Tucson

While Elvira’s may be a little south of Tucson (40ish minutes, depending on where you are), since it is in the same county as Tucson, I feel obliged to include it on the Tucson list. And here we have the best Mexican food in Tucson, and the best food in the city, and also the state. These chicken enchiladas here are to die for, and usually, I am not even that big of an enchiladas guy! The sauce is so flavorful, and the tortillas are glorious. The chicken of course has so much flavor, I mean I have a picture of them on this page for a reason, just look at those! They are picturesque, and they taste even better!

Upon devouring those, maybe you order a second round, because you are so pleased. I would advise that once you have your fill of the enchiladas, you definitely order the Caribbean treat. This banana is perfectly sweet, along with brown sugar and cinnamon that pairs so well with it! Additionally, there is ice cream on this, and I don’t even ice cream, but this ice cream definitely makes my list. Topped with peanuts to add some crunch, you will not have any regrets after this meal.

The number one spot in Tucson is finally back to being a Mexican restaurant. And my god The Quesadillas is easily the best Mexican in town for me thus far. And while everything here is good, and I mean seriously everything here is damn amazing! There are a few notable items I must touch on. The chicken bacon quesadilla and the ribeye quesadilla are glorious. But the number one item here is the barbacoa tacos, which are great in quesadilla form as well. But in tacos they are superior! This is the best taco in Tucson, and it must be tried! Along with a delicious taco, salsas must be examined. And The Quesadillas has the two best salsas in town. Their amazing jalapeno salsa, and then my personal favorite salsa in town, their pineapple salsa. This salsa needs to be ordered by the gallon, like seriously I will talk to them about selling this separately. It is so good! Like you can drink this delicacy! And you probably should! It is outstanding! 

Check out my reaction here.

Fatman Kitchen is a fabulous Chinese restaurant that has one iconic dish I have had and a few other underwhelming ones. Fatman Kitchen has a plethora of options on hand, however, there is one dish that I had that was significantly better than the rest. It is the griddle-cooked chicken wings, and I know how weird it must sound that I am recommending chicken wings at a Chinese restaurant. But after you devour these you will see why. Eating chicken wings with a fork and a knife was certainly interesting, but I have kept coming back for more because damn the sauce they cook these wings in blows my mind every time. And the jalapenos, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, and onions are masterfully done here. I usually am not a fan of broccoli and cauliflower, but I do not leave any left in the pan at Fatman Kitchen. 

A noteworthy Italian Deli has finally made an appearance in our Tucson list, and a mighty fine one at that. This little place is exactly what you are looking for with a hole-in-the-wall Italian Deli joint. They have a BUNCH of take-home options I have yet to try, but I will and of course report back if they are more noteworthy than what I was able to devour in my time there. But for now let’s get to the deliciousness that must be discussed.

The sandwiches here are all incredible, and as everyone knows it stems from the great bread. You simply cannot have a fantastic sandwich without incredible bread, and that is where Roma Imports starts. Along with that the Roma Stallion (the best sandwich here) is just so damn good. You can get it spicy, which I of course went for and recommend you do the same. The Stallion has wonderfully seasoned pork, along with an assortment of delicious veggies and jalapenos(on the spicy version). And my god is it glorious! This sandwich is exactly what you are looking for when scouring for a delicious hot sandwich. I have confidence their cold sandwiches are also fire, but I was unable to try any of those, due to the cannoli consumption that occurred. I had one bite of the both the cannoli and sandwich and knew I had to order more. But I went in and bought the remaining six cannolis they had, they were that good! I suggest shooting for the chocolate covered, which at first seem like they cannot be better than the OG, but looks will mistake you, the chocolate covered cannolis are superior. I definitely would reccomend making a trip here while you are in Tucson and be prepared for some delicious grubbing. 

El Taco Rustico is an amazing small taco shop in Tucson that can easily be overlooked. Even eating there you can miss the most amazing item if you don’t think to order the Costilla tacos. Costilla is ribs, and well rib tacos are just absolutely phenomenal and I definitely recommend enjoying some for yourself as soon as you can when you get to Tucson. While El Taco Rustico is the start of the fire Mexican food Tucson has to offer, be prepared for more where that comes from in the rest of the list.

