Best Taquerías
STAFF PICK: THE ANTHROPOLOGIST VICTOR Turner spent much of his career thinking about matters he deemed "liminal"--events, objects, animals and people that don't quite fit into the neat categories a culture has developed. Liminal things are powerful, even magical by virtue of their falling between the cracks. They're also suspect, sometimes scary, and usually irresistible.
The motorized taquerías of Tucson, food carts on their way to becoming full-scale restaurants, moveable feasts with fixed addresses, are our city's great contribution to culinary liminality. Modified vans, RVs and utility trucks that sit on freshly poured concrete pads or alongside tile patios, these taco wagons line Tucson's better traveled southside and westside streets by the dozens. They are a part of our folk culture, worthy of serious study.
They're also purveyors of mighty good eating. Our overall favorite is the Costa Sinaloense (12th Avenue and President Street), a Chevy van bedecked with a cheesy mermaid-and-surfscape mural that turns out some fine, inexpensive seafood dishes: huge cocktails of scallops, shrimp, crab and oysters; seafood tacos and burritos; and a first-rate ceviche tostada, with shellfish cooked in citrus juice and a light trace of peppers.
El Marinero (Sixth Avenue and Ohio Street) runs a close second. A stepvan set under a broad-spreading palo verde, El Marinero boasts a range of seafood cocktails and soups, including a mixed caldo studded with chunks of abalone, scallops, shrimp and vegetables. Don't be put off by the roadside santo that shares the shade, commemorating the scene of a death a few years ago; it has nothing to do with the eats.
For birria, try Taquitos de Michoacán (Sixth Avenue and Irvington Road). For cabeza, head for Popoca (Sixth Avenue and Illinois Street). For carne asada, get yourself to El Gorrión (12th Avenue and Drexel Road). And for a stunning burrito of tripas de leche--innards, that is--stop by Don Simón (12th Avenue and Ohio Street), which also offers a mean torta, a Mexican ham-and-cheese sandwich, and a canopy with a highly effective misting system to ward off those hot summer days.
The hands-down winner in the overkill category is Papa Chino's (12th Avenue and Oklahoma Street) Sonoran-style hot dog: a frankfurter wrapped in thick bacon and hoisted into a bun stuffed with refried beans, onions, tomatoes and jalapeño peppers. It's a guilty pleasure of the worst kind and a real treat for those unafraid of nitrates.
If you're wary of the prospect of dining out of someone's back seat, check the vehicle in question for a current Pima County Health Department permit. The county may not be up to speed in areas like zoning and development, but where food is concerned it keeps a sharp eye out for the public health. That sticker is as good a guarantee as you'll find, apart from droves of happy customers.
--Gregory McNamee
