Three years ago, Cheyenne and Cruz Guzman scribbled a dream in a notebook.
The couple fell in love at the restaurant they worked at; Cheyenne was a server and Cruz worked as a chef. When they started dating, they wrote down a crazy idea they aimed to one day make a reality.
Written on the piece of paper were two words: food truck.
Over the years, they saved and saved.
Last year, the day finally came.
Cruz told Cheyenne he was ready to pay the down-payment on their custom-made truck. And since Cruz is from Puebla, Mexico, and his brother owns , Cheyenne just assumed they would start a Mexican food truck.
Cruz wanted something else, though.
People are also reading…
He envisioned chicken wings 鈥 crispy, juicy wings smothered in a rich, savory sauce that makes your mouth heat up with every bite.
is now on the streets of Tucson, combining classic Mexican flavors and foods like elote and mole poblano with some of the best chicken wings you鈥檝e ever had.
鈥淚t was just a crazy idea that we wrote down,鈥 Cheyenne said. 鈥淲e manifested it.鈥
It鈥檚 hard to miss the Only Wings truck. The bright baby-blue truck covered in pictures of chickens and plates of wings can usually be found outside , at , on the weekends. The lights that line the sides of the truck emanate flashes of color, luring in the Fourth Avenue crowd and tempting them with the smells of freshly cooked chicken wings.
As you order your wings, you鈥檒l see Cruz in the back, frying up the food and sprinkling the perfect amount of cotija cheese on top of a heap of wings.
These aren鈥檛 your average Buffalo and garlic parmesan flavors that you can find at any wing joint, though. Only Wings serves up sauces you鈥檇 never expect to see on a chicken wing.
Their specialty wings feature flavors including chipotle mango that鈥檚 topped with fresh mango; chipotle-pineapple glaze and diced pineapple; and al pastor, which comes with an elevated adobo sauce and is topped with onions, chunks of pineapple and cilantro
Cruz came up with all the sauces, tweaking these classic flavors to ensure they were thick enough to hold onto a wing; no one wants a dry wing.
He also pre-cooks all the wings at a commissary kitchen before frying them up and serving them to customers. Not only does it make the wait time faster, but the wings themselves are so crispy, you鈥檒l hear a crackling crunch as you tear off the skin with your teeth.
Most importantly, Cruz isn鈥檛 serving up itty-bitty wings that you can devour in two bites. You鈥檙e getting a 10-piece order that features large wings that actually have some meat on their bones. (Flats stans rise up; they include more flats that drumsticks.)
As I scanned the menu on a recent night, one flavor almost brought tears to my eyes: mole poblano.
A mole poblano sauce on chicken wings is genius, especially since Cruz is from the birthplace of the smoky, slightly sweet sauce.
鈥淗e loves mole. Actually, I never liked mole until I had his sauce, and I couldn鈥檛 stop eating it,鈥 Cheyenne said.
Cruz鈥檚 signature mole sauce covers the wings, topped with sesame seeds, red onions and queso fresco. Though mole is a divisive food since it is made with chocolate but is savory, there鈥檚 nothing controversial about these wings.
The mole sauce is so rich, you can tell Cruz uses an authentic recipe. The juicy chicken mixed with the spicy mole poblano sauce makes your mouth tingle as you try to get all the meat off the bone. It reminds me of something you鈥檇 see at a fancy restaurant; it truly is an elevated chicken wing that isn鈥檛 just a pile of grease with a bright orange sauce.
But there is one flavor on the menu that Cruz didn鈥檛 come up with.
While making the menu, Cheyenne thought of trying an elote wing, incorporating all the ingredients you鈥檇 see in the classic Mexican snack. Cruz was apprehensive, but Cheyenne insisted on trying it out.
Turns out, she came up with a winner: elote style is their most popular wing on the menu.
Just like the elote you get from a street vendor in Mexico, these wings come with a spicy mayo sauce along with pieces of corn, Taj铆n, cotija cheese, fresh-squeezed lime juice and sliced jalape帽os.
The wings look exactly like the elote that Esqueleto orders in 鈥淣acho Libre.鈥 You kind of just want to stare at the plate and admire the beauty before you dig in.
I promise I鈥檓 not exaggerating when I say these may be some of the best wings I鈥檝e had in my life. The spicy mayo is so addicting, and goes perfectly with the wing. When you take a slice of lime, squeeze some on top and take a huge bite, the world stops for a minute as you take in the deliciousness of all the flavors melding in your mouth.
Before I knew it, I had already eaten five wings, and they were still calling my name. Even when I woke up the next day, I couldn鈥檛 help but look forward to lunchtime so I could have another taste of their sauce.
Despite being smothered in sauce and covered in toppings, Cruz鈥檚 wings never get soggy. The crispiness isn鈥檛 compromised.
After eating at Only Wings, you鈥檒l realize why it鈥檚 called that 鈥 because those are the only wings you鈥檒l want for the rest of time.
Only Wings can be found parked at TraXide Taproom on Friday, Saturday and every other Thursday from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. You can also check to see their upcoming events.