Where to find your favorite Tucson Meet Yourself food vendors year-round

Tucson Meet Yourself is my favorite festival every year. I find myself in attendance all three days, standing in the sun for giant cutlets of Taiwanese-style chicken and frybread soaked in honey, perusing the art and falling in love with the performances.

It’s like my local version of Disneyland — and then it’s over and it’s time to go back home.

But unlike Disneyland, where you’re forced to leave the Dole Whip and Mickey-shaped beignets 500 miles away, some Tucson Meet Yourself food vendors can be found all over Tucson year-round. Here’s where.

Tucson Meet Yourself, an annual folklife festival, took place in downtown Tucson from Oct. 17-19. Head to TMY’s website for updates on next year’s event.

Alafia West African Cuisine

Alafia made its Tucson Meet Yourself debut this year, but the restaurant is actually home to a brick-and-mortar in midtown.

Just like their TMY menu of egusi, fufu, okra sauce, barbecued lamb and jollof rice, Alafia’s restaurant menu serves the same items, plus meals like goat soup and kedjenou sauce au poulet which is a red sauce with chicken. 

Visit Alafia’s Facebook page for more information or pop into their brick-and-mortar at 1070 N. Swan Rd.

Ate Kei’s Filipino Treats

Local baker Kei Ann Mandanas moved to Tucson from the Philippines in 2010 when she was 12 years old. By 2023, she found herself wanting to be a bigger part of the community, so she started baking and selling treats that reminded her of home all while sharing her culture with Tucsonans. 

Ate Kei is best known for its cookies and other baked goods inspired by Filipino flavors like buko pandan, ube and chile mango. 

Follow Ate Kei on Instagram to see where they’ll be popping up next.

Boriken Modern Puerto Rican Cuisine

Carlos Garcia visited Tucson Meet Yourself for the first time in 2009 and knew he wanted to be part of the festival. 

“I fell in love about the way they do the festival … you can taste and feel the stories and the people,” he said in a TMY promo video.

Boriken, a food truck, opened during the pandemic and made its Tucson Meet Yourself debut in 2021. Last year, Carlos opened Batey Puerto Rican Gastronomy, a brick-and-mortar cooking up mofongo and tostones.

Batey is located at 4230 N. Oracle Rd. Visit Batey’s Facebook page for more information and follow Boriken’s Facebook page to see where they’ll pop up next.

Che Cafe Empanadas Argentinas 

Che Cafe is home to all the Argentine empanadas of your dreams — beef, chicken, pizza, sweet potato, spinach and more fillings in addition to breakfast and dessert creations. 

Che Cafe got its start in 2022, tucked into a shopping center on Tucson’s south side. Now the cafe is on wheels, serving empanadas from a food truck on the east side.

You can normally find Che Cafe parked at 10940 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way. Visit their website for details.

Churros el Rey

Growing up in Mexico, the owners behind Churros el Rey loved celebrating Día de los Muertos, watching vendors come together to sell food and art for the holiday. Of all the vendors, the churro sellers were their favorites. 

“We grew up believing that churros were the best Mexican dessert we had ever tasted,” they say on TMY’s website. “Much to our surprise, when my sister and I decided to open our churro business, we discovered during our research that although the churro is believed to be entirely a Mexican culinary creation, it originated in Spain.”

Churros el Rey intertwines traditions from both Spain and Mexico to create their churros, which you can find filled with dulce de leche or served atop vanilla ice cream.

Find the Churros el Rey food truck at pop-ups around town and usually at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet on Fridays-Saturdays, 4100 S. Palo Verde Rd. Follow them on Facebook for details.

Churros Inzunza

Part of the fun at the Churros Inzunza food truck is watching the churros be made. The dough is shot out of what can only be compared to as a jumbo syringe, then spun into a circle amid a big pot of hot oil. Once the dough is golden brown, it’s pulled out of the oil in a deliciously giant spiral and chopped into crispy pieces. It’s a show and a snack. 

The churros are made from family recipes and they’re vegan! Ooey gooey vegan cinnamon rolls and capirotada bread pudding are also on the menu. 

Follow Churros Inzunza on Facebook to see where they’ll pop up next.

