For Cinco De Mayo, Some Of Best Mexican Food Is In Tucson

TUCSON, AZ —With Cinco de Mayo coming up Saturday, May 5, those fast-food chains aren’t going to satisfy your yen for authentic Mexican food. The celebration of the Mexican Army’s unlikely victory over the French Empire in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, deserves the best — and you’ll find it in Tucson.

The regional cuisines of Mexico are tantalizingly diverse, and some have taken on the influences of America to make them distinctive, according to Thrillist, which put together a list of the best 31 Mexican restaurants in America.

Whether your preference is for upscale burritos — again, forget everything you read on a fast-food menu board — a seafood dish or something marinated with a spicy Mexican adobo paste or sauce, you’re sure to find some gastronomic jewels at these restaurants.

In Tucson, El Charro has been filling the need since 1922 and claims to have invented the chimichanga, but the house speciality is the carne seca. For more information on why El Charro made the list, go to Thrillist.

About El Charro
Locations: 311 N. Court Ave. and 6910 E. Sunrise, Tucson; and 7729 N. Oracle, Oro Valley
Hours: Court Avenue location — 10 a.m-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Sundays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; Sunrise location — 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday and Sundays, 10 a.m.-10 p..m. Fridays and Saturdays; Oro Valley location — 10 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Sundays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Phone: (502) 622-1922, Court Avenue; (520) 514-1922, Sunrise; and (520) 229-1922, Oro Valley
Reservations: Yes
Website: elcharrocafe.com/

Here are the 31 restaurants cited by Thrillist:

Avila’s Mexican Food, El Paso, Texas
Barrio Cafe, Phoenix, Arizona
BS Taqueria/Broken Spanish, Los Angeles, California
Cala, San Francisco, California
Cantina La Viente, Miami, Florida
Carnitas Uruapan, Chicago, Illinois
Casa Enrique, Long Island City, New York
Coni’Seafood, Inglewood, California
Cosme, New York, New York
Del Fuego Taqueria, New Orleans, Louisiana
El Atoradero, Brooklyn, New York
El Charro Cafe, Tucson, Arizona
El Chingon, Denver, Colorado
El Naranjo, Austin, Texas
Galaxy Taco, La Jolla, California
Ki’Mexico, Shreveport, Louisiana
La Choza, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Maicel’s Tortas Y Tacos, Memphis, Tennessee
Mezcalerio Oaxafa, Seattle, Washington
Mezcalero, Washington, D.C.
Mi Lindo Oaxaca, Dallas, Texas
Nopalito, San Francisco, California
Pollo Norte, Portland, Oregon
Ray’s Drive Inn, San Antonio, Texas
Revolver Taco Lounge/Purepecha Room, Dallas, Texas
Taco Maria, Costa Mesa, California
Taqueria Del Sol, Atlanta, Georgia
Topolobampo, Chicago, Illinois
Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-Que, Brownsville, Texas
Xochi, Houston, Texas
Zacatecas, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Photo by Carolina Arroyo via Shutterstock