Food hybrids: A mashing success

Cronut. Turducken.

The McGriddle. Kinda sounds like one of those “which of these things is not like

the other” questions. Except, each of these is just like the other: They’re all food hybrids.

The Cronut — New York pastry chef Dominique Ansel’s half doughnut, half croissant creation — is a recent headline grabber, sparking worldwide attention since its debut last year. The turducken is an oldie but a goodie, a chicken stuffed into a duck stuffed into a turkey. And does the McGriddle really need an explanation? Doesn’t everyone know about the McDonald’s breakfast sandwich of maple pancakes, sausage, egg and cheese?

Yup, ever since someone stuck a piece of chocolate into someone else’s peanut butter, it seems like chefs have been trying to create the ultimate menu mashup.

It’s a way of life for a restaurant trio — The Lodge Sasquatch Kitchen, May’s Counter Chicken & Waffles and The Heist Pizza Parlour — which features twists on more traditional menu items. Example: May’s waffle dogs. The breakfast dish features sausage links shrouded in waffle batter and served with syrup, which some people like to spike with hot sauce, then dusted in powdered sugar.

“We try to think outside the box,” says Ryan Field, who co-owns the restaurant with Chef Aaron May. “We take simple ingredients but make them fun.”

Sometimes diners are hesitant to sample these quirky entrées, but a dish is more approachable when it’s made up of well-known foods.

“All those things — waffles, sausage — you’ve had them separately,” Field is quick to remind us. “When you put them together, it all comes together great.”

And that’s just what chefs do, says Chef Doug Levy, who owns Feast, which is known for its creative combos.

“Chefs all over the place are doing interesting things, taking one aspect of something they enjoy and another aspect of something they enjoy and that’s how we end up with that stuff,” Levy says. “I don’t think we consciously say, ‘What two things can we smash together to make an über food?’ ”

Perhaps no place does the unusual edibles thing better than a food truck.

For years, food truck owners across the country have played mad scientist with the dining DNA of their mobile meals, creating fusion flavors with monster followings.

In Tucson, trucks like Bam Bam, which specializes in Mexican-Asian eats, and Gigi’s, with its Mexican-Peruvian concoctions, are leading the charge.

When dinnertime rolls around at the BurgerRito food truck, a staple at rallies and events around town, one of its most popular items is the meal for which the truck is named, says owner Paul Kukich.

Kukich says the mouth-watering marriage of burger and burrito is something that has been popular in his native Colorado for decades, and it is picking up steam here.

“People love it,” he adds. “It is easily one of our best sellers.”

Whether it’s a food truck or a restaurant, we’ve got plenty of noteworthy menu mashups around town.

Nachos + tater tots = tatchos

May’s Counter, 2945 E. Speedway, 327-2421, mayscounter.com

This starter takes a mound o’ fried tots and covers ‘em in traditional nacho toppings of cheese sauce, sour cream, jalapeños, black olives and moist, pulled chicken. It’s been on the menu since the eatery opened four years ago and though it’s been tweaked — beef subbed for the chicken, black beans instead of olives — it always drifts back to the first incarnation. “At the end of the day, everyone wants the original,” says Ryan Field, restaurant co-owner.

Enchilada + Cannelloni = Enchelloni

Gusto Osteria, 7153 E. Tanque Verde Road, 722-9487, gustotucson.com

Is there such a thing as an Italian enchilada? Oh yes there is. Swap spinach for green chiles in the old, classic Italian cannelloni dish, smother it in a creamy cheese sauce and add a dash of a little Southwestern flair — voilà! The Enchelloni at Gusto Osteria. Owner and chef Glenn “Gus” Gerson says that the cheesy concoction emerged one day while he was messing around in the kitchen.

Grilled cheese + Hamburger = The Sasquatch

The Lodge Sasquatch Kitchen, 7265 N. La Cholla Blvd., 219-8528, lodgetucson.com

A huge hit that’s just flat-out huge, the Sasquatch is a half-pound burger cradled between two grilled cheese sandwiches made out of Texas toast. Yowzah — is that an entree or a double-down dare? “It’s a lot of bread,” admits Ryan Field. Still, “most people can finish it.”

Croissant + Doughnut = Dossant

Prep & Pastry, 3073 N. Campbell Ave., 326-7737, prepandpastry.com

There is perhaps no more perfect breakfast food than the one that mashes together a croissant with a doughnut. You get the airy, flakiness of the French pastry coupled with the taste of a doughnut. P & P’s croissant-doughnut comes in a variety of toppings, too, from a sweet raspberry-chocolate to cinnamon-sugar.

Breakfast + Pizza = Green Eggs & Ham Pizza

The Heist Pizza Parlour, 7131 E. Broadway, 433-9332, heistpizza.com

The Heist uses many unusual toppings (Brussels sprouts, grapes), but perhaps its oddest pairing is the mix of sunnyside up eggs, prosciutto, pesto and buffalo mozzarella on what has become its second biggest selling ‘za.

“People were weirded out by it, but after they started eating it, it became a big hit,” says Ryan Field.

Duck confit + baklava = Ducklava

Feast, 3719 E. Speedway, 326-9363, eatatfeast.com

Duck legs are layered with garlic, shallots and fresh thyme and cooked in duck fat overnight for a rich, savory, meltingly tender confit that gets layered right into traditional Greek dessert ingredients of butter-brushed phyllo dough, pistachios and honey. “When you put the two together, you get this sweet and savory sensation that’s pretty darn good, in my humble opinion,” chef/owner Doug Levy says. The ducklava appears on Feast’s rotating menu today through Wednesday.

Beer + a campfire classic = Beer S'mores

Feast, 3719 E Speedway, 326-9363, eatatfeast.com

This upscale twist on the traditional treat swaps shortbread for graham cracker and features a fire-roasted, milk-stout marshmallow paired with hop-infused chocolate ganache. Beer s’mores stars on Feast’s menu next Thursday through July 2 .

Hamburger + burrito = Burgerrito

BurgerRito food truck, 991-2199, BurgerRito on Facebook

This Colorado creation made its road debut in Tucson when Paul Kukich rolled out his BurgerRito food truck more than a year ago. The meal includes a quarter-pound burger patty, cut in half and covered in pork green chile, cheddar cheese and refried beans.

The burger is then wrapped in a 12-inch flour tortilla. Truck owner Kukich says having the patty makes it a tidier meal. “A lot of times, when you eat a burrito, your meat is falling all over the place,” he says. “With the hamburger patty, the meat stays intact until you take a bite.”