Street Food Is the Best

I was driving through Tucson tonight running errands at Target and Pet Smart. As I cruised through the crowded city streets, I realized that the one thing I love most about Tucson, more than the weather, more than the nice people, more than the cactus and the cheap beer, is the ubiquitous taco shop.

Taco shacks are everywhere in Tucson. On street corners, busy intersections, down dirty alleys. Some are chains and others are independent. There are stands that operate only at lunchtime and some that are more like restaurants, with plastic booths and shiny tables.

I've only eaten at a few, but so far, the food has been so good. Crunchy and salty, with just the right amount of grease. Most of them are open 24-hours, so they make an excellent drunken stop on the way home from a party or 4th Ave. Most of them are staffed by people who speak no English, so ordering always proves to be an adventure. But even when my order's been wrong, the food is still delicious.

I think my new goal is to eat at as many taco shops as possible before I leave Tucson (which more and more, I'm hoping is along the lines of never). I know it's impossible to eat at all the taco shacks in Tucson, but I think that frequenting as many as I can is a goal worthy of the best.