the side, which took a second to get going, but had quite a nice kick.
With all these goodies, the tacos are tough to leave behind. But if you eat them all, it's okay! The restaurant is next door to a movie theater ...
Interesting newsy bit: San Carlos Grill had a second location on Silverbell Road, but closed it in March to focus on the Oro Valley spot.
Location: 12125 N. Oracle Road, Suite 169
Phone: 520-544-0066
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
We live in the heartland of carne asada: right next door to the cattle ranches of Northern Mexico and in the middle of the Sonoran desert, which provides a steady supply of mesquite wood for grilling.
But even here, the real deal can be hard to find. If you're really serious about your grilled steak, you need to get down to El Taco Rustico in the Tohono O'Odham Swapmeet. Unlike other restaurants that cook their steaks on a flattop or with charcoal, Rustico uses a real mesquite grill that spews a heavy cloud of meaty smoke into the morning air.
Owner Juan Almanza has been doing barbecue for 25 years, and perfected his mesquite-cooking technique on the Terraza patio at Hacienda del Sol resort. The vibe down here is a little more "rustic" — it's not much more than a tarp and some chairs — but the grill is a site to behold. If you're there early, Almanza piles on everything from racks of rib to tripas and buche, sliced pig stomach that was actually pretty nice and crunchy.
The carne asada here doesn't come heavily spiced or adorned with cheese or accoutrements. It's basically just fat chunks of Angus chuck steak — much thicker than other places around town— plump and juicy with some smokiness and a hint of mesquite flavor. Very simple, but as Almanza says, "You can taste the difference."
Stay tuned for more tacos from foodie paradise, the Tohono O'Odham Swapmeet ...
Insider's tip: While you're there, you've gotta try the sandia agua fresca, with big chunks of watermelon. They serve it in a Burger King cup, but it's totally homemade.
Location: Tohono O'Odham Swapmeet, 5721 S. Westover Ave.
Phone: 520-891-7346
Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Payment: cash only
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Everyone has their spot. This is mine: Taqueria Pico de Gallo sits in that funky orange building with the cartoon chicken on South Sixth Avenue. It's a cozy place with three little rooms and a counter at the front, which serves some of the best corn tortillas in town.
If it's not too busy, peek around the counter into the kitchen and you might see Elizabeth Terez pressing fresh tortillas from a ball of masa. They are fluffier and bendier than others around town, with a good sear to them that reminds me of a pancake.
It's the tortillas — not necessarily a particular filling — that make Pico de Gallo's tacos outstanding. On my last visit I got a plate with bubbly battered fish, chunky lengua in salsa verde and a fiery carne asada with chopped jalapeños and tomato pico. So many bright flavors, each different, all wrapped in the same hearty blanket of warmed corn that feels just right. After eating all these unique tacos in every corner of town, this my comfort food.
Weird fact: You've gotta check out the episode of "Bizarre Foods," where Andrew Zimmern takes Chris Bianco to Pico de Gallo for some white menudo. In true Zimmern form, he calls it "gamey rectal stomach happiness." (Starts about the 10-minute mark.)
Location: 2618 S. Sixth Ave.
Phone: 520-623-8775
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
This food truck/Mexican candy store came highly recommended by a server at Nox Kitchen, purveyor of short rib tacos and New Zealand rack of lamb. With its late-night hours and killer carne asada, Karamelo King has gained a cult status among industry workers and dive-bar dwellers along Grant Road.
The truck's owners Cristina and Rafael Gastelum are from Cananea and Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, where grilled steaks reign supreme and the plain cheese quesadilla seems inadequate compared to its beefier brother, the caramelo. But these guys take a step further by letting you "King" size things by adding onions, whole pinto beans and avocado on top!
Rafael fixed me up a Taco King straight from the mesquite charcoal grill, where he uses a rotating wheel rack to control the temperature. (He also handed me a brilliant charred onion, which I popped out of its crispy shell straight into my mouth like an Otter Pop! Gosh I love those ...)
I can see why people flock to this place. The chuck steak is seasoned with nothing but salt, a pure expression of the steer that drives the culture of Northern Mexico. It's great with the beans and the like, but it's also great by itself. (And while we're at it, in the Hass taco with cheese and green chiles.) The perfect treat after a long day, or perhaps, a long night ...
Weird fact: The piñatas in the candy shop next door are a serious contribution to pop art, especially the SpongeBob SquarePants. If you ask nicely like I did, they might even take you inside to meet Donald Trump!
