Sonora Dog best of Tucson

Here's how El Güero Canelo builds its dogs, from the bun up:

• The bun. Sonoran hot dogs call for a bigger bun than the standard American hot dog holder. In addition to being larger, the bread itself is more substantial - think of the texture and heft of a Parker House roll. They are sold whole, not sliced.
  El Güero Canelo gets its buns from Alejandro's; several other local Mexican bakeries also produce the special rolls.
  Another difference appears when the cook slices the Sonoran-style bun. Instead of slicing most of the way through, the cook cuts on one side, forming a pocket in a bun, rather than two bun halves held together by a flap. This helps keep all the ingredients safely ensconced in the bun, not dripping down your shirt.
  Then the buns go into a steamer until serving time.
  


• The dog. El Güero Canelo uses plain ol' John Morrell all-beef franks that come eight to a 1-pound package. Each of the dogs is wrapped - and "wrapped" means swaddled end-to-end - in slices of bacon. Contreras says he has one worker who spends most of his time just wrapping dogs. Hundreds of the encased franks rest in plastic tubs in the restaurant cooler.
  When a customer orders a dog, the cook places the wrapped wiener on a hot grill, turning it frequently, for about four minutes. The bacon largely melts away, but leaves a lot of flavor, particularly at El Güero Canelo, where the dogs cook in pans that hold them snuggled in sizzling bacon grease.
  


• Assembling. Using tongs, Contreras places a cooked wiener inside the pocket of a warm bun. The bun goes in a paper holder. Then come the goodies, in order: a tablespoon of plain whole (not refried) pinto beans, a tablespoon of grilled onions, then - and Contreras deftly scoops all these things with ordinary kitchen tongs - a grilled hot yellow pepper goes on the side. He adds a tablespoon of fresh chopped onions and about 2 tablespoons of chopped tomatoes. He puts down the tongs, and turns to squeeze bottles. From them, he lays down multiple lines of jalapeño sauce (a secret recipe made by puréeing three kinds of peppers in a blender), mayonnaise and mustard.
  Then he presents the completed dog with a flourish.
  It's astonishingly good - the frank inside serves as a sort of base for all the different flavors that mingle as you bite through the concoction. Despite the special bun, it is also a multiple napkin experience, best enjoyed with a Mexican soda on the side.
  


• "They've got us hooked on those dogs," . "You bite on the chile on the side, and then you bite on the dog. That makes them taste a lot better."
  Just make sure you have a cold drink handy when you try it.