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Metro Phoenix Tucsonans cheered together when eegee’s, a fast food chain in The Old Pueblo, announced plans to open five Phoenix locations in 2021.
The always-bustling brunch spot Prep & Pastry in Tucson also made the trip to I-10 and opened in Scottsdale last fall. And soon, Beaut Burger, a plant-based burger shop in Tucson’s popular Mercado District, will open a new location in Phoenix’s Arcadia neighborhood.
But even if Metro Phoenix is home to fantastic restaurants – including some originally from Tucson – there are still a few places that call this former wildcat in the south.
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Tucson’s culinary scene differs in ways that are difficult to pinpoint. The Mexican food is great, that goes without saying. But it’s also a city built on mom and pop stores, where the family behind the restaurant is more important than any celebrity chef or glamorous dig. The aim is not to be shiny and new. Instagram photos and influencers don’t carry that much weight. And as for the food, the delicacy is preferred over the cutting edge.
Because of this, Tucson’s restaurants don’t often make national headlines. But after living in Phoenix for a couple of years, there are some restaurants and bars that I just can’t find any equivalent in the Valley.
Here are 10 Tucson restaurants we’d love to open on Metro Phoenix. Note that some of these restaurants and bars may be temporarily closed or have changed opening hours due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Call ahead to inquire before you visit.
Café El Charro
The famous El Charro café appears in almost every Tucson travel guide. It claims to be the oldest Mexican restaurant in the country and serves some great margaritas. The most famous dish, the sun-dried carne secca, is often the reason people visit El Charro. But my main goal in eating is to leave enough room for dessert. I would drive two hours just for the flan. The El Charro empire has expanded over the years to include locations in the Tucson area, including El Charro Steak; Charro Del Rey, a seafood concept; and CharroVida, a healthy spin-off. In September, the owners of the restaurant announced a partnership with the award-winning Barrio Bread Baker Don Guerra and founded the Barrio Charro. But what I really want is that the chain branches off to Phoenix.
details: Original El Charro Cafe, 311 N. Court Ave., Tucson. 520-622-1922, elcharrocafe.com.
BK tacos
In Tucson, when you say you go to BK, you don’t mean you get a whopper and fries. Although you may still go through a drive through. BK Tacos on First Avenue features wooden booths, Shakira music videos on small TV screens, and often, ahead of the pandemic, a line at the door. Al Pastor’s tacos are particularly memorable, but what I miss most is the Sonoran specialties. BK serves caramelos, which are like small, thicker quesadillas, and has some of the best Sonoran hot dogs in town that are seldom found in a restaurant on Metro Phoenix. Fortunately, the bacon-wrapped, bean-stacked dogs come two per order and are best enjoyed with a corona rita in this cheerful restaurant.
details: 2680 N. First Avenue, Tucson. 520-207-2245, bktacos.com.
Noodle holiker
In the spring of 2018, Tucson residents suddenly had a reason to visit a nearly empty mall on Grant Road. Noodleholics, a Chinese noodle restaurant, started selling cuisine influenced by the cities of Guangzhou and Guilin in China. The large bowls filled with broth joined other well-known noodle shops in town, but the noodles at Noodleholics stand out. They are made in-house, are thickly cut, and have a satisfactory bite.Service is quick and casual, and bowls of steaming pasta appear quickly after ordering from the clipboard at the counter.
details: 3502 E. Grant Road, Tucson. 520-305-4262, noodleholics.com.
Maru Japanese noodle shop
After a sunset hike to the top of Tumamoc Hill, a short but very steep trail that offers a view of the whole city, there is nothing like a hot bowl of noodles from the Maru Japanese Noodle Shop. Maru was brought to life by chefs Takayuki Takagi and Yoshimi Tashima, known from another popular Japanese restaurant in Tucson, Yoshimatsu. Although the pork katsu curry ramen is a rich, hearty treat, the focus at maru is on thick, flour-based udon noodles. The little shop serves them in eight different ways.
details: 1370 N. Silverbell Road # 180, Tucson. 520-838-0717, marunoodle.com.