A vegan bakery THIS good in Tucson was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. They recently opened up their own place after selling their pastries in various coffee shops exclusively. And thank god that they did, because, well, for starters, they sell out VERY fast! So if you want to pick up their pastries, I recommend showing them up at 10 am. But if you are unlucky and were unaware of this phenomenon and all of their best pastries are sold out, do not fret. Well, maybe I fret a little because I must go back and try all the pastries I missed out on, but there is a saving grace. And that grace is in the form of their gluten-free fruit cheesecake. And my god, this cheesecake is damn epic. All of their other pastries were amazing; do not get me wrong. But the cheesecake takes the cake here. I will have to come back and update this after I try their other offerings that I missed, but for now, go devour the best cheesecake I have ever had and enjoy.

Coming in at number fivve in Tucson is a small Mexican joint, and a take-out hole-in-the-wall joint at that. St. Mary’s is a small yellow building that provides the most scrumptious Mexican food I have had in Tucson to date. The line might be long on occasion but it moves pretty fast and it is well worth any wait. The whole menu is fantastic but there is definitely one standout item on the menu.

The chimichangas are the item that is the clear standout at St. Mary’s. The “mini chimis” and the normal chimichangas are a must here. The chile relleno chimichanga is the clear favorite here and the full-size chimichanga is the size of a small child. It is a hefty meal by itself and an amazing one at that, but it is not the only order you should place at this fine establishment. The chicken and beef mini chimis by a dozen are a great sampling to share with friends or to just down yourself, and if you are going to try a dish outside the chimichangas I highly recommend the green corn tamale. But in the end, you cannot go wrong at St. Mary’s, as long as you ensure that chimichangas are ordered, you will be well off.

Wait, Pizza in the desert?! I know, I am equally surprised. However, one cannot deny the slight ability that Rocco’s has at mimicking the great   deep dish of Chicago. While the array of pizzas available are all enticing and look quite tasty, they have “little Chicago” in their name, as it was my first go-around I felt forced to snag some deep dish.

And, if you have taken a glance at any of my other pages, and Rocco’s menu, it may not be hard to guess I had the Heart Attack Special. A deep-dish pizza piled high with meat and cheese, how can one turn this down? The pizza was absolutely fantastic, and had rich sauce, with a good ratio of meat-cheese-sauce-crust.

I am sure the rest of the pizzas here are fantastic, and I would love to get around to them, but I am worried the array of Mexian food, and other restaurants I need to try may get in the way. In the meantime though, please do enjoy what has been the only pizza note-worthy so far for me in the desert.

Poco and Mom’s is a great hole-in-the-wall joint that specializes in New Mexican-style Mexican cuisine. If you don’t know what that means, for the most part, that just means they use some amazing chiles from Hatch New Mexico, this is an oversimplification, but it suffices. Now, these chiles will come into play if you come by and order the messy fries, which in my opinion have a big leg up on the rest of the menu here and Poco and Mom’s. I am telling you these fries are damn tasty, with bacon, cheese, green chili, and, maybe more? (I was unable to find the menu with specifications online but trust me.) These fries are definitely what I would order, and order alone if/whenever I take a trip back to Poco and Mom’s, and I highly advise you to do the same. The rest of the menu is good, but these fries are next level. Finally, Poco has some of the best chips and salsa on the list, so be sure to enjoy that.

El Torero is yet another Mexican joint in Tucson that boasts high-quality Mexican food all over the menu, and the menu is extensive as well. The vibes in El Torero are really great, I really liked the owner and the whole staff here. But the food is why we go out to eat, so let’s get to that.

The cauliflower tacos were my personal favorite that I tried. However, I must say that I doubt you could go wrong with an option here.

I do not even usually like cauliflower, but these tacos are so damn delicious they simply must be devoured. The tacos have a delicious sauce and the cauliflower is seasoned and cooked to perfection. 

Twisted Indian is one of the most obvious definitions of hole-in-the-wall that there is. Since it resides in a gas station you may not have the same level of expectation as you might have when you go to a more fancy sit-down restaurant. However. Twisted Indian is the best Indian food in Tucson, and you should not have any worry about it residing within a gas station, because their Garlic Naan is damn fantastic.

Nook represents the highest-ranking breakfast in a tight race in Tucson. A few restaurants have proven to have noteworthy breakfast, but Nook has officially claimed the top spot. And while everything here will not be noteworthy, I can guarantee if you are waking up with a sweet tooth in the morning, Nook needs to be your first stop. The Cinnamon Roll Griddlecakes here are the best pancakes in Tucson, and while they are sugar packed, they are damn delicious. And if you are not feeling a sugary breakfast then you should try one of my other breakfast recommendations, but if you are in the mood for sweet, come to Nook and you will not be disappointed.

