Let’s go on a culinary adventure at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet.

Imagine the sweet, buttery aroma of kettle corn popping. Walk a little further to catch a waft of bacon-wrapped hot dogs and guero peppers sizzling on a flat griddle. Follow the smell of smoke around the corn to find a flaming rotisserie with ears of corn just asking to be covered in lime, hot sauce, and cotija cheese. With a little luck, you’ll also smell the post-monsoon creosote. Once you succumb to the intoxicating aromas and eat everything, it’s still impossible to resist some fry bread dusted with sugar and drizzled with honey or a cone of red velvet soft-serve ice cream.

This isn’t a food court where you have to dodge people rushing the guy handing out free samples of teriyaki chicken. The Tanque Verde Swap Meet has the variety of a food court, but that title doesn’t do it justice. It’s a mecca of Mexican street food and carnival favorites without the inflated carnival pricing.

The swap meet started at the corner of Grant and Tanque Verde in 1975 with founder Richard Chapin selling handmade tables. He gathered other vendors to officially form the Tanque Verde Swap Meet. After a few months in sweltering outdoor summer heat, Chapin invested in Christmas lights to stay open during cooler hours at night, which ultimately proved to be the magic touch needed for success.

In 1987, the swap meet lost its lease due to business development plans at the intersection. However, Chapin kept “Tanque Verde” in the swap meet name and risked it all by maxing out his debt to relocate to 4100 S. Palo Verde Rd., where it still resides today.

Since the swap meet’s relocation, it’s blossomed into an iconic marketplace in southern Tucson. Its 800 vendor spaces provides space for a wide range of goods ranging from airbrushed T-shirts to Donald Trump piñatas. Some vendors sell fruit from the back of their truck, while some travel from Mexico during the day to sell their wares at the swap meet during the evening.

Although food vendors have been a constant presence, individual vendors change often. Thankfully, recent facility upgrades resulted in some food items that wouldn’t have been possible previously due to strict health codes. This means a wider selection than what’s typically found at a county fair.

“La Bomba del Sabor is a hidden gem of a taco stand.”

While you won’t find $8 lemonades, you’ll find a variety of aguas frescas at La Bomba del Sabor. They offer the standard tamarindo and horchata, but rarer variations such as ciruela (plum) and pepina (cucumber) are also available. On top of that, La Bomba is a hidden gem of a taco stand. The ultra-authentic, rustic flour tortillas made on site are a treat, but the real star is the salsa bar, which includes chunky guacamole. The braised meats are succulent all day, but a pit of mesquite charcoal is ready to grill piles of carne asada as well.

Tostilocos, essentially a Tostitos-nachos-free-for-all, is offered at all snack bars. At La Bomba, order it with shrimp ceviche. Salsa verde-flavored Tostitos are drenched in Clamato, Valentina hot sauce, lime, and chamoy, then covered with textural toppings such as cucumber, shredded cabbage, and tomatoes.

One stand over, buckets of assorted spiced nuts, dried fruit, and marzipan candy are for sale in bulk. Nuts are also available at the dulcerias scattered throughout the swap meet. The dulcerias also offer wide varieties of Mexican candies, chips, saladitos, and nuts.

To indulge in corn, visit El Charly. The elotes, street corn on the cob, are steamed and served with a drizzle of crema and crumbling of cotija cheese, which is comparible to feta cheese. The coctel, also known as elote en vaso, is a cup of shucked corn kernels served in the corn broth, butter, crema, and cotija. Lastly, you can have the corn and crew on top of Tostitos instead of in a cup. The stand offers a wide selection of seasonings and hot salsas, though Valentina is a traditional favorite. If you want lime, the vendor will squeeze it directly over your food at the window with his nifty lime press.

“To indulge in corn, visit El Charly. The elotes, street corn on the cob, are steamed and served with a drizzle of crema and crumbling of cotija cheese.”

Adjacent is a Sonoran hot dog stand where each dog comes with a güero pepper wrapped with bacon. The heat level varies wildly from pepper to pepper, so be careful with your first bite.

One tent to the right is Wild West Kettle Corn, which is one of the Swap Meet’s most popular stands. Since they always have plenty of kettle corn in supply for free samples, there’s no need to worry about being trampled by eager snackers.

A little further east is a stand that focuses only on fire-roasted corn. The hot, dry environment helps the corn’s starches form into complex sugars, providing a slightly sweeter and smokier result.

At the Mercado cafeteria, classics such as burgers, hot dogs, pizza, and chimichangas have been pleasing customers for years. However, the recent addition of fry bread has been drawing crowds. The popular dessert version is topped with powdered sugar and honey, but savory alternatives such as red chile are available.

One of the veterans of the swap meet, Salsas Rangel offers 61 different flavors. Owner Fidel Rangel started with a small tent stand over 10 years ago, but sold enough of his natural, seasonal salsas to expand into a larger space. Flavors range from sweet fruit, such as fig or mango, to painfully spicy, such as chiltepin or Trinidad Scorpion.

Another artisanal product is Papa Mike’s Homemade Jerky. While classic flavors such as pepper and teriyaki are available, unique options such as mesquite and chili lemon are also offered.

For a trip down middle school memory lane, visit Tutti Frutti Fruit Bags. The orange half with a saladito in the center is the iconic salivating snack, but other combinations such as cucumbers, lemon, and pickles are conveniently packaged and perfect for sneaking into a movie theater. Check the coolers for spicy mango and mango on a stick with ornate cuts that help catch the chamoy, lime, Tajín, and salt that customers can use from the counter to season to taste.

For something more traditional, soft-serve ice cream is offered at the Outpost Snackbar and the Last Chance. The tiny huts offer 24 flavors, thanks to syrups and flavors that are mixed to-order into an ice cream base.

“Thrifty Ice Cream, an affordable brand popularized through its previous availability at Rite Aid, is offered at the Green House.”

Thrifty Ice Cream, an affordable brand popularized through its previous availability at Rite Aid, is offered at the Green House complete with the signature ice cream scooper that presents tidy cylindrical stacks. The Green House also offers raspados and cups of fruit pico de gallo.

Another familiar option is Eegee’s Express. While the signature frozen fruit beverage is offered, snacks such as churros, popcorn, and cotton candy are available as well.

Beer lovers can get in the action as well. While domestic brews are the most popular, microbrews have increased enough in popularity enough for some beer stands to offer choices from breweries such as Breckenridge Brewery and Odell Brewing Company.

With 25,000 to 50,000 visitors per weekend, it’s best to arrive just before peak hours. For summer, arrive just before sunset or face a line of cars looking for parking.

The Tanque Verde Swap Meet is located at 4100 S. Palo Verde Rd. For more information, visit tucsonswap.com.