A once infamous Tucson biker bar is cooking up a new reputation. The recently opened Bashful Bandit Barbecue is all about backyard hospitality. It’s what co-owner Tobin “Toby” Kyte hopes diners will experience — a barbecue at a friend’s house, a beer or soda in hand, and everyone having a good time.
Kyte, along with his two brothers and sister, owns the property and business.
“I don’t cook a ton at home and I’m not like a chef kind of person,” Kyte said, “but I love barbecue. I love throwing a barbecue for my friends.”
Just like at a backyard cookout, there are no waiters here. Diners belly up to the chef’s station to place their order and can watch as it’s being prepared. Down the line they’ll find sides and drinks — including a bar at the back of the dining room for a wider selection of adult beverages. The bar is open until midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Bar food is available to order.
The menu is simple, but has a strong emphasis on local flavors.
“Our brisket is pretty standard Central Texas-style brisket,” Kyte said. “Our green chile pulled pork, most people just do a straight-up, I call it naked pulled pork. We do (Hatch) green chiles, onions and garlic in there, which I think is a Southwestern thing. We have a mole sauce barbecue chicken. We smoke the chicken and we baste it in that. Our sausage is a chili relleno sausage so it’s more of those Arizona flavors.”
Sides include dill potato salad courtesy of the chef’s grandmother, Kyte’s mother’s sunflower crunch salad (coleslaw with a sweet and tangy vinaigrette top with sunflower seeds toasted almonds, craisins and uncooked ramen noodles), borracho beans (made with plenty of beer) and mac and cheese. Sides ordered separately come in three sizes: single, $4; pint, $7; and quart, $14.
The real star, however, is the meat. Brisket can be ordered lean or fatty, as well as sliced or chopped. Each plate comes with a half pound of it. Prices vary depending on how the meat comes: by the pound, $30; plate with two sides, $22; and sandwich, $17. Order the meat chopped and pay a dollar less.
The green chile pulled pork is made with Hatch chiles. It’s $20 a pound, $18 a plate and $14 a sandwich. Experience real Tucson flavor with the chile relleno sausage, made in-house, for $5.50 a link or as a meal, $17. There is also a kid’s plate, which comes with a quarter-pound of meat, two small sides and a drink for $9.50. The smoked jackfruit is $19 a plate.
“We try to make each bite the best bite of barbecue anyone’s ever had,” Kyte said.
Rounding out the lineup are four house-made sauces, including a mole/coffee barbecue, spicy chiltepin, O.G. sweet and a house sauce. There’s also half-sour pickles (a cross between a pickle and a cucumber).
While there is indoor seating for diners to enjoy their meals, the real draw here is the covered patio. From the picnic tables, customers can watch the pitmasters at work.
For executive chef Ivor Cryderman, nothing quite compares to the satisfaction to see people enjoying what he has made.
“That’s why I love doing what I do,” Cryderman said. “It’s fun experimenting with food.”
The same sentiment is shared by many of the staff.
“Barbecue is in our blood,” Jesse Aguirre, head pitmaster, said.
Ivan Guernsey is another pitmaster. He oversees when the food goes in and out of the smokers and trims the meat. He’s an old hand at the Bandit — both he and Cryderman used to haunt the place. Now he’s happy to be back.
“I used to drink here, I opened a hot dog cart here, I played in bands here so I feel like they did a good job keeping the old ghosts in while making it family friendly and also delicious,” Guernsey said. “I think the food will speak for itself if people come in and try it. It’s made with a lot of love and we all have a lot of love and respect for each other so that helps a lot, too. It’s like being paid to hang out with your best friends all day.”
“We’re a scratch-made kitchen,” Cryderman said. “We put a lot of love and care into all the food we put out.”
The Bashful Bandit Barbecue
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday
WHERE: 3686 E. Speedway Boulevard, Tucson
INFO: 520-526-2368,
www.thebashfulbandit.com, the bar is open until midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Bar food is available to order. dogs are welcome if leashed and well-behaved.
