The list-making mecca Thrillist released a list of the most iconic restaurants and each state and Arizona’s title went to El Charro.
Though the article says that the list makers searched for more that just which restaurant was oldest, factoring in “tons of research, awkward cold calls, and several cross country trips,” you kind of have to wonder if the research went much further than that one New York Magazine article that listed El Charro as the state’s top food destination a couple years back. Certainly, there are many other favorites for nostalgic Mexican eats around town and in the state.
While it’s cool in any case that Tucson got a shout out on Thrillist, which local joint do you think deserves the badge most iconic? Is it El Charro?
Keep in mind, your choices, according to Thrillist, have to have opened at least since 1985 and “still be a crowd favorite” (Read: Have a high rating on Yelp?).
This article appears in Jan 1-7, 2015.
El Charro has been around forever but over the last decade my friends and family have come to expect inconsistent service and quality. It might be a fun, safe place for tourists to “experience” Tucson but for us, the little bit of extra time it might take to get to El Minuto is totally worth it; Better food, better service, and a much more authentic Tucson experience….
I would nominate El Minuto for serious consideration.
“El Charro” goes back for generations when the presidio neighborhood had shops and commerce. It has hosted workers that lunched their working on the under and over passes of the southern pacific. When the area from Congress and 4th Ave to Stone. was grade and they brought in so much fill to raise the street level one story. So if you go into just about any building on Stone around the Pioneer Hotel you can see in the basement where street level once was and the bricked in old entry ways. “El Charro” was supplying meals during all of this I remember Roy Drachman having Christmas dinners there, Dusenberry’s Tucson Warehouse and Transfer would have event catered from there. However like everything time and people evolve. While the names are still posted the food has become consistent with a ever evolving changing cooking staff and business management bottom line.
El Minuto began 75 or so years ago. They were in a different location but still a long time favorite.
El Charro used to be one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Tucson, and I’ve eaten there many times. In recent years, however, they’ve lost their authentic regional character and have gone for a much more trendy style of food.
I ate there recently and had their baked red chili carne seca enchiladas, a dish that used to be prepared in a oval baking dish and was filled with their signature carne seca. It was a great dish and a fine experience of the dried beef at its best. Today the dish is served in a long rectangular plate with rice, beans and some veggies. It’s definitely a poor imitation of the original dish.
Today, either El Minuto or Mi Nidito and other local restaurants (e.g. Little Mexico on Irvington Road) will provide a much more authentic experience of Sonoran Mexican food at its best, unfettered by pretensions of “haute cuisine”.
I think El Charro is hugely overrated. It’s been at least 20 years since I’ve eaten there…after two experiences of mediocre food and lousy service I’ve never returned. Mi Nidito is way better as are many other places in this city.
God, how I loved El Minuto. Miss it.
Ugggghhh. I don’t get some peoples need to bag on something that bodes well for our community?! Getting such recognition for our city when so many more dollars and focus are on Phx is only a good thing.
And the fact that some of you haven’t been there in “20 years” just says you aren’t much of a critic.
Look, I refuse to watch a Harry Potter movie after what I saw half way through one many years ago, but I won’t go out bagging on them because of my personal taste. And furthermore, if they were filming them here in my hometown and making my neighbors some money or paying taxes to help my community, I would simply keep quiet and respect that they have their fans and they are mostly good to have around.
You people who get so crazy over a list such as this can’t see the forest through the trees. Having something in our town named the best by others only drives Tucson’s image of quality forward.
We should be proud that we have so many great Mexican restaurants to ponder over or such amazing weather to enjoy their patios with or a great basketball team to watch on their TVs. Life is good, no reason to trash on anyone’s parade.
Well said Ray.
If honors were given to the best FOOD, and less focus was on ambience, then there are so many, many better places to get Mexican food in Tucson than El Charro, El Minuto, and Mi Nidito. How about Taqueria Pico de Gallo on South Sixth, or that small taco place on South 12th just north of Ajo? The food truck at Park and 36th? After much independent research (ha!), I have concluded that the best refried beans in town are at Taqueria Guadalajara on 4th Ave and 22nd Street and the best tortillas are from Anita Street Market in Barrio Anita. If you like Mexican food, I mean if you REALLY like Mexican food… have some adventure and eat outside the box.
Ray pretty much nailed it right there.
I LOVE when a local spot gets national attention, and always do my best to promote it, EVEN IF I personally do not care for the establishment.
Tucson needs national attention for tourism dollars, I don’t care what catches their attention, because as Tucsonans, we ALL benefit.
I agree with HumanBean. It has been on a steady for a while now. I stopped going there some years ago.
I’ve lived here since 1986 and never been to El Charro; will have to try it out. Been to most of the places in the comments and would like to add a shout out to La Indita on 4th where my favorite carne seca is found.
Sounds like Ray’s feelings are hurt that Tucson peps don’t think his restaurant’s food is the best. Boo Hoo!
If it were still around, The Tack Room would have easily been the most iconic restaurant in Tucson. As it is now… El Charro lost something when they started expanding all over town, and the closure of these other restaurants hasn’t helped improve the original.
If you’re into the idea of El Charro’s special perspective on our regional cuisine, try their NW location on Oracle where the family has demonstrated a modern vision for their cullinary legacy. http://www.elcharrocafe.com/locations.asp
Well Tucson Weekly’s new foodie writer is Heather Hoch, from The New Times in Phoenix. So while she has experience in writing reviews,she has no experience in writing about Tucson. In her introduction to herself,she said she would not refer to Tucson as TUU TUU any more. That is apparently the nickname given to Tucson by Phoenicians…so with a grain of salt,we must give her time,maybe about a year to explore Tucson and find her way around our many many restaurants and bars and food trucks. By then hopefully she will be without training wheels and can use her God given sense to write about what she has found,and not what the staff and downtown politicians and other media sources think are the go to spots.Be free Heather Hoch be free…..unchained from the opinions and suggestions of others around you!!
TuuTuu? Well, I guess we’ll just have to saddle Phoenix with the nickname “Fifi.”
Getting in on this late. I have some roots in this town, my mom came here (alone) as a 16-year-old in 1929. My parents met an married here in the 30s but my dad’s wanderlust had them in San Diego when I was born, a few weeks before the outbreak of WWII. So they were stuck there until the end of the war, after which they returned to Tucson. (There’s a good chance I was conceived here, so I consider myself a native.) Furthermore, I grew up on the southside, so I also consider myself a good judge of Mexican food.
That said, I’ve usually avoided El Charo, but a few times I’ve returned, often at the request of other people. The last time (and I do mean the LAST time) my late wife found ourselves downtown on a day when everything else was closed. So in desperation we stopped into El Charo.
As usual, it was a disaster. My wife’s enchiladas came out cold. After an interminable wait for the waiter to stop grabassing one of the waitresses and come back to our table, we sent them back. So while I continued to eat, she waited. Then they came out again and once again they were cold. The third time they were delivered, they were hot, but by this time I was finished with my meal. So now she ate and I watched.
When the check came, I couldn’t wait to get out there so I took it up to desk. The guy asked me, “How was everything, Sir?” I replied, “You don’t want to know.” He said, “Of course I want to know.”
So I proceeded to unload on him. He listened to me then asked, “You from out of town, Sir?” I can only conclude that he felt that if I was he wasn’t going to see me again, what did it matter. My thought is, why does it matter?
I replied, “No, I’m a Tucson native. I come here once every ten years or so to see if it’s improved. It hasn’t!” He wordlessly opened the drawer and handed me my money back.
If you’re NW, try Ole’ at Orange Grove and La Cholla.