El Charro Cafe

As the oldest, continuously owned Mexican restaurant that dries their own beef AND created the chimichanga - El Charro Cafe was a must do on our visit to Tuscon. The restaurant itself is very large - with a bar, and outdoor patio, and multiple dining rooms. We chose to sit in the outdoor patio, which is very pretty at night.

We ordered a chimichanga and enchiladas, both with the carne seca. The original owner created the chimichanga, and the carne seca is a house specialty. Air dried beef, dried on the roof of the restaurant and then mixed with lime juice, onions and peppers.

The chimichanga was good, but I preferred the carne seca in the enchilada. The sauce and cheese on the enchilada, combined with the dried beef, was a perfect combination. In the chimichanga, the beef and the fried burrito was a little too dry for me.

We also ordered the tres leches cake, which was served as a two layer cake and a whipped cream style icing. The cake is served with ice cream and cinnamon and sugar "crispies." The crispies and the cake were delicious together. The cake was the perfect size for two people to share after dinner here.