Martin’s is a nice little place in downtown Tucson that serves a variety of killer mexican food. Everything here is good, so you will not see any specific recommendations from me. Martin’s is just one of those spots where everything is so good you really can’t go wrong. So definitely stop by while you are downtown and make sure to check the hours because it definitely took me sometime to get to Martin’s while it was open. 

Another pizza joint making the list in Tucson is always a pleasant surprise. And Empire is one of the most interesting restaurants on my whole list because the Elote Pizza here is SOOO good. But the rest of their offerings are simply not noteworthy in anyway. I definitely would recommend coming by here after a night out in Tucson and ordering as many large Elote Pizzas as you believe you can muscle down. Elote Pizza is a take on Elote street corn which is a staple in Mexico. The pizza is topped with roasted corn, chipotle mayo, cilantro and mexican-inspired cojita cheese. It is a beautiful pie that offers an extremely unique taste to a pizza. 

I hope you will heed my advice and acquire these wings for yourself sooner rather than later. These wings are just damn phenomenal. When you are dealing with spicy wings like this the most important part is the sauce, let’s be honest frying some wings is not that tough of an artform, and well Istanbul has perfected their sauce. The sauce is drinkable it is so tasty, like you could drink this by itself if you wanted. It is just a perfect amount of spice with just so much flavor, so come by Istanbul and prepare yourself to devour a top 3 wing in Tucson.

Upon trying all of their tacos, you will quickly realize you wish you ordered more pork tacos. And that is what I am here to tell you just to order more pork to start. But seriously order more pork tacos, they are damn delicious, and I am conflicted as to if the pork tacos are the best, or if their salsa is. But whichever inspires you to continue devouring this delicious grub, you can enjoy the spectacular salsa and the perfect pork on their pork tacos.

An iconic hole-in-the-wall diner with long lines, amazing omelets and pancakes, and hours that must be duly noted (closed M-W). Expect a bit of a wait if you cannot get there at 5:30 when they open, but the wait is well worth it here.

The chocolate chip pancakes here are definitely the best pancakes in town, and the serving size is absurd (in the best way). The pancakes are the perfect fluffy to crispy combo that you will look for in a pancake, and I must recommend looking to split two of them with a friend if you want to survive the day without a nap. While I do love the blueberry and banana pancake, the chocolate chip takes the (pan)cake here for the best item on the menu. The Old English Omlet is also delicious and is something that should be considered here. 

Mi Nidito is very proud, and rightfully so, that a sitting president(President Clinton) visited their fine establishment. And well when you go you will see just how proud they are. Having a plaque at the table he sat at and a meal named after what he ordered. And unsurprisingly that meal, the President’s Plate, is what you want to order here hands-down. The birria taco and beef tamale were probably my favorite two items on the plate, however I am sucker for Chile Relleno and that was also fabulous. The chicken enchilada is also absolutely delicious, it would be hard to make the mistake of not ordering the President’s Plate at Mi Nidito. But I just want to make sure you take a special note of it.

Yet another gorgeous place to devour tacos in Tucson. Juanitos is absolutely amazing and has an array of options that are all fantastic. I personally think their tacos are their best offerings, but have no real recommendation on one taco over another. They are all fantastic here! One thing I should mention is you might want to obtain as much of their green salsa as you can, as it is some of the best green salsa I have had, not number one or anything…see Sonoratown in LA. But it is some amazing green salsa.

A little on the fancy side here is Reilly Pizza. The pizza here is damn fantastic, and I definitely recommend it over any of the other options when you dine at Reilly. All of the pizzas are good, so pick your fancy, just don’t forget to snag a drink at the not-so-hidden basement bar after you have had your fill on pizza.

Here we have another breakfast, brunch entry in town, and 5 points recently expanded their offerings to include dinner as well. I have not been for dinner, just for brunch and it is damn fantastic, so I am sure the dinner here is also pretty great. I had the huevos rancheros and they were clearly amazing. I do not put them as the must get here, because after trying them I know that everything at 5 points is great, and maybe something on the menu would rank even higher than the huevos, but for now the huevos is what I am ranking, and they are definitely some of the best huevoes ranch 

Wings N Rice might be the third best place to obtain wings in Tucson, but I do not want that to be construed as a bad statement. Their wings are glorious and it is due to the amazing flavors of their sauces. While I have not gotten around to all of their flavors, I must recommend the spicy garlic parmesan as the best of the flavors I selected. However, there is no way you can choose a bad wing here, I am confident all of them are fantastic, and the rice to pair with the wings is also very tasty.