Dirty T Tamarindo

We all have our favorite snacks and candy — Gushers, pistachios, Skittles, gummy worms. Whatever it is, Alana Solis has probably dunked it in her family’s chamoy recipe.

Dirty T Tamarindo sells chamoy-coated sweets all over Tucson. And when I say “all over,” I mean it — Alana’s candy is inside dozens of stores and gas stations, she sets up at farmers markets and other events around town and she has a brick-and-mortar. 

Head to Dirty T Tamarindo’s website to order online or head to Instagram to see where Dirty T will be popping up next. The brick-and-mortar is located at 1211 W. Saint Marys Rd.

Eatgypt

Koshary is Egypt’s national dish — and Eatgypt serves it right here in Tucson. The dish is vegan, packed with rice, lentils, chickpeas, noodles and fried onion topped with a tomato sauce.

Koshary is the star here, but karkade — a drink compared to hibiscus lemonade — is also on the menu.

Eatgypt is normally set up at Heirloom Farmers Markets on the weekends: 10901 N. Oracle Rd. on Saturdays and 4502 N. First Ave. on Sundays. Visit their website for details.

Elif Gözleme

At the Rillito Farmers Market on Sundays, you can normally find Elif Demirbas turning a ball of dough into a Turkish flatbread called gözleme. You can get it stuffed with spinach, beef, chicken or potatoes — but if you’re more of a sweet tooth, pick up a box of baklava. 

“When we were children, our mothers would gather in the street to prepare food for the winter — flatbread, jams, pickles and stuffed breads. We loved to help, making little rounds of dough with our small hands while the mothers gave them their perfect shape,” Elif’s TMY description says. “The smell of fresh bread, the laughter of friends and the joy of sharing food together became some of our happiest memories. That feeling of warmth and comfort is what we want to share with you.”

Elif Gözleme is normally set up at Heirloom Farmers Markets on Sundays at Rillito Park, 4502 N. First Ave. Visit her Facebook page for more information. 

Empanadas el Dominicano 

The dough is perfectly soft, the filling is savory, the cup of morir soñando is refreshing. Empanadas el Dominicano is the brainchild of former professional baseball player Wander Pérez, “born out of a desire to share a piece of the Dominican Republic with our Southern Arizona community.” 

Find empanadas, of course, with fillings like chicken, ham and green chile. Or order one of the main dishes: fried plantains with salami, fried pork chops or chicken with rice.

Empanadas el Dominicano is often parked at 5030 E. Broadway. Visit their Instagram for more details. 

EspresSoul Cafe

If you’re a coffee lover in Tucson, there’s a good chance you’ve visited EspresSoul. This Persian-owned business serves coffee and matcha with flavor infusions like pistachio, lavender, hazelnut and chai. 

EspresSoul made its Tucson debut several years ago, creating Instagrammable coffee specials from the inside of a food truck. While the food truck is still around — lovingly called Soul Mobile — owner Eris Movahedi opened a brick-and-mortar earlier this year with an expanded menu of drinks and pastries amid a cozy atmosphere.

Find EspresSoul Cafe at 1525 N. Wilmot Rd. Follow EspresSoul on Instagram to see where Soul Mobile will be next.

Food2Door Catering

While Food2Door doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar or a food truck, owners Shadi and Kiana offer catering services for their Persian cuisine. The menu includes Persian herb frittata, beef cutlet and kashk e bademjan, an Iranian appetizer. 

“Every dish they create is inspired by family recipes and a desire to bring people together,” TMY’s description says.  

You’ll most definitely want to add the bastani sonnati to your order — it’s Persian ice cream made with pistachios, saffron and rose water. You can sometimes find it stocked at Caravan Mideastern Foods, 2817 N. Country Club Rd., and Babylon Market, 3954 E. Speedway.

For more information, visit Food2Door’s website.

Herculean Chicken

I’m no authority on Tucson Meet Yourself lines, but I’m pretty sure the line for Herculean Chicken was the longest — and it is, in fact, worth waiting for.

Herculean Chicken specializes in Taiwanese-style fried chicken, offered both as popcorn-size pieces or as a giant cutlet. The chicken is piping hot (temperature-wise, though you can also opt to make it spicy if you wish), tender and crispy. 

