If you had to spend a year away from Tucson, what would you miss the most?
While "friends, family, and Eegee's" might be a popular response, the right answer is tacos. Explore elsewhere in the U.S. and you'll likely have a hard time finding Mexican food outside the realm of Tex-Mex's lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, sour cream, and hard shell.
We're fortunate to have a never-ending variety of pillowy corn and flour tortillas, complex roasted and spicy salsas, and mesquite-grilled meats. It's not just Tucson's proximity to the Mexican border that helps — our neighbor Hermosillo is the home of our beloved Sonoran hot dog. Additionally, the prominence of cattle ranching and mesquite trees resulted in the style of mesquite-grilled carne asada we're so fond of today.
Perhaps someday we'll have tacos on every corner, but in the meantime, most quality tacos are condensed along the western perimeter of Tucson. While it's nigh impossible to get tired of tacos, it takes too much time and driving to try a different taco each day.
Our solution? Take a taco tour. Go taco hopping. Whatever you want to call it. Grab a group of friends and order a batch of tacos so each person can eat a single taco, then move on to the next nearby taco joint.
Here's a map of some of our favorites grouped geographically to minimize driving (and in some cases walking). We capped each group to six taquerias, but just order more tacos if you're still hungry.
Original Taco Tour Post (the map is here): Tour de Taco' Part I: South 12th Avenue (Interactive Map)
For more information, visit bktacos.com.
For more information, visit tacofishtucson.com.
Keep up with Tacos Apson on Facebook.
For additional details on South 12th Avenue's taco scene, read 'Tour de Taco' Part I: South 12th Avenue (Interactive Map).
Original Taco Tour Post: Tucson Tour de Taco Part II: West 22nd Street & South Sixth Avenue
Keep up with Maico Restaurant Mexican Food on Facebook.
Keep up with Birrieria Guadalajara on Facebook.
Keep up with Carnitas La Yoca on Facebook.
For additional details on West 22nd Street & South Sixth Avenue's taco scene, read Tucson Tour de Taco Part II: West 22nd Street & South Sixth Avenue (Interactive Map).
Original Taco Tour Post: Taco Tour Part III: West Tucson (Interactive Map)
For more information, visit seiskitchen.com.
Keep up with La Fresita West on Facebook.
Keep up with Taqueria Juanito's on Facebook.
Keep up with Aqui Con El Nene on Facebook.
For additional details on west Tucson's taco scene, read Taco Tour Part III: West Tucson (Interactive Map).
Original Taco Tour Post: Taco Tour Part IV: Downtown Tucson (Interactive Map)
Keep up with Anita Street Market on Facebook.
Keep up with Street Taco and Beer Co. on Facebook.
For more information, visit pencarestaurante.com.
For more information, visit ermanosbrew.com.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXyX1uNhAGh/?taken-at=1900805
For more information, visit lainditarestauranttucson.com.
For more information, visit bocatacos.com.
For additional details on downtown Tucson's taco scene, read Taco Tour Part IV: Downtown Tucson (Interactive Map).
Original Taco Tour Post: Tucson Taco Tour Part V: Central Tucson
For more information, visit queso520.com.
For more information, visit labotanagrill.com.
For additional details on central Tucson's taco scene, read Tucson Taco Tour Part V: Central Tucson.
Keep up with Carnitas Estilo Michoacán Los Gordos on Instagram.
Keep up with Carniceria Los Vaqueros on Facebook.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BidXT5UA0ze/
Keep up with Taqueria y Raspados Jason on Facebook.
Read our July 2019 article Toro Loco to open Friday, Aug. 2 with craft tacos, french fry-stuffed burros.
For more information, visit torolocotacos.com.
Read our August 2018 article “Salsa Verde” restaurant a new east Tucson favorite for Mexican comfort food.
Keep up with Salsa Verde on Facebook.
For a more comprehensive taco list, read our February 2020 article Your guide to over 50 mouth-watering Tucson tacos.
For a one-stop shop for multiple taquerias, read our September 2019 article The Tohono O'odham Swap Meet is Tucson's secret taco heaven.
Have some favorite tacos not on this list? Let us know in the comments.
Jackie Tran is a Tucson-based food writer, photographer, culinary educator, and owner-chef of the food truck Tran's Fats. Although he...
