Guero Canelo Has Won a James Beard Award

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Guero Canelo Has Won a James Beard Award

Posted By Jim Nintzel on Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 10:18 AM

Tucson's Guero Canelo—celebrated for its Sonoran Dog—is one of five eateries that won a James Beard Award in the American Classics category. From the James Beard Foundation:

The Sonoran hot dog evinces the flow of culinary and cultural influences from the U.S. to Mexico and back. Decades ago, elaborately dressed hot dogs began to appear as novelty imports on the streets of Hermosillo, the Sonoran capital. Today, Tucson is the American epicenter, and Daniel Contreras is the leading hotdoguero. A Sonoran native, Contreras was 33 in 1993 when he opened El Guero Canelo. The original stand is now a destination restaurant, outfitted with picnic tables and serviced by a walk-up order window. Fans converge for bacon-wrapped franks, stuffed into stubby bollilos, smothered with beans, onion, mustard, jalapeno sauce, and a squiggle of mayonnaise. Contreras operates three branches in Tucson, one in Phoenix, and a bakery to supply the split-top buns.