Location: 3752 E. Grant Road
Phone: 520-409-1027
Hours: 6 p.m. to midnight Mondays through Thursdays, 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, closed Sundays
Payment: cash only
- Andi Berlin Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Savvy Tucsonans know about the second great neighborhood for Mexican food, the vast stretch of deliciousness between Oracle Road and the I-10 freeway. Cruise down Prince or Ruthrauff any day and you'll see half a dozen shops and stands serving some of the best food north of 22nd Street.
I found this place just by driving up Oracle Road, past the dirt lots across the street from the Holy Hope Cemetery. The truck has a cute cartoony insignia with a molcajete stone bowl shaped into an "M," for Molcas.
I like this place because it's got a trendy vibe, but at the same time it feels simple and sincere. Empalme, Sonora-native Antonio Alfaro has stacked the menu with colorful tortas, caramelos and various fried items labeled under the name "fritangas." My carne asada taco was standard but choice, with plump chunks of beef on a flour tortilla with a little chopped cabbage on top. They save the creativity for the salsa bar ...
Insider's tip: Despite what you may read on Yelp or Facebook, the truck is no longer on Grant Road. It's on Oracle!
Location: East side of Oracle Road just north of Miracle Mile.
Phone: 520-358-1919
Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
The taco trail begins on a forlorn street corner west of the Tucson Mall, past the line of palm trees and the Honda dealership. There, parked in front of the Rusty Nail Tavern, is one of Tucson's most well-kept secrets. The hungry masses flock to Aqui Con El Nene for chipilon hot dogs and pork-stuffed potato papanchas in the style of Ciudad Obregón.
But while you're there, you've got to try the Taco Yaqui. It's a fat slab of roasted green chile covered in carne asada and bacon, melted cheese and springy sliced mushrooms. Plopped on two flour tortillas brought up from Hermosillo, the plate is quite the show. Throw on some pico and eat it burrito-style underneath the tent by the flatscreen TV. When you're done, you will be full.
Weird fact: Waiting to order, I had to do a double-take at the curly-haired dude who stepped behind me in line. It was none other than the king of Tucson culinaria, Janos Wilder himself! (He was apparently getting takeout.) Aqui con el Janos!
Location: Northwest corner of West Wetmore and North Flowing Wells roads. (Also inside the Shell gas station at 1570 W. Grant Road.)
Phone: 520-312-1666
Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, closed Sundays.
Payment: Cash only
Half of what they do goes through the drive through. But La Fresita isn't your regular Viva Burrito or Los Betos. The little shop on St. Mary's Road turns out everything from shrimp cocktails to mango raspados, as well as your regular tacos and burros. (Owners Maria and Ramon Diaz are from Agua Prieta, Sonora, and make a special "pollo empanizado estilo Copa Cabana," a breaded and fried chicken with french fries, salsa and bread.)
But we were here for the fresh tortillas de maiz, made in-house and toasted up to order on the comal in the back. At this point, meat is just a garnish for the perfect puffy dough, so much crisper and thicker than your store-bought stuff. We got the carne asada taquito, folded it up, and ate it within a minute flat ... Oops!
Weird fact: The little dining room was packed around 3 p.m. with workers watching telenovelas on the TV and ordering huge combo plates of carnitas and rice. Fun place to party!
Location: 1450 W. Saint Mary's Road
Phone: 520-622-4005
Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays
Payment: Accept credit and debit
They don't have tacos in Peru. But if they did, I could imagine they'd be something like this: juicy chunks of charred steak smothered in a garlicky green spread of parsley and aji pepper. The South American version of pesto, this chimichurri sauce is so biting and herbal it belongs in a garden. But there we were, standing in an empty parking lot eating while standing up.
We had traveled half an hour to get these hybrid tacos at Gigi's Mexican Peruvian Fusion food truck. Which, honestly wasn't the wisest decision, as the truck goes all over town. I was so hungry when we got there I ditched my "one taco" rule and ordered the $8 taco plate, which also came with a mango chipotle chicken taco and a creamy cilantro lime fish. But the chimichurri carne asada was my favorite, mostly because of that euphoric sauce, so good I lost control and let out a deep "mmmmm" for the surrounding landscaping.
Weird fact: The office building next door looked like something out of the Jetsons, with this wavy red water slide motif and a fountain shaped like a Mayan water temple. This should be a landmark ...
Location: We caught them at the LivingSocial building on 250 S. Williams Blvd. But the truck goes all over. Check its Twitter page for updates: twitter.com/gigismexican
Phone: (520) 222-9108
Payment: Accepts debit and credit
Say it loud and proud, "One Taco Cheese, please!" But be prepared to receive something completely unexpected ... The little soft taco from Whatachon food truck is smothered with a meaty blanket of finely-chopped carne asada. And the queso itself? None other than the light, luscious melted Mozzarella ...