The bottom of the three note-worthy wings joints in Tucson is Wooden Nickel Tavern. The crispiness of the wings at Wooden Nickel is what sets them apart from the rest of the pack. These wings are just done perfectly and with their selection of flavors, you will not be left disappointed here. A dive bar serving up some of the best wings in town should leave you very satisfied with Wooden Nickel.

Taqueria Pico De Gallo is an iconic hole-in-the-wall joint that serves killer Sonoran Street food. They make their tortillas fresh in-house, and you can tell. The thick corn tortillas are absolutely to die for, of course, accompanied with a killer array of meat is just fabulous. The menu is extremely daunting, in the best of ways, and you know a Mexican place is amazing if talking in Spanish with the employees is expected.

The Carne Asada quesadilla I had here was incredible, however, I must point you to the Cabeza taco as a must-try. This taco was just incredible and while the rest of what I had was great this taco blew me away. The Cabeza is cooked perfectly and is paired with a good sauce and exceptionally cooked veggies. Of course, as mentioned previously the tortillas are what make it exceptional, and it rounds out to ensure a fire taco.

Mr.K’s Original BBQ is a stellar hole-in-the-wall BBQ spot that serves a variety of delicious BBQ. And while, I of course, sampled all of the fire BBQ that Mr.K’s offers so you can know exactly what to order.

I recommend ordering the pork ribs here, and maybe some beef ribs if you have another person to accompany you in your feast. The pork ribs were far superior to the beef ribs, and both ribs far supersede the brisket, and the sausage is just unnecessary to try. The pork ribs have the perfect fall off the bone, melt in your mouth that every great rib requires. The juiciness cannot be understated and the BBQ sauce here is a necessity, as it is not only spectacular, it also is one of those Memphis-style ribs that need all the juices.

Besides the pork ribs, the beef ribs are a definite runner-up with some amazing meat that is extremely tender. However, the rest of the meats were fairly lackluster here, and should not be of utmost concern after the pork ribs are devoured.

A second installment of Chinese food in Tucson that has made the list. Chef Wang is right next to Fatman Kitchen, which definitely makes going to Wang, over Fatman Kitchen a tough sell (especially since Chef Wang is more well-known and always has more people, Fatman Kitchen is slowly becoming more popular). However, Wang does have something on Fatman Kitchen, and that is this epic soup. The House Spicy Soup here is absolutely amazing, if you are able to handle your spice. Now both of my recommendations for the best Chinse in Tucson are pretty spicy dishes, so maybe warm up with some Mexican food on the list and save these for when you are prepared to tackle some spiciness.

Crazy weird hours warning! When you see the hours, you will think the same I did: “How the hell am I gonna get there?” Well whenever you find a time to make it here, you will not be disappointed. And with a name like Monsoon Chocolate I can only imagine you are as enticed as I was. Monsoon’s specialty are their Bon Bons, which are just perfect balls of chocolate. And their most popular Bon Bon is also the one I enjoyed the most: the Sonoran Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Bon Bon. It is just a tiny square packed with decatenet chocolate and that little bit of salt that accompanies and perfect mix of sweet just right! I will definitely get a pack of just those next time I come back craviny some crazy delicious chocolate, and I suggest you do something similar asap. 

I must make a disclaimer that Prep and Pastry has been known to have workers strike due to discrimination, overworking, and unfair wages, therefore I cannot recommend spending your money here. However, I must rank the food I had, previous to the strikes, and let you know of my decision to no longer support Prep. The joint serves remarkable pastries, pancakes, French toast, omelets, and all the heart could desire for an amazing brunch.

The clear separator here is Chef Kayla’s call, and while I do not know what that will be whenever you are lucky enough to be treated by Chef Kayla, I can guarantee it will be fabulous. She knows what she is doing! I was fortunate enough to have the cinnamon, banana French toast and it was spectacular. A perfect pair of French toast topped with a healthy amount of cinnamon, covered in syrup really does taste even better than it sounds.

While I recommend going to Prep and Pastry and letting Kayla take the wheel and give you what is on her menu when you arrive, I guarantee you will be beyond satisfied with all of the options on this delicious menu.

Sher-e-PunJab boasts a fantastic variety of Indian food that will certainly leave you wanting more. Just an FYI for the spiciness levels, the normal spicy I thought was a good spice level, and medium did not really have any spice. If you are an adventurous folk maybe you could reach for the extra spicy, but I would stick to the normal spicy here.

As far as recommendations here, I recommend either the lamb or chicken Tikka Masala, and either the garlic or cheese Naan. However, if something else on the menu peaks your interest, I would say follow your heart here. The wide array of options here all looked fabulous and there is no way I could have sampled everything, but I know if you are craving some good Indian in Tucson, look no further than Sher-e-PunJab. 

