Perfecto Leon’s second family restaurant, in a former Sonic Drive-In at 1055 E. Irvington Road, is gone, but his restaurant on South 12th Avenue is still going strong.
Perfecto “The Tamale Man” Leon was smiling ear-to-ear Friday morning as he and his son Jose quietly opened the doors to the family’s second restaurant Perfecto’s Mexican Grill Express.
The south side fast-food spot, in a long-shuttered Sonic Drive-In at 1055 E. Irvington Road and South Park Avenue, loosely follows the model of Chipotle and Illegal Pete’s. Diners create their own you-pick-it burritos, bowls or tacos, choosing from steak, chicken, red chile, barbacoa or vegetarian to add to rice, beans, veggies, salsa, guacamole and sour cream.
The highest priced bowl tops out at $7.50 for the steak. There’s also a kids menu that includes chicken nuggets and fries ($4.25), and Perfecto’s wildly popular green corn tamales brought over from the flagship Perfecto’s Mexican Restaurant at 5404 S. 12th Ave.
Perfecto Express is open 10:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Follow the restaurant on Facebook at facebook.com/perfectosrestaurant.
Two other restaurants opened in Tucson last week:
Fire N’ Smoke Wood Fired Pizza & BBQ, 6502 E. Tanque Verde Road, 300-6686 (see story, Page 6).
Black Bear Diner, 6095 E. Broadway, 790-8881. Tucson’s first outpost of the national chain — known for big, heaping portions of eggs, thick-cut bacon and fluffy scratch-made biscuits — opened Monday. You can also get a meatloaf sandwich or a cup of chili, burgers and wraps, T-bones and ribeyes and some apparent drool-worthy Grandma’s Peach Cobbler or scratch-made bread pudding. Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