Kababeque
Main Gate Square, right outside the main gate of the same name on the University of Arizona campus, is full of restaurants and bars. But if you are walking or cycling down the street, the smell of curry is hard to miss. Kababeque is an Indian counter service that serves curries, kababs and wraps with naan bread. The small restaurant’s TVs are showing Bollywood films and the pasanda, described on the menu as “a perfect mix of masala and corma”, is so buttery that I can only eat half at a time. Mango, strawberry or salted lassi round off the menu.
details: 845 E. University Blvd. # 185, Tuscon. 520-388-4500, kababeque.net
NEW BITES: Metro Phoenix is getting a new vegan burger spot. What you should know about Beaut Burger
The B line
The B-line is a spot that I really got to see in Phoenix. The wine bar and restaurant were served quickly before it was cool. Come in, choose a pasta dish and glass of wine from the blackboard menu on the wall and order at the counter. Then, sit at the bar by the front window and watch the students venture into the more flashy parts of downtown on a Friday night, or grab a small table in one of the cozy rooms in the converted home. When you’re done with dinner, peek inside the rotating diner-style candy box and grab a piece of cake for dessert.
details: 621 N. Fourth Avenue, Tucson. 520-882-7575, thebline.xyz.
Tough Luck Club
The Tough Luck Club, one of my favorite bars in Tucson, is a little difficult to find but is well worth the hunt. The Tough Luck Club is underground with thick stone walls and is a dark escape from the hot summer temperatures with plenty of drinks. The historic building houses Reilly’s Craft Pizza and Drink upstairs and the Tough Luck Club downstairs. According to legend, the building was originally a funeral home and morgue. The beer garden offers seating in the old hearse garage and the underground bar hats history with a dancing skeleton cocktail on the craft cocktail menu. I would love to see something like this in the Phoenix Metro, a place where the night begins in a beer garden before guests refuel in a restaurant and end the evening at the bar, all in a cohesive, historical room.
details: 101 E. Pennington Street, Tucson. 520-882-5550, reillypizza.com.
The royal room
Over by the train tracks west of Fourth Avenue is The Royal Room. And this wine bar is an atmosphere. The best time of day to visit is around sunset, when multi-colored panes of glass around the top of the building create a rainbow effect when the sun is shining just right. Enjoy a glass of wine, beer or cocktail while enjoying live music or a poetry reading in the main bar. Then treat yourself to a snack and retire to the sofas and chairs in the small rear lounge, complete with board games and a burgundy zebra print wallpaper that I want to wrap my whole house in.
details: 450 N. Sixth Avenue, Tucson. 520-347-7023, theroyalroomtucson.com.
Sonora Sno-Cones Raspados
When strolling Roosevelt Row or downtown Phoenix, I’ve often wished for more options for ice cream. And what would be really perfect would be a Sonora Sno-Cones Raspados location. This little ice cream counter is one of the shops in Tucson’s popular Mercado San Agustin and one of the place’s best kept secrets. A Macedonia filled with fruit, nuts, condensed milk, and a scoop of vanilla is the perfect way to brave the heat.
details: 120 S. Avenida del Convento # 120, Tucson. 520-344-8470, sonoransnocones.com.
MotoSonora Brewing Company
MotoSonora Brewing Company opened after I moved from Tucson. But on one visit I finally managed to stop by this car and motorcycle brewery. It lived up to the hype. A little south of the tracks, this brewery offers a small indoor area and a spacious terrace with fairy lights, picnic tables and parasols. The motorcycles and cars that obscure the space spin and often have a story. So ask about the 1972 BMW R75 / 5 of the former US representative Gabby Giffords or the vintage Land Rover Defender 110 with safari seats. Oh, and the beer is great too.
details: 1015 S Park Avenue, Tucson. 520-416-6686, motosonora.com.
Reach the reporter at tirion.morris@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @tirionmorris, on Facebook at Tirion Rose and on Instagram at tirionrose.
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