If you didn’t make it through the line at Tucson Meet Yourself, Herculean Chicken pops up frequently at other spots around Tucson. 

To see where Herculean Chicken will be next, visit their Instagram.

Malta Joe’s Baked Goods

This might be the only spot in Tucson to find pastizzi, a Maltese savory pastry. The ultra-flaky dough is filled with a flavorful ricotta or split pea and curry, or you can get it wrapped around a hot dog. In true Tucson fashion, Malta Joe’s also has an option filled with delicious birria.

Malta Joe’s uses family recipes that have been handed down through generations. You can order them frozen or pick them up at pop-ups around town. 

Visit Malta Joe’s website to order pastizzi online and to see where they’ll be popping up next.

Mama Carey’s Kitchen & Catering

If you fell in love with the fried catfish from Mama Carey, you can order it for your next party or gathering. While owner Tisha Carey doesn’t have a food truck or a brick-and-mortar, she does have catering services with a menu that includes pulled pork, pot roast, ribs and chicken wings. 

Tisha’s four kids have always told her how much they love her cooking — now that they’re adults, she’s able to share her passion for cooking with the rest of Tucson.

Visit Mama Carey’s website for more information.

On The Fly Kitchen

Serving elevated soul food, On The Fly Kitchen is inspired by Southern roots and family recipes. 

You can find On The Fly at pop-ups around town or you can book their catering services. The menu may change for pop-ups, but expect to see items like catfish nuggets, chicken wings and hot link sandwiches. 

Visit On The Fly’s website and Instagram to learn about catering and pop-up locations.

Patricia’s Cuban Kitchen

Patricia’s Cuban Kitchen made its Tucson Meet Yourself debut in 2011, where owner Patricia Espinosa serves ropa vieja, fried plantains and empanadas. Patricia was born and raised in Cuba and made the move to Tucson in 2004, where she initially worked in a micobiology lab at the University of Arizona.

“As much as I love biological sciences, I love to cook even more,” she says on TMY’s website. “It didn’t take me long to realize that cooking Cuban food in my new home, far away from Cuba, was a very effective way to go back to my memories of Cuba.” 

Patricia’s Cuban Kitchen offers catering services and pop-ups at various events around town. Visit Instagram for details.

Pupuseria Rosita’s

This Salvadoran pupuseria has vended at Tucson Meet Yourself for the last three years, serving the pupusas, which are like thick corn tortillas, that people have fallen in love with. Get them with beans, cheese, pork, spinach and more savory toppings. 

Tacos, burritos and quesadillas are also on the menu — and trust me, if you’re anything like me, you’ll have a hard time deciding what to order.

You can normally find the Pupuseria Rosita’s food truck at 2202 W. Drexel Rd., but they also pop up elsewhere in town. Follow them on Facebook for details. 

Purple Tree Organic Acai Blends

Imagine finishing your hike on Tumamoc Hill — you’re hot, you’re sweaty, you need a treat. And then you see it — a food truck at the bottom of the hill. It’s like all your prayers were answered in the form of a giant purple truck.

That’s Purple Tree. For years, they’ve parked around town serving delicious and refreshing acai bowls and smoothies. Sometimes you can find them at events around town, but more frequently you’ll find them parked at the base of Tumamoc. 

Also on the menu: mushroom coffee, ginger shots and dairy-free milkshakes.

Follow Purple Tree on Instagram to see where they’ll be next.

Ricuras de Venezuela 

“My mom always wanted to make an areperia here in Arizona,” the owner of Ricuras de Venezuela says on TMY’s website. “She knew it was going to be the bomb but we just never had the time.”

Using her recipes, Ricuras de Venezuela was born, bringing Venezuelan cuisine to Tucson. 

The stars of the menu are the arepas, spongy flatbreads with fillings like beef, chicken or ham. But you’ll also find cachapas, kind of like a Venezuelan cheese quesadilla, plus empanadas and specialty plates. 

Follow Ricuras de Venezuela on Instagram to see where the food truck will be next.

