El Güero Canelo

Address 5201 S. 12th Avenue, Tucson, AZ
Phone (520) 295-9005
Website elguerocanelo.com

El Güero Canelo, a no-frills Mexican joint on 12th Avenue, is widely considered the place to eat a Sonoran hot dog. The 'Sammy' (named after the founder Sammy Mejía) is a bacon-wrapped hot dog in a fluffy bolillo bun, loaded with pinto beans, fresh tomatoes, onions, mayo, mustard, jalapeño salsa and a green chili.

Order at the counter, find a plastic table outside, and watch the cars roll past on 12th. There are multiple locations now; the original is the south side. Cheap and excellent.

eating out restaurant
A story
El Güero Canelo won the James Beard America's Classics Award in 2018 specifically for its Sonoran hot dog — a Sonora-born sausage that crossed the border with Mexican workers in the early twentieth century and has been turned by Tucson cooks into one of the great American street foods.

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