Great American food cities like New York and Chicago have regional hot dogs that define them, and Tucson, Arizona is no different. The Sonoran dog didn’t start hitting the local Tucson food scene until 1993—which was coincidentally around the same time that I moved to Tucson from Columbus, Ohio. Since moving here and biting into my first Sonoran dog, I’ve fallen in love with the vendor cart staple and have taken the time to learn how this unique style of hot dogs became so popular in Tucson.

The fine folks at Serious Eats asked me to do a deep dive into the food history and local food culture on this subject near and dear to my heart, and my stomach for this feature article and recipe that includes my food photography.

Special thanks to everyone featured in the article, every single hot dog vendor in town, and especially my amazing editors at Serious Eats.