El Charro, not that far-o?

My favorite restaurant, and a reason to stay living in Tucson is a place called El Charro Cafe. There are now five locations in Tucson and I've been to every one of them at least three times.
Not only is it the best Mexican restaurant in town, it's also the oldest Mexican restaurant (run by one family, that is) in the nation! El Charro has been in continuous operation by the same family since 1922.
The first location was opened by Monica Flin, who is the great aunt of Carlotta Flores, the current owner of the restaurants. The first restaurant moved four times and now resides on Court Street in the El Presidio district in Tucson. The site was first the home of Monica's father, Jules, and was willed to Monica and later made into the El Charro Cafe in 1968. Each restaurant is run by one of the family members but each has (pretty much) the same menu and fantastic food.The Court Street location is my personal favorite as it boasts an ambience that the others lack. The location has an outside patio area between the restaurant and the bar, a basement dining location and random rooms throughout that contain tables and beautiful Mexican artwork.Beyond the ambience and the history, the food and margaritas are delicious and even crave-worthy. My favorite dish is the Bahia Style tacos with Carne Asada. "Bahia" means "bay" in Spanish and for all you non-locals, Carne Asada means "DELICIOUS STEAK" or just charbroiled steak if you're a vegetarian. Sorry, PETA! The tacos come four to a plate in little flour tortillas with beans and Spanish rice. Pair those with a house margarita or the new organic margarita (or three) and you won't want to leave the cozy restaurant. I work at a restaurant in town and see many visitors from around the country. I always recommend El Charro for the best Mexican food and out of the ordinary ambience.

Inspirational Salsa

Craving Mexican food as I usually am, I decided to try something I haven't tried before. Well, actually, this was only after attempting to go to Mi Nidito only to find out they were closed on Mondays. So I headed over to El Parador on Broadway.
The first room you see when walking in is a spacious courtyard dining area that looks more like an open air garden than a restaurant. I was told that the room used to be an open air shopping plaza before being made into a restaurant by the owner John Jacobs in 1977.
I was seated quickly as dinner rush hadn't yet begun. Having never been there before, I asked my waiter, Miguel, what their specialty is. He told me they're known for their homemade salsa. I ordered a house margarita, hoping that I wouldn't regret not including El Paradorin my Margaritour. After trying the margarita, I was glad I didn't include it in the tour but the salsa was another story. The salsa was so good that it inspired me to embark on a Salsatour 2008 TBA.
Miguel then recommended the El Parador Special. For $16 I got a cheese enchilada, chile relleno, beef tamale, 2 rolled chicken tacos, rice and refried beans. The enchilada was maybe the best I've ever had. It had that classic tomato-based enchilada sauce that I love and the cheese inside was perfectly melted. The tamale was decent, but a little dry for my taste. The rolled tacos were amazing and the chile relleno wasn't bad considering I'm not usually a fan.
All in all the food was delicious and the service was exceptional as well. When I first arrived, there were hardly any tables seated, but while I was eating the place began to fill up. Next to me, a guy was sitting with what appeared to be his wife or girlfriend but he was talking on his cell phone the entire time. That reminded me of one of my favorite pre-movie commercials:

Anyway, Miguel informed me that they also have live music and Salsa dancing on Friday nights. A band called Descarga plays from 10pm-2am and they even offer Salsa lessons! He also told me that it's rare that the restaurant is as dead as it was when I was there so be sure to make a reservation.

Guadalajara Goodness

Guadalajara Grill is best known for its tableside salsa making.
But after searching Tucson for the best margarita in town, I found they also have delicious house margaritas I also found Emma Holzman, owner of Guadalajara Grill who welcomed us in during the middle of the lunch rush to serve us margaritas and tell us about herself.

Emma had an immediately apparent warmth about her and an obvious knack for customer service. A native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Emma learned how to cook from her mother who made enchiladas for her elementary school. After graduating, Emma moved to Alaska where she met her husband, Seth. They decided to move to Tucson as it was an easier transition for Seth than moving to Guadalajara. With a mutual love for cooking and entertaining, the Holzmans opened Guadalajara Grill on Prince Road. After developing a reputation of great food and friendly service, Guadalajara Grill moved into a larger building down the street to accomodate the influx of loyal customers. While there, I was told that the infamous patio is on its way and the shirts of the employees confirmed that as you can see below.


I'm a sucker for chimichangas so I had to try Guadalajara's Carne Asada Chimichanga. I eat a lot but even I couldn't finish this dish. But I definitely tried, as it was DELICIOUS! I even took the rest home and for the first time, my leftovers didn't have the chance to become science experiments! That's right, I ate the rest later. I was so pleased with the margaritas, the food, and the friendly service, I wonder why I haven't made this a staple in my restaurant recommendations in the past?