Anybody have Tucson recommendations?
after spending 4 years living there while going to high school, I have reservations about visiting Tucson every time I have to visit my family…lol… but as far as restaurants… nothing that good comes to mind especially compared to LA and the diversity of food we have.
Thanks. I definitely was skeptical.
Not sure these places will be your style, but I enjoyed the flour tortillas and homie burritos at Anita’s. It may have closed.
I liked the Sonoran hot dog and caramelos etc at Aqui con El Nene, but again, just judging from your posting on here, not sure it’ll be your thing.
Lots of good carne asada and flour tortillas all over town. Seconding @ShadrackToussaint’s Aqui con el Nene, among many others - basically anywhere that makes a burrito will have a dope fresh flour tortilla.
La Indita is pretty cool for indigenous/southwest food.
Tumerico makes great vegetarian Mexican.
I quite liked Tito & Pep for modern southwestern food with lots of mesquite grilling.
Presta Coffee is outstanding if you like the brighter, weirder, modern process coffee (anaerobic, carbonic, etc).
Barrio Bread is absolutely worth a detour.
Thanks to both of you for the selections. I’m not going to be eating any “hot dog,” but other than that it all looks good.
I really appreciate the Presta Coffee recommendation. I’m good with carbonic process coffee.
yes, there are good flour tortillas to be found and carne seca is tasty if you feel like trying that (it’s air-dried beef). I like Sonoran Mexican food, but LA has a much wider variety of regional Mexican from all over.
I would say the reason to visit Tucson is for the area’s history and culture or if you really like doing outdoor activities such as hiking, golf, tennis or lounging by the pool.
Agreed, I only have limited experience but that seems like a fair assessment. I did think their mid-tier Sonoran places would be right up there with Sonoratown and better than El Ruso, but definitely didn’t find the diversity we enjoy here.
And cactus! Thought the saguaros were super cool in person haha.
Sahuaro National Monument is definitely worth checking out. You can hike or bike. The cactus are amazing. Sabino Canyon is great for hiking as well (and there are waterfalls). The mountains are beautiful too-- both for looking at or driving up to Mt. Lemmon to get out of the heat.
It’s actually a nice place to go for a relaxing long weekend, but I wouldn’t consider it a food destination. I’m going to be there visiting family and friends after Memorial Day— looking forward to spending time with them, but not the high temps.
I’m balancing a desire to visit every national park with a desire to eat good food. Tucson seems like a good compromise there. I have much higher expectations for this trip than our upcoming trip to Lassen and Redwood.
If that’s your expectation, you’ll be fine in Tucson. There is good food, just nothing mind-blowing or something that I would travel out of my way to experience. Partnered with a reason to be there that isn’t specifically food-related and you will be ok.