Arizona Eats & Treats #3... El Guero Canelo

Nothing says summertime like a hotdog. You can have it Chicago-style or Kansas City-style or Newark-style or Carolina-style. And in Tucson, Arizona you can have it Sonoran-style. We recently went to El Guero Canelo for the original Sonoran-style hotdog.

There are three El Guero Canelo locations in Tucson- this one is the original, also known as EGC#1.

5201 S. 12th Avenue  Tucson, Arizona

Daniel Contreras was born in Sonora, Mexico and immigrated to the United States in 1979 at the age of 18 searching for the American dream. Finally, in 1993 he began selling carne asada and Sonoran-style hotdogs from a carreta (cart) on 12th Avenue and Utah Street. His Sonoran-style hotdogs were so popular he opened his first restaurant in 1997. And the rest, as they say, is history!

So what, you ask, is a Sonoran-stye hotdog? Start with a fresh, homemade potato bun (specially made like a canoe to hold the toppings!). Add an all-beef hotdog wrapped in bacon. Then top it with pinto beans, grilled onion, fresh onion, chopped tomato, mustard, jalapeno sauce and mayo. That's right, I said mayo!

The Sonoran Dog comes with a mild chili pepper on the side and at only $2.49 each is a steal!

There is a huge salsa and condiment bar if there aren't enough goodies on it for your taste. We tried a couple of the salsas with our chips- muy bueno!! If someone had suggested a month ago that I would eat a bacon-wrapped hotdog with mayo on it, I would have laughed at them. Now, however, I would simply smile and say, "Only at El Guero Canelo!" It was a fiesta in my mouth- the only thing missing was the pinata!

Others have tried to copy the Sonoran-style hotdog- but it all started here. And it's absolutely worth the drive to Tucson!