It's almost like a pizza, except instead of tomato sauce you get a zippy red chile salsa. And in place of buffalo wings, a thin roasted guero chile that starts off like heavy earth and then erupts into a sizzling peppery burn.
Weird fact: Their name is a play on the word huarache, which signifies both a sandal and a lovely fried masa snack. But how they got from that word to Whatachon, I honestly don't understand ...
Location: I caught up with them on the southwest corner of West Irvington Road and South 17th Avenue. But they're moving over to Irvington and 13th ...
Phone: (520) 406-3939
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Closed Sundays and Mondays.
Payment: cash only
Behind the McDonald's on Silverbell Road, there's a bright blue building perched on the top of a hill. The lofty restaurant, Teresa's Mosaic Cafe, is shaped like a wheel, with large wooden beams strung with fluttering Mexican paper cuttings. At the center: a woman with a comal.
The fresh tortillas that come off of it are the heart of this restaurant, elevating Sonoran standards like cheese crisps and huevos rancheros into quite extraordinary dishes. Puffy and warm with just a hint of chewiness, the corn tortillas felt natural on my fajitas tacos. Despite the fact that, well aren't they supposed to be on the side?
But over here, you can get fajitas made up into perfect bites, with curly strips of steak and soft onions and peppers and silken guacamole already on top. I guess when you've been around for 30 years, you can do whatever you want!
Weird fact: On Teresa's website, you can watch the TV episode that made them famous, "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." They may have lost, but it was pretty funny watching Bobby Flay trip over the door at Hotel Congress ...
Location: 2456 N. Silver Mosaic Drive
Phone: 520-624-4512
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays
Payment: accepts debit and credit
The truck's specialty is the Percheron: A heaping hot burrito packed with carne asada, avocado and mozzarella cheese. But I think people really come here for the pepperoni.
Diego Armando, who's been running this stationary taco truck What A Burro on South Twelfth Avenue for the past couple years, says Italian burritos are common where he's from in Hermosillo. He brings one out, unrolled with all the ingredients intricately layered like a casserole: carne asada, pepperoni, mushrooms, avocado and mozzarella cheese.
They don't do this on the tacos, so I got the Percheron piled high with plump cuts of diesmillo and topped with avocados and a sprawled out green chile. Gosh, I love carne asada. As far as regional specialties go, we've got it pretty good up here in Sonora, the land of juicy soft steaks with that perfect crunch. Put whatever you want on them, they're gonna be great.
Weird fact: They've also got a calzone quesadilla with pepperoni and mushrooms.
Location: northwest corner of West Irvington Road and South 12th Avenue
Phone: 520-272-5490
Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 1 to 10 p.m. Sundays
Payment: cash only
If you've ever looked at a carne asada taco and thought, "I wish this was heavier!," I have the dish for you. It's called the taco alambre and it is carne asada plus bacon, mushrooms, bell peppers and melted cheese. The name, which means "wire," is thought to refer to skewers of meat done kabob-style, but the style is more often likened to fajitas.
Up at San Carlos Grill in the Oro Valley Marketplace, the tacos are anything but wirelike. Piled high with iceberg lettuce and tomatoes, they look like something a talented 16-year-old would make after soccer practice. Except that everything was perfectly executed: the sirloin springy and soft with the crisp bacon strips that still had a little bit of flex to them. The melty Monterrey Jack cheese on the bottom. Even the blended red table salsa on the side, which took a second to get going, but had quite a nice kick.
With all these goodies, the tacos are tough to leave behind. But if you eat them all, it's okay! The restaurant is next door to a movie theater ...
Interesting newsy bit: San Carlos Grill had a second location on Silverbell Road, but closed it in March to focus on the Oro Valley spot.
Location: 12125 N. Oracle Road, Suite 169
Phone: 520-544-0066
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
We live in the heartland of carne asada: right next door to the cattle ranches of Northern Mexico and in the middle of the Sonoran desert, which provides a steady supply of mesquite wood for grilling.
But even here, the real deal can be hard to find. If you're really serious about your grilled steak, you need to get down to El Taco Rustico in the Tohono O'Odham Swapmeet. Unlike other restaurants that cook their steaks on a flattop or with charcoal, Rustico uses a real mesquite grill that spews a heavy cloud of meaty smoke into the morning air.
Owner Juan Almanza has been doing barbecue for 25 years, and perfected his mesquite-cooking technique on the Terraza patio at Hacienda del Sol resort. The vibe down here is a little more "rustic" — it's not much more than a tarp and some chairs — but the grill is a site to behold. If you're there early, Almanza piles on everything from racks of rib to tripas and buche, sliced pig stomach that was actually pretty nice and crunchy.