Salima’s Bakery

The family behind Salima’s Bakery made their way to Tucson in 2005, bringing with them a love for the flavors of Uzbekistan and Georgia. 

“Since their arrival, they’ve made it their mission to share the vibrant culinary heritage of their homeland with the local community,” TMY’s website says. “Salima, the matriarch, is the heart and soul of the bakery. With her roots firmly planted in Uzbekistan, she brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and tradition to the bakery.” 

Expect to find baked goods and flatbreads here, including samsa, khachapuri flat bread, baklava and other sweets.

You can usually find Salima’s Bakery at Heirloom Farmers Markets: Fridays at Udall Park, 7202 E. Tanque Verde Rd.; Saturdays at Rincon Valley, 12500 E. Old Spanish Trail; and Sundays at Rillito Park, 4502 N. First Ave.

Senae Thai Street Food

You might remember when Senae Thai was a bistro located in downtown Tucson. When it closed in 2021, Tucsonans were heartbroken.

But now Chef Dee is back — except she’s in a food truck this time. 

Parked at Crooked Tooth Brewing Co., Senae Thai offers a menu of stir-fried rice and pad thai among different curry options. I have my eyes on their pad zee ew. 👀

Senae Thai Street Food is typically parked at Crooked Tooth Brewing Co., 228 E. Sixth St. Follow them on Instagram for details.

Sonoran Delights

At Tucson Meet Yourself, Sonoran Delights serves raspados and antojitos like Tostilocos and coctel de elote. But when you walk into their brick-and-mortar on Tucson’s west side, you’re instantly hit with the scent of tacos. You’ll visit the shop thinking you want a raspado … and then you’ll probably want to add a barbacoa burro to your order.

The raspados are delicious, of course. Flavors include all the favorites like strawberry and mango, plus newer concoctions like a Dubai chocolate strawberry macedonia. 

Find Sonoran Delights at 921 W. Congress St. Visit their website for details.

Sumaj Bolivian Street Food

This Bolivian kitchen on wheels opened in 2023, a dream come true for the family that runs it. 

“Opening our food truck has been a journey filled with effort and heart, and it means so much to us to share a taste of Bolivia with our community,” the owners say on Tucson Meet Yourself’s website. “For us, food is more than a meal — it’s a way to bring people together, celebrate culture and create moments of warmth and connection.”

Sumaj’s specialty is the salteñas, which are Bolivian-style baked empanadas stuffed with savory fillings like chicken or beef with potatoes and seasonings. 

Sumaj offers catering services and can be found at pop-ups around town. Follow them on Instagram for details. 

Takoyaki Balls

This food truck is constantly a favorite at Tucson Meet Yourself and other festivals around town. The specialty is the truck’s namesake — takoyaki balls, which is a batter filled with octopus and shaped into a sphere.

“There was a time when takoyaki was an unknown food in Arizona and I remember nobody touched our octopus dumplings even as a sample,” the owners say on TMY’s website.

That’s certainly no longer the case. At the end of TMY’s second day, Takoyaki Balls posted on Facebook that they made 785 servings of takoyaki — that’s 4,710 individual dumplings. 

Follow Takoyaki Balls on Facebook to see where the food truck will pop up next.

The Makan Bowl

One of TMY’s newest vendors is The Makan Bowl, which got its start last year, bringing a taste of Singapore to Tucson. Since then, they’ve popped up at markets and festivals around town bringing along tasty satay, stir-fried noodles and pickled veggies — including vegan items!

“I moved to Tucson in 2022 and attended Tucson Meet Yourself for the first time,” The Makan Bowl’s description on TMY’s website says. “Inspired by the amazing vendors, I’ve always wanted to share the vibrant flavors of my home, Singapore.”

Follow The Makan Bowl on Instagram to see where they’ll be popping up next.

Tucson Tea Company

Tucson Tea Company is known for their loose-leaf tea in countless flavors. You can find white chocolate raspberry, apple pie chai, strawberry mango and lemon ginger amid a long list of blends by function such as energizing teas or sips that will relieve stress. 

You can also shop tea accessories, from infusers to mugs to candles.

Tucson Tea Company is located inside Park Place Mall, 5870 E. Broadway, near Total Wine. You can also shop online here.