The story behind the bounty of birria you see photographed here starts back in 1991. Juan Almanza has just purchased a hamburger cart from his neighbor in Mexico and has started selling up a storm. “I found a job with one of my uncles. He used to have a meat market with the festivals and everything. My uncle sat down with me and said ‘you should open a hamburger stand again.’ That was in ’91 when Mexico got [a] better trade [deal] with the United States to take and move meats… So I set it up and sold like 250 in four hours, it was crazy.” That success laid the foundation for his next endeavor; the table verde swap meet. His cart there mirrors the success he got a taste of and let him hit the ground running when he opened his legendary food truck in the Tohono O’odham Swap Meet. With the winning combination of word of mouth and tangibly tasty smells wafting throughout the Swap Meet, Chef Juan saw the glimmer of the future of the business.
Fast forward to the infamous year of 2020. Juan is all set to open the doors of a new brick-and-mortar restaurant that has been the apple of his eye and the next step in his ambitious plan. Unfortunately, COVID did what it did best and took the champagne away before the new building could be christened. While the world was figuring out exactly how to navigate wave after wave of weirdness, Chef Juan doubled down and threw his savings at the project. With the help of some fellow Gastronomic Union of Tucson members, he defied convention and kicked the doors open anyway.
“Because we were just in the first month, it was kind of slow, so we don’t sell that much. We stayed trying through March, April, May. On May 5th, we start going crazy. That was Cinco de Mayo, so we sold something like $2,500 that day.” Juan said that success has more or less stayed consistent, which leads to the next chapter in this story. One more jump to March 2nd, 2024: mere hours before the opening of a second El Rústico location. After all the build-up, commotion, hubbub, and acclaim, Juan is feeling one thing that pervades everything else. “Man, I am so tired. You know, I love what I’m doing. But I’m not too young to be crazy.” Juan is enlisting the aid of two new management roles to oversee the second location and will split his time between the two restaurants.
Juan’s culinary efforts pay homage to the flavors and traditions of Coahuila in northeast Mexico, where Chef Juan Almanza started learning his craft. Juan employs a slow, tedious process of grilling the various meats over low-heat charcoal. This slow roast, plus the 30+ spices and herbs, gives El Rustico’s meat its distinct flavor and keeps it all juicy. Speaking specifically about the food and flavors, Juan says he enjoys grilling and just about everything he makes, but two menu items are a little extra special to him. “I decided to make a shrimp taco and mahi mahi tacos. I love grilling meats, I love making salads, I love making pasta, but it’s not it’s not a main thing for me. I can say the meat is more important to me.”
In addition to their illustrious birria meat that has made its way onto the menu of other local restaurants like atop a unique pizza over at Zio Peppe (see our previous issue for more on this Tucson hotspot), El Rustico has a pretty diverse collection of other meats on offer such as cabeza (aka beef cheek), a healthy offering of cuts of goat, and a smattering of other tasty bits to sample. One flavor that Juan singles out as something everyone should try on their first visit is the goat with the red chili sauce, which has been gaining some popularity in the last couple months. He also said that their staple of Quesabirria which is Classic Mexican stewed beef and melted cheese tucked into a crispy corn tortilla is a must try.
The two locations are set to be pillars of the town that is honored to be named the best 23 miles of Mexican food in the country. Visit El Taco Rustico Tuesday through Sunday for your chance to savor some of the most beloved birria in the state.
written by: isaac stockton | photographed by: isaac stockton