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One of the best things about so many food trucks here in Tucson is that they are helmed by real seasoned chefs.
We’re not talking about someone who went to a trade school for a semester or two, learned how to spatchcock chicken, found out how many French mother sauces there are, and then turned and burned in the madhouse of a corporate kitchen. We’re talking about those who have dedicated their lives to the craft of extracting flavors and building textures through time, effort, practice, heartbreak, and perseverance.
Carlos Guerrero is one of those chefs.
Like all good chefs that bypassed the scholastic route, Guerrero began washing dishes as a sophomore in high school and watched the cooks closely, studying whatever they did when he wasn’t busy busting suds.
He was only 17 years old at the time so his first take as a cook came with a bit of hesitation. It was a slow trial of burned fingers, knife cuts, and endless hazing, but Guerrero managed to step up and beyond — landing a position at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa as their banquet chef. Under the guise and mentorship of Danny Perez, who is now the executive chef at The Monica, he was introduced to the passion play that is proper barbecue.
While at Starr Pass, the idea of “Sonoran-style barbecue” began to formulate in Guerrero’s mind.
According to Guerrero, it’s a mix of his preferred style of ‘cue, which is Texan, meaning dry rubs, a near day’s long smoking process over low wood fire heat, and the addition of local spices and herbs being added to the seasoning.
During his development phase of rubs and cooking methods, Guerrero and his Starr Pass crew were entering numerous barbecue competitions across Arizona and winning quite a few, too. He was extremely proud of his ‘cue accomplishments but he still had to follow the rules and stipulations of his resort-based career.
That’s when the idea of an outlet to showcase his own brand of barbecue winked at him a little. Actually, it straight flirted with him.
In 2019, during his transition from cooking at Starr Pass to executive chef at Casino Del Sol, Guerrero purchased a food truck he found in El Paso, Texas. The truck needed a lot of work done to it but after multiple trips to and from El Paso, the truck was ready to go by 2020.
Even with the weight of that year causing most food-related businesses to shut down, Guerrero went full throttle with his passion project dubbed Charly’s BBQ & Grill.
With the casino shutting down during the era of COVID, Guerrero used that time to work even harder, not only gearing his barbecue truck to be a roadside success but to grow as a barbecue chef. The response to Charly’s BBQ was a positive one from the get-go as most beloved spots to get ribs, hot links, smoked chicken, and mac n’ cheese had temporarily gone dark. Even when local barbecue joints began opening up again, folks still sought out Charly’s BBQ and still do today.
There is absolutely no question why.
Guerrero’s Sonoran-inspired twist on Texas-style barbecue is adventurously outstanding. That extra hint of chiltepin in his rubs moves forth on the palate with spicy aplomb. It’s not overpowering but it is there in the best way possible.
Can Tucson compete in the national barbecue scene as a hopeful contender with a style of our own? We believe so.
Chef Carlos Guerrero is proof of that.
For a moderate-sized truck, Charly’s BBQ & Grill’s menu is rather ambitious. The usual suspects of pork ribs, beef brisket, and smoked chicken wings are all accounted for and should be on your next eating radar. All of those are why Guerrero has won multiple barbecue battles across this great state of ours.
His pulled pork is unctuous, packed with deep smoky flavor, and will mess up your face and hands beautifully. You can get it on a platter or as a sandwich.
If you are hungry, you won’t be after eating a nice fraction of either the green chile brisket, gooey grilled cheese, or the burger, which defies certain gravitational laws as to how a meaty bun-squeezed monolith can get any bigger. Because it can. You can order it as a double. That’s when situations just get silly.
Now, hot links are a must for barbecue fans across the culinary board, and Guerrero is working on it. The hot links are coming, he promises. Oh, yes. They are coming. As his four-wheeled empire of dry-rubbed deliciousness grows, and with a little help from his friends, he will be able to use the equipment he purchased a while ago to do so.
Having left Casino Del Sol last year to focus on Charly’s BBQ full-time, Carlos is planning to expand his menu beyond just those hot links. Smoked meatloaf was hinted, among a meaty, cheesy, hearty, and fiery selection of Sonoran-kissed barbecue.
He is also looking into parking near brewhouses, events, and lots as much as possible now that summer is officially over (which means very little, weather-wise right now). Curling up with some good ‘cue sounds perfect once the jackets get rescued from the back of the closet.
“That’s what most people and my friends call me,” said Guerrero with a laugh. “At first, I was going to call my truck Bobby’s BBQ, since my middle name is Roberto, but then my buddy said that Bobby sounds like a dog’s name. So, Charly’s it is.”
No matter the name, Charly’s BBQ & Grill is helping put Tucson on the barbecue map, one sloppy yet smiling mouth at a time.
For more information, follow Charly’s BBQ & Grill on Instagram and Facebook.
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Mark Whittaker began his journalism career in San Francisco around 1997. It was for a small Northern California music magazine that segued into contributing to numerous magazines, websites, newspapers and weeklies throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s. Mark interviewed bands,...
