Last week, Tucson Foodie readers voted for the best Sonoran hot dog in Tucson. That was round one of a competition we decided to break into two rounds: the readers poll, followed by our crew visiting the top 4 poll results armed with criteria. The initial poll selections were from a call for favorites on Facebook a few weeks ago.
Here are the Round One results:
- El Guero Canelo, 512 votes
- BK Tacos, 271 votes
- Aqui Con El Nene, 201 votes
- El Sinaloense, 167 votes
While all of us in the office have our own favorites that didn’t take the top spots in the reader poll, we evaluated top reader picks.
We ate Sonoran hot dogs at all four locations this week and gave a qualitative assessment based on the following criteria.
Voting criteria:
- Overall appearance (5 points). Includes distribution of ingredients; sauce application; bun shape; size; portion size (ingredients)
- Flavor (5 points). Includes the ratio of ingredients as perceived by flavor; bun quality; quality of ingredients — bacon, dog, onion, beans, jalapeno salsa, mustard, mayo
- Texture (5 points). Freshness of bun; crunchy onions; bacon; how well the entire dog holds together throughout experience without falling all over the place
We also brought guest judges and recorded our experiences (video coming soon).
After four consecutive days of Sonoran hot dog lunches, we have averaged the scores and chosen the winner: El Guero Canelo.
While members of the Tucson Foodie team still insist each of their personal favorites are the best, El Guero Canelo brought their A-game this week.
Other restaurants had their own strengths, such as crispier bacon or grilled buns. However, El Guero Canelo won with consistency and a few other key factors.
El Guero Canelo Sonoran hot dog highlights:
- Each bun was steamed pillowy without getting soggy
- The dogs were generous with onions, both raw and griddled
- The ratio of each ingredient was spot on without too much or too little of any ingredient
Special thanks to our guest judges Andi Berlin of This is Tucson, local artist Danny Martin, Felipe Garcia of Visit Tucson, Isabella Joffroy of Yelp Tucson, food and travel writer Edie Jarolim, Ernestina Morris of Two Hearts Furniture Artistry, and Sonny Houston and Shana Gegantoca of SDVISIONS.
