Last night, I had the best meal I have had since returning to Tucson! To ring in the new year, we decided to go to El Corral for some steaks!
And. Oh. My. God.
When I say the best meal of the year, it's not an exaggeration. We started with the acclaimed Onion Rings and a Prickly Pear Margarita, which immediately came. The onion rings were simply perfect -- crunchy on the outside, with perfectly cooked, flavorful onions inside. I could have eaten two orders, but I was too anticipatory of what would come.
The Prickly Pear Margarita was sweet and tasty, way better than any others I have tried around town.
The salad came with the entree. It was drenched in excellent ranch dressing and highlighted with very flavorful and sweet onions. It was so good.
But then the main event -- The T-Bone Steak - a good-sized, juicy New York strip on one side of the bone and a buttery filet on the other, cooked over our mesquite fires.
It had been a while since I had a steak, but I had been craving one for a while, which is one of the reasons (along with the history of the place) we decided to come to El Corral.
This steak did not disappoint! It was the juiciest, butter-and-garliciest (yes, I may have invented a word, but this steak inspires its own vocabulary), melt-in-your-mouth flavor I have ever had. This is the type of flavor that, with each bite, makes your eyes want to roll back in your head. Again, I say, Oh. My. God.
I selected the Tamale Pie as my side, and it was good, but the quality and flavor of this steak demanded attention. I wish there were words that could articulate this kind of flavor. But I keep going back to Oh. My. God.
I had heard some El Corral detractors and saw its 3.1 Yelp rating, but that doesn't make sense to me. This is some top-tier good food.
Our server couldn't have been more wonderful or attentive, so I don't think that is much of an issue here.
I love how, in 1915, the Tucson Citizen reported that local developer John Murphey had purchased several thousand acres of property in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains to the north of town and called it a "folly" investment in worthless desert hillsides, too far away from downtown to matter. Apparently, there were some ignorant, short-sighted editors back then.
The building was built in 1926, possibly the first restaurant/cafe/tavern east of Oracle Road. Thankfully, some modifications have been made since then, so we can still enjoy that sense of history today.
I'm curious: What has your history been with El Corral?