La Olla represents a great spot in the northern part of Tucson that makes some great Mexican food, obviously. I ordered the number five at La Olla as the owner told me it would give me the perfect array of options from the menu. And he was not wrong in any way, and that is why I recommend the same to you. Number five features a carne asada taco, a carnitas enchilada, and the Manchego shrimp. The taco was my personal favorite, but it was not by a wide margin, and that is why I recommend getting a combination plate here, maybe not number five if something else catches your eye, but five will definitely provide you with a great snapshot of the variety of great grub at La Olla.

Surprise surprise, another Mexican joint on the list. La Cabaña del Bambino boasts the first place where I recommend a burrito over every other item on the list. While La Cabaña del Bambino has amazing burritos and quesadillas as well, it is obviously not my top choice in Tucson, and nor should it be yours. However, if you spend a lot of time in Tucson, like myself, then you might as well have some change of pace and come try a MASSIVE burrito here at La Cabaña del Bambino. I should point out that La Cabaña del Bambino does not really have options for the vegetarian folk, so if that is you I would recommend elsewhere on my list.

Rollie’s Mexican Patio is a great small spot that offers a diverse selection of amazing Mexican cuisine. However, at Rollie’s there is one item that stands out over the rest, and it is the Birria. Amazing Birria is never easy to find, but you don’t have to look any further than Rollie’s for some fantastic Birria. I recommend trying it on the Quesadilla or on their Rollies(rolled tacos). That is all I have to say about amazing Birria, so enjoy it!

Aqui Con El Nene is a great spot for some fire tacos. While you may have heard that the Tucson famous Sonoran Hot Dog is the specialty here, I recommend sticking to the tacos. The cabeza and carne asada definitely take the cake here as the favorites on the menu. Both of them separated themselves from the other items on the menu and I definitely recommend stopping in for both of them, while I would definitely skip on the rest. The clear favorite here is the cabeza and carne asada, and between those two the cabeza was better, but not by enough where it would be worth also skimping on the carne asada. Enjoy some stellar tacos, and skip on the Sonoran dog here.

I have many places in Tucson to try for breakfast, but Barista del Barrio is attempting to ensure that I stick with eating breakfast there. The line at Barista will be long when you arrive, no matter the time, and it is of course worth it. The burritos are fire!

I had the Chorizo and it was extremely good. It must be stated that the red sauce should be absolutely smothered on these burritos as that sauce takes it up to these levels of 78. The sauce suits the burrito perfectly and has the hint of spice, coupled with the savory you need in a breakfast. These burritos do not disappoint, and when looking for a breakfast stop in Tucson, look no further.

BK Carne Asada provides a wonderful array of Mexican food, that is all flavorful and outstanding. While the variety in fire Mexican food cannot be understated the clear favorite here is the adobada taco. The tacos is topped with pineapple pieces and is a perfect mix of spice, flavor, and sweetness. The adobada is definitely what I plan to get if I can make it back here, but I did devour the rest of the menu as well.

The carne asada caramelo was outstanding, which was essentially an extra cheesy quesadilla with carne asada, and it rocked. I prefer the quesadilla at Nico’s more, but we will get to that in the next entry. I also enjoyed the chiles ahogados, which are grilled yellow peppers, wrapped in bacon, served in a lime sauce. They were extremely tasty, and are a great appetizer to enjoy before moving onto the much-anticipated tacos.

Baja Café is a fire brunch spot that specializes in their benedicts, but also serves amazing options all over the breakfast array. The eggs benedicts are what you need to order when you make your way to Baja, and I highly recommend brisket caramelo. It is an amazing benedict with a flavor combination from New Mexican chile sauce to brisket to perfectly cooked bacon and eggs. While Baja has a wide range of delicious options for brunch, I definitely would go with the brisket caramelo if I take another trip to Baja, and you should too.

While this may be the lowest ranking member of the Tucson eateries, there is truly no shame in that. Making the list and being a noteworthy meal is truly hard to do, and Opa’s is definitely a noteworthy restaurant. And since I have an extreme soft spot for gyros, Opa’s really hits me in the feels. Their gyros are just damn incredible, the lamb is cooked fantastically and their tzatziki sauce is as perfect as you would imagine. The standard fare of gyros veggies are included of course, and well its just a damn good gyro, not much else to it than that. Go and enjoy a fire gyro at either of their two locations and prepare yourself for some great deliciousness.