10 secret menus at Tucson restaurants and food trucks 👀

The secret's out, the beans are spilled.

You may know of animal-style fries from In-N-Out Burger and the very long list of secret smoothies from Jamba Juice. But we've discovered secret menus at 10 local restaurants, too.

From a croissant-meets-waffle affogato to a jalapeño popper hot dog, we're here to spill what we know. 

Although the following items aren't advertised on these eateries' printed menus, order them how you would anything else. They'll know what you mean!

But who knows, maybe your favorite secret items will one day make it onto restaurants' official menus — that's what happened at Cowpig, where the secret menu items became so popular that they're now on the printed menu, including their version of a Sloppy Joe, a vegan burger and elote fries.

And don't worry, we asked the restaurants if it was OK to unveil their secrets 😏

Adis 

What started with Adilene Castro selling tamarindo candy mixes on Instagram and aguas frescas at the Tohono Swap Meet has since turned into Adis, which is home to local food hall American Eat Co., 1439 S. Fourth Ave.

She serves up the treats that got her start, plus lots of other Mexican munchies like paletas, raspados, churros and Tosti-Locos. Her secret menu items might make you drool:

• Pepino Split: a cucumber split in half with three different flavors of Italian ice, topped with Mexican candies and chamoy made by Adis.
• Churros Split: two full-size churros topped with three scoops of vanilla ice cream and strawberries, with sweetened condensed milk and chocolate drizzled on top. You can also order this with fried Oreos or mini churros instead!
• Fruit Roll-Up Pickle: a pickle wrapped in a Fruit Roll-Up, covered in chamoy and Tajín, sitting on a bed of Hot Cheetos and Salsaghetti candy.

"If you haven't tried Adis' chamoy and Hot Cheetos, you're missing out," Adis owner Adilene Castro said in an Instagram message about the Fruit Roll-Up Pickle. "I don't know how to explain it, but it's the best combo."

Beyond Bread

Beyond Bread opened its doors in 1998. In their nearly three decades in business, they've said goodbye to a number of sandwiches and salads — but their fans haven't. As Beyond Bread says, these items may be lost but they certainly aren't forgotten.

Here are the 10 (!!) items on the secret menu:

• Carson's Catch: tuna salad, tomato, lettuce, onion, sprouts and olive paste on white bread.
• Fran's Fromage: brie, lettuce and tomato on a baguette.
• Henry's Ham: ham, lettuce and honey mustard served hot on white bread.
• Pablo's Pavo: Southwest turkey salad, lettuce and tomato in a whole-wheat pita.
• Rosie's Reunion: chicken, tomato, roasted red peppers, sprouts and olive paste on white bread.
• Stan's Stack: turkey, roasted red peppers, provolone, sprouts and Russian dressing on white bread.
• Greek Tostada: toasted pita crisp topped with hummus, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickle chips, feta and Italian dressing.
• Say Cheese Salad: sliced mozzarella, cucumber, tomatoes, basil and mixed greens with a side of vinaigrette.
• Tony's Trio: ham, provolone and honey mustard served hot on white bread.
• Chad's Choice: chicken, provolone, sprouts, green chile and mayonnaise served hot on white bread.

Beyond Bread outreach coordinator Jane Overbey loves Stan's Stack, and says Chad's Choice is very popular — even though it hasn't been on the printed menu for a decade.

The local sandwich shop has several locations in Tucson, including a cafe on Mount Lemmon. See locations here!

The Blacktop Grill

This north-side restaurant at 8300 N. Thornydale Road is known for their hot dogs packed with toppings like elote and fire-roasted green chiles. Quesadillas, sandwiches, loaded fries and tacos made with shells shaped out of fried cheese are also on the menu.

Although The Blacktop Grill also has a food truck, the secret menu is only available at the brick-and-mortar for now. Here's what you can get:

• Loaded steak nacho fries, which are topped with all the fixins you'd find atop nachos. Instead of tortilla chips, a bed of fries sits beneath the toppings.
• The jalapeño popper hot dog is a beef weenie wrapped in fried cheese, stuffed with cream cheese and topped with ranch, cotija, pickled jalapeños and bacon.

Also, it's not a secret, but The Blacktop Grill has a full vegan menu that includes plant-based versions of the restaurant's loaded fries and tacos.

Espressoul Cafe

This vegan coffee truck serves a long list of matcha, lattes, smoothies and refreshers, often with a flavorful soft top and cutesy edible images. Owner Eris Movahedi has a way of turning matcha haters into fans, especially with flavor combinations like blueberry-lavender and caramel. 

Her secret menu is kept under lock and key, but she has four top-secret drinks, one in each category: matcha, latte, smoothie and refresher. Ask for a secret drink when you order and your surprise will await.

Check out Espressoul Cafe's Instagram page to see where they'll be popping up next.

Essential Coffee Cart

This coffee truck started in 2022 and is often parked at schools and shops around town. It's where you can get a simple iced coffee or one of their specialty drinks like the Blueberry Muffin that includes blueberry and almond syrup, oat milk, espresso and a splash of half-n-half. Essential Coffee Cart also has fruity slushes, appropriately dubbed the Arizona Sunrise and the Arizona Sunset.

