Sonoran Hot Dog

The best hot dog I ever ate was without a doubt the Sonoran dog I had at El Guero Canelo in Tucson.  It is a cultural event to be experienced without restraint.  I am so grateful for my friend, Carol Morrison, who introduced me to this special treat. 

This is how they make them.  First they take a bolillo bun, a kind of slightly sweet roll, quite wide and split it.  Then they grill big fat dog wrapped with bacon until the bacon is fused to the dog.  Then they plop the dog on the bun, add hot pinto beans, chopped onions and tomatoes then they squiggle on yellow mustard and mayonnaise, and a dollop of jalapeno salsa.  After getting the dog from the pick up table head over to the condiments table to add other stuff like chopped jalapenos, sliced mushroom, shaved cheese, chopped onions, pico de gallo, sliced radishes, sauerkraut, lime slices and chopped tomatoes.  It costs under three dollars and makes a mighty fine lunch.  

I would highly recommend the stand on south 12th street.  One feels like one is in a food stand in Mexico.  On a hot day the walls of the stand fold up and customers eat on tables in the shade of the roof – although they have electric fans on full blast, too.

I returned to El Guero Canelo a few months ago and was a little disappointed to see that they had tarted up the 12th street stand with windows and air conditioning, no doubt more comfortable for their visitors but takes away a little of the authenticity I appreciated in the past.  The Sonoran hot dogs are still dynamite.