Andy Lin's Lickity List (Amazing $10 Authentic Meals in Tucson)

Welcome to Andy Lin's Lickity List!  Only restaurants that are unique to Tucson can be found on this list.  The other great part is that it's all very cheap - $10 for an amazing meal!  I usually stick to the same item off the menu at these places to satisfy the craving of a meal I haven't had in a while.

This list will be a running log that I will update whenever I go to one of my several favorite restaurants in Tucson, so be sure to check back for my latest recommendations via the link under my Hot Topics section!

Andy Lin's Lickity List
Amazing $10 Authentic Meals in Tucson

BK Tacos & Hotdogs
5118 S 12th Ave
Tucson, AZ 85706
Date Visited: August 21, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: Large Caramelo Asada
Price: $6.78 including tax

Raves: There are two "fast-food" Mexican restaurants in Tucson that are famous for their Sonora Dogs.  One is already on this list (El Guero Canelo) and the other is BK, not to be confused with Burger King.  BK offers a variety of great choices, but my Go-To-Lick here is the Caramelo with Carne Asada meat.  If you haven't figured it out by now, the carne asada in Tucson is really good.

The Caramelo is like having two cheese quesadillas that sandwich a bunch of carne asada meat.  While you could get two small ones here, you get as much food with a large and you'll save a little bit on price.  I like to add from the self-serve salsa bar: guacamole, pico de gallo, and a couple hot sauces.  Ask for a yellow pepper if you want to indulge in something very spicy, and you can throw in a Mexican soda for $2.68.

The best thing about all these Mexican restaurants in Tucson is that the carne asada is slightly different at each location.  Each place uses cooks and seasons it differently and while no place stands far ahead of any other, the winner is the consumer who gets plenty of variety.  If you decide the caramelo is not for you, the Sonora dog is also a popular choice here.

The location I went to is one of the original locations.  However, there is another one that is no different in quality, located more central in town at 2680 N 1st Ave.

Saing Thai Cuisine
9136 E Valencia Rd
Tucson, AZ 85747
Date Visited: June 19, 2014
Style: Thai
Go-To-Lick: Pad Kee Mao
Price: $8.59 including tax

Read this Review.

Frog & Firkin
874 East University Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85719

Date Visited: May 12, 2014
Style: English Pub
Go-To-Lick: The Firkin Burger with Cheese
Price: $9.13 including tax

Read this Review.

El Guero Canelo
2480 North Oracle Road
Tucson, AZ 85705 

Date Visited: May 3, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: 2x Carne Asada Burro Jr. with Extra Cheese
Price: $9.27 including tax

Read this Review.

Andy Lin is your typical Tucson resident and is a not food connoisseur.  He is simply a man who knows what pleases his tastebuds and belly.   Special thanks to Nate M. and Matt H. for help with coming up with a title for this list.

Drinkline Makes its Debut on My Birthday

My 31st birthday was on Saturday, and even though my 30th was the "last hurrah", I still decided to hold a small party in my favor.  You only get one day a year to celebrate yourself, so I guess you should try to. :)

For my birthday, I invited people to come over to my place to play a game I thought up with my friend Tyler and that I've been creating over the past couple weeks.  It's called "Drinkline" and it's based on the card game Guillotine and is an extension of King's Cup, with some original content and pop culture references thrown in.  The goal is to make it as popular as Cards Against Humanity, so you have some idea of how big I'm dreaming right now.

Before Drinkline was debuted, I got a taco bar catered from Micha's in Tucson.  About 15 people showed up for dinner and luckily I had enough food for everyone without being short or having an excess of leftovers.  Afterwards, it was time to unveil Drinkline!  Here are some examples of the cards: 

Card Backs:

Character Cards (these represent players playing the game):

Drinkling Cards (these move your Character card in the Drinkline):

Action Cards (these are played on other players to get them to drink):

Rule Cards (these are bestowed on other players to get them to act in a funny behavior):

The alpha test group provided a lot of feedback and results.  We played 3 games of Drinkline, altering the game each time and I took down several suggestions.  Already Drinkline v2.0 has been printed and is ready for testing.  I've lined up my friend Sam from college to prepare artwork and designs for the final product.  After a few more test runs with Drinkline, I will eventually get it officially printed and published!

Drinkline is a game created by Andy Lin.  Copyright 2014.

The rest of my birthday was great and about 20 people showed for it.  One of them is this girl named Heather from Phoenix who I've been dating since June.  She's pretty, awesome, and pretty awesome to me.  Thanks to everyone who made it a wonderful birthday!