A Bite of Sonoran Breakfast at Buendía Breakfast and Lunch Café

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — We're getting a big breakfast at the Buendía Breakfast and Lunch Café on North First Avenue off of Grant Road.

It also feels appropriate to go savor these dishes during Sonoran Restaurant Week. Co-owners Julio and Jael García walked us through their kitchen, where they make traditional food with a deliberate dash of joy, or 'alegría.'

When we asked Julio García how he'd describe what's driven him in his restaurant career, at his core, he said it's about keeping family first, and creating the warm feeling that comes once you're home.

“That's the concept," García said in our conversation in Spanish. "Show what we have in our own home and share with families from right here in Tucson."

Julio and his family, both front of house and behind the counter in the kitchen, know people's daily lives can get hectic. García said he's seen firsthand the power a home-cooked meal has to brighten someone's day.

"It's curious," he said. "Literally, I've seen people cry when they try the coffee, and hear the music. That's what we want to offer: an experience."

This is Buendía's first year as a feature business for Sonoran Restaurant week. Julio said he's proud to say the family's recipes are all Sonoran staples; one of them is the classic scrambled eggs and 'machaca' drief beef.

"Machaca is essential to our menu," García said. "Even (our) flour tortillas. Everything we have on the special menu is 100 percent Sonoran."

In the kitchen, Jael García walked us through the recipe, which is in part inspired by her grandmother. Making machaca still takes time and patience, and that, too, is something Jael García said she as a kid.

"My grandma taught me so many things, including making machaca," she said. "She would sun dry it, season it and grind it." It's a full meal with breakfast potatoes and a side of frijoles.

Maybe though, you want want to skip the beef. Buendía other big crowd favorite is a poblano pepper stuffed with a corn (elote) tamale. Jael explained she and Julio wanted to try something unique and different.

"Normally you stuff these with just cheese, beef, shrimp," she said, "but a stuffed poblano with tamales, people have just told us, 'Wow!'" Top it all with a fistful of mozzarella cheese; Jael said you can use any good melting cheese.

Serve it on a bed of rice, and unfortunately, you'll have to make your green 'culichi' sauce, since this vat is a family recipe.

As Sonoran Restaurant Week wraps up, Buendía has big plans down the road. The Garcías took Good Morning Tucson to the back of the building, where they're building a play area for little kids to burn off energy and parents can watch while they enjoy breakfast.