<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1UDQWK_0wDWvsB900" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1UDQWK_0wDWvsB900" width="980" height="653" ><figcaption>Tim Gray</figcaption></figure><p>Arizonans love their chimichangas. Who wouldn't? It's a deep-fried roll of deliciousness.</p><p>Mashed recently created a list of favorite comfort foods for every state, and <a href="https://www.mashed.com/1278404/favorite-comfort-food-each-state/">they picked chimichangas</a> as Arizona's.</p><p>I'm a big fan of burritos and an even bigger fan of chimichangas. Just thinking of the delicious beans, rice, cheese, and my favorite shredded chicken deep-fried to perfection has me drooling on my keyboard right now.</p><h2>Where Did the Chimichanga Come From?</h2><p>Some people believe that the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimichanga#Origins">Sonorans brought the chimichanga (chivichanga) to Arizona</a>, but that's not necessarily the case. They are thought to have originated here in Arizona.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimichanga#Folk_history">The first story</a> is of Monica Flynn creating the chimichanga in Tucson sometime in the 1950s. It's said that she accidentally dropped a burrito in the deep fryer when she wanted to swear --using a word that starts with chi---. Instead, she yelled "chimichanga," close to the English phrase thingamajig. From there the chimichanga spread around the state of Arizona.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimichanga#Folk_history">The other story</a> is about Woody Johnson who claimed he deep-fried some burritos as an experiment at his restaurant Woody's El Nido in 1946 in Phoenix. He said the "fried burritos" became so popular by 1952 that the chimichanga became one of his restaurant's featured menu items.</p><p>No one really knows when the chimichanga was created or who the first person to fry a burrito was. We don't care either way. We'll just continue to enjoy the crispy burritos until we can't fit into our pants.</p><h2>LOOK: Highest-rated fine dining restaurants in Tucson by diners</h2><p><a href="https://stacker.com/arizona/tucson/highest-rated-fine-dining-restaurants-tucson-diners">Stacker</a> compiled a list of the highest-rated fine dining restaurants in Tucson using data from Yelp.</p><h2>LOOK: Highest-rated fine dining restaurants in Sierra Vista by diners</h2><p><a href="https://stacker.com/arizona/sierra-vista/highest-rated-fine-dining-restaurants-sierra-vista-diners">Stacker</a> compiled a list of the highest-rated fine dining restaurants in Sierra Vista using data from Yelp.</p></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

The Story Behind Arizona’s Favorite ‘Comfort Food’

Arizonans love their chimichangas. Who wouldn't? It's a deep-fried roll of deliciousness. Mashed recently created a list of favorite comfort foods for every state, and they picked chimichangas as Arizona's. I'm a big fan of burritos and an even bigger fan of chimichangas. Just thinking of the delicious beans, rice,...