The secret menu, though, has three items:

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• The Peach Buzz is made with peach syrup and White Lotus energy syrup, mixed with sparkling water and served over ice. Get it with whipped cream!
• The Monsoon Mojito features a 7UP base mixed with a peppermint and coconut syrup, topped with lime juice and served over ice.
• The Sonoran Summer Sky is also an iced drink, this time featuring a Squirt soda base with blueberry and lemon syrup, topped with grapefruit juice.

Check out Essential Coffee Cart's Instagram page to see where they'll be popping up next. 

Rocco's Little Chicago

Rocco's Little Chicago is known for its Chicago-style stuffed pizza served in a building advertised by its ever-changing cheeky letter board. The pizzeria, 2707 E. Broadway, has been around for over a quarter-century, headed by Anthony “Rocco” DiGrazia.

Four items are on the secret menu alongside regular-menu favorites like the Kitchen Sink pizza that Guy Fieri raved about during his Tucson visit in 2018. The secret items are:

• The Spin City pizza that features double spinach 🌱
• The Paisan Pizza, which comes with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, capers and anchovies.
• The Danger Zone Calzone, which has tomatoes, green chiles and onions.
• Last, but certainly not least, are the extra-hot wings which are appropriately dubbed "Assburners." The hot wing sauce is thickened with more cayenne, pepper flakes and black pepper.

Pro tip: You can order green olives as a topping for your pie!

Rofle Rofle

This is the only place in Tucson where you can get a croiffle, aka croissant dough covered in sugar and baked in a waffle iron. You can get the treat topped with strawberries, Oreos, grapes or Nutella — and trust us, the toppings are worth the extra cost.

Rofle Rofle, located in Tucson Mall's food court at 4500 N. Oracle Road, is the first and only U.S. franchise of the popular croiffle chain in South Korea.

They also serve flavored coffees and smoothies, which brings us to their secret menu:

• The Rofle Affogato includes a classic croiffle, plus espresso atop vanilla ice cream. Croiffle and coffee lovers, rejoice!
• Also on the secret menu is the banana pudding croiffle and it's exactly what it sounds like: banana pudding piled into a croiffle. 

Sauce Pizza & Wine

If you've ever made a visit to Sauce, there's a good chance you know how good their mac n' cheese is. But sometimes you have a craving for pizza instead.

For years, customers have been ordering a secret menu item that combines the two favorites:

• The mac n' cheese pizza comes with homemade red sauce and a three-blend cheese, plus a full-size serving on mac n' cheese on top of pizza crust.

Sauce was once part of Fox Restaurant Concepts, founded by Tucson native Sam Fox, until the restaurateur sold the pizza-and-pasta eatery in 2015. Sauce now has nine locations in the Phoenix area and four in Tucson. See the locations here!

Scented Leaf Tea House

Scented Leaf's tea-ristas are constantly playing in the kitchen, concocting mixture after mixture of tea, lemonade and fruity syrup. The result is often something vibrant, layered colorfully and sometimes even doused in edible glitter. 

You can stick with your no-frills green tea (there's no shame in that), but the drinks of the month are almost always worth trying, like April's Rose Gold Gusher, made with ginger, raspberry rose, agave and lemonade. Teas on the secret menu are just as order-worthy — the full secret menu is long, but here are three of the creations you can order that aren't on any of the printed menus:

• The Prickly Pear Punch includes flavors of blueberry, mango, lemon and prickly pear, with an optional dash of glitter. You're left with a cold drink of sparkly red and blue layers. This was one of the shop's monthly tea specials that became so popular it hopped on over to the secret menu.
• The Taste the Rainbow is my personal favorite and it just might be the prettiest of all. Layered to look like a rainbow, the drink includes flavors of strawberry lemonade, sugar, papaya, black cherry, hibiscus and butterfly tea. Mix it altogether for a glittery purple concoction. 
• The Cloud Tea is one of Scented Leaf's most popular of the creamy options and it's what they might suggest to you if you're a big lover of milk tea. It's made with vanilla sweet cream and butterfly tea along with a house black and yerba maté base. It's creamy, earthy and sweet — and pretty to look at, just like the others.

Scented Leaf has three locations in Tucson, check 'em out here!

Slice & Ice

Back in 1971, Ed Irving created a recipe for Italian ice and served the creations from a truck alongside business partner Bob Greenberg. You guessed it, they are the founders of hometown favorite Eegee's, and they ran the business until selling it in 2006.

In 2020, Irving opened Slice & Ice, located at 1905 W. Grant Road, serving up pizza, sandwiches, fries and the ice he created decades ago. 

The ice comes in three standard flavors: watermelon, orange pineapple and strawberry lemonade, plus whatever the flavor of the day is. Slice & Ice's icy tea, unsweetened tea mixed with Irving's ice, was once a secret but has since made it to the official menu. 

Now, the secret menu has one special item:

• There's a turkey hero sandwich on the regular menu, and a sandwich with both turkey and ham, but not one with just ham. That's where the secret menu comes in: you can order a ham and mozzarella sandwich with or without toppings.

Pro tip: It's not mentioned on the menu, but Slice & Ice recommends adding barbecue sauce, ranch or hot sauce to any of their heroes.