The carne asada here doesn't come heavily spiced or adorned with cheese or accoutrements. It's basically just fat chunks of Angus chuck steak — much thicker than other places around town— plump and juicy with some smokiness and a hint of mesquite flavor. Very simple, but as Almanza says, "You can taste the difference."
Stay tuned for more tacos from foodie paradise, the Tohono O'Odham Swapmeet ...
Insider's tip: While you're there, you've gotta try the sandia agua fresca, with big chunks of watermelon. They serve it in a Burger King cup, but it's totally homemade.
Location: Tohono O'Odham Swapmeet, 5721 S. Westover Ave.
Phone: 520-891-7346
Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Payment: cash only
Everyone has their spot. This is mine: Taqueria Pico de Gallo sits in that funky orange building with the cartoon chicken on South Sixth Avenue. It's a cozy place with three little rooms and a counter at the front, which serves some of the best corn tortillas in town.
If it's not too busy, peek around the counter into the kitchen and you might see Elizabeth Terez pressing fresh tortillas from a ball of masa. They are fluffier and bendier than others around town, with a good sear to them that reminds me of a pancake.
It's the tortillas — not necessarily a particular filling — that make Pico de Gallo's tacos outstanding. On my last visit I got a plate with bubbly battered fish, chunky lengua in salsa verde and a fiery carne asada with chopped jalapeños and tomato pico. So many bright flavors, each different, all wrapped in the same hearty blanket of warmed corn that feels just right. After eating all these unique tacos in every corner of town, this my comfort food.
Weird fact: You've gotta check out the episode of "Bizarre Foods," where Andrew Zimmern takes Chris Bianco to Pico de Gallo for some white menudo. In true Zimmern form, he calls it "gamey rectal stomach happiness." (Starts about the 10-minute mark.)
Location: 2618 S. Sixth Ave.
Phone: 520-623-8775
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
This food truck/Mexican candy store came highly recommended by a server at Nox Kitchen, purveyor of short rib tacos and New Zealand rack of lamb. With its late-night hours and killer carne asada, Karamelo King has gained a cult status among industry workers and dive-bar dwellers along Grant Road.
The truck's owners Cristina and Rafael Gastelum are from Cananea and Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, where grilled steaks reign supreme and the plain cheese quesadilla seems inadequate compared to its beefier brother, the caramelo. But these guys take a step further by letting you "King" size things by adding onions, whole pinto beans and avocado on top!
Rafael fixed me up a Taco King straight from the mesquite charcoal grill, where he uses a rotating wheel rack to control the temperature. (He also handed me a brilliant charred onion, which I popped out of its crispy shell straight into my mouth like an Otter Pop! Gosh I love those ...)
I can see why people flock to this place. The chuck steak is seasoned with nothing but salt, a pure expression of the steer that drives the culture of Northern Mexico. It's great with the beans and the like, but it's also great by itself. (And while we're at it, in the Hass taco with cheese and green chiles.) The perfect treat after a long day, or perhaps, a long night ...
Weird fact: The piñatas in the candy shop next door are a serious contribution to pop art, especially the SpongeBob SquarePants. If you ask nicely like I did, they might even take you inside to meet Donald Trump!
Location: 3752 E. Grant Road
Phone: 520-409-1027
Hours: 6 p.m. to midnight Mondays through Thursdays, 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, closed Sundays
Payment: cash only
Savvy Tucsonans know about the second great neighborhood for Mexican food, the vast stretch of deliciousness between Oracle Road and the I-10 freeway. Cruise down Prince or Ruthrauff any day and you'll see half a dozen shops and stands serving some of the best food north of 22nd Street.
I found this place just by driving up Oracle Road, past the dirt lots across the street from the Holy Hope Cemetery. The truck has a cute cartoony insignia with a molcajete stone bowl shaped into an "M," for Molcas.
I like this place because it's got a trendy vibe, but at the same time it feels simple and sincere. Empalme, Sonora-native Antonio Alfaro has stacked the menu with colorful tortas, caramelos and various fried items labeled under the name "fritangas." My carne asada taco was standard but choice, with plump chunks of beef on a flour tortilla with a little chopped cabbage on top. They save the creativity for the salsa bar ...
Insider's tip: Despite what you may read on Yelp or Facebook, the truck is no longer on Grant Road. It's on Oracle!
Location: East side of Oracle Road just north of Miracle Mile.
Phone: 520-358-1919
Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week
Payment: accepts debit and credit cards
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