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Before we get into it—a quick reminder!

I’m going to SICILY IN OCTOBER 2027!!!!! Can you believe I’ve never been?!?! Wild, I know, but it’s finally time! Who’s coming with me?? The exact dates are October 5-18. We’ll be having an informational webinar on September 24 at 7pm. Register here. SICILYSICILYSICILY.

and now for the main event…

I recently visited Tucson, the first U.S. city designated a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. I went for the hot dogs (they recently launched a Sonoran Hot Dog Trail), but stayed for literally all of the other things (and lots of sunset hikes in Saguaro National Park / rattlesnake viewing).

One of my first stops was El Charro Cafe, the nation’s oldest Mexican restaurant continuously operated by the same family, serving Tucson since 1922. It’s famous for its carne seca, a dried and salted beef that’s still made the traditional way: hung to dry in a rooftop cage at the downtown location, a practice that’s been grandfathered in by the USDA and is believed to be the last of its kind in the country.

PREORDER CHEESY! (my cheese book)

El Charro is also credited with inventing the chimichanga. According to family lore, founder Monica Flin accidentally dropped a burrito into a vat of hot oil. Rather than swear in front of her young relatives, she blurted out, “Chimichanga!”—and the deep-fried burrito was born.

Something about me: I love a chimichanga. So much so that I had to make my own (non traditional) version of it. Recipe below, and video coming to YouTube soon!

I also popped into El Minuto Cafe. Established in 1936, El Minuto is known for many things, but I had to try their cheese crisp. A cheese crisp is somewhere between a pizza and an open-faced quesadilla: a paper-thin flour tortilla brushed with butter, baked until crisp, then topped with shredded cheese and baked again until suuuper crunchy.

A cheese crisp can be topped with many things (green chiles, carne seca, tomatoes, beef—whatever!) and I got the “El Minuto,” which came with pretty much everything, like a supreme pizza. It was really great; I was able to buy some tortillas from Tortilleria Doña Esperanza and make some in my Gozney pizza oven when I got home. Spoiler: it wasn’t the same (but dang, those tortillas were a great purchase).

Wow, just saw on Tortilleria Doña Esperanza’s IG that they ship their tortillas nationwide; gonna have to get on that (and you should, too, especially if you wanna make my chimichangas! they were FINE with regular tortillas, but I did make them with the Tucson tortillas as well, and they were obviously superior).

Ok, but the BEST PART OF MY TRIP was eating at a bunch of the spots on the Sonoran Hot Dog Trail.

hot dogs and ice cream and chimichangas and carne seca etc

In case you don’t have my hot dog cookbook and are unaware, a Sonoran Hot Dog originated in Hermosillo, Mexico and was popularized in Tucson, Arizona. It’s a bacon-wrapped hot dog in a steamed bolillo-style bun topped with pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, mayo, mustard, and jalapeño salsa and served alongside a chile guero. More than any other regional hot dog, the Sonoran dog feels like a snapshot of where it comes from. Every ingredient tells the story of Arizona's borderland food culture.

The Sonoran Hot Dog Trail has 15 stops; I only went to a handful of them, so obviously need to go back and try them all. My favorite was El Sinaloense Hot Dog Cart, but I also loved Ruiz Hot Dogs Los Chipilones (video and recipe coming to Saveur soon!). Both spots butter and toast their buns instead of steaming them, which honestly adds some nice texture and flavor, making the bun a better vehicle for holding all those toppings.

Some other spots I enjoyed while visiting Tucson:

Bar Crisol / Exo: coffee shop by day / craft cocktails by night
Barrio Bread: heritage grains / great breads
Tito and Pep: James Beard Semi-Finalist / great everything
Kingfisher: I will always find somewhere with a martini happy hour
Teresa’s Mosaic Cafe: scenic views / homemade tortillas

I barely scratched the surface, which is honestly the best excuse to go back. Between the Sonoran hot dogs, flour tortillas, carne seca, and enough saguaros to make me seriously consider moving to the desert, Tucson definitely won me over.

Have you been? Please share your favorite places (food and otherwise!) below:

A Visit to Tucson

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