Being a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy means much more than bragging rights about the long food history of Tucson. This distinguished honor connects us with cities around the world.
And as such, local chefs have traveled to the Far East, Europe and Central and South America to share ideas about food, history and culture. Chefs from world-wide network have visited here.
Now four North American cities are sharing a month-long festival in celebration of corn. The Pueblos Del Maize kicks off in Tucson and then travels to San Antonio, Texas, and both Merida and Puebla, Mexico.
From May 5th through May 8th a series of events will celebrate the wonders of maize.
5/5 – A photography exhibit at The Citizen Hotel where photos from famed artist, Andres Lobato will be displayed. This event is free.
5/5 – The movie, “Maize in the Time of War” will be shown at The Fox Theater. The film explores the role that maize played in the areas of Jalisco and Chiapas, Mexico. Free.
5/6 – A Maize Showcase Bocadito Dinner Experience. Held at The Hotel Congress the dinner will feature 10 small plates created by some of the finest local chefs including Carlotta Flores & the Si Charro! Chefs, John Martinez (Tito & Pep), Don Guerra (Barrio Bread), Janos Wilder, Mateo Otero (Rollies Mexican Patio), Erika Muñoz (Seis Kitchen), Ayla Kapahi (Borderlands Brewery), Kristel Johnson (HUB Creamery), and Adam Krantz (Monsoon Chocolate). Borderlands Brewery has brewed a special beer for the evening, Pueblo des Maiz. $50pp (ticket holders will gain automatic entry to El Tambo Fest following the dinner).
5/6 – El Tambo Fest at Hotel Congress with music by Vox Urbana, El Santo Goipe and El Tambó Dis. This is one of Tucson’s famous dance party with a beyond the borders spin. $15 pp.
And then there’s The Block Party….
Kicking off at 5pm on May 7th, Congress Street and 5th Avenue this family friendly event will feature food, music and a panel conversation organized by the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area all in celebration of Maize. This event is free and promises to be a great time before the festival moves on to the other cities. Chefs will exchange dishes, challenge one another in a variety of love stream events.
Other associated partners include the annul Agave Heritage Festival which has its own long list of wonderful events.
People have been raving about Buendia Cafe ever since it opened awhile back. Today I found out why.
Buendia is located on First Avenue in the former home of the Frontier Drive-In, Sanchez Burrito Company, Wild Garlic Grill, Sofrito and probably about a half-dozen other eateries in the last forty years. Most places had great success there and if today’s experience is any indication, Buendia should be there for a long time.
Serving only breakfast and lunch, I guess you could call this tiny spot a Mexican diner.
The room has whitewashed walls that contrast with all the brightly colored decorations. Papel picado hang in streamers from the ceiling and knickknacks from Mexico hang on the walls. The table runners are striped serapes. If I could only use one word to describe the room and vibe, I’d have to use cheerful.
One charming touch was a tiny shaker that was filled with fuzzy little balls in different colors. Our server explained that it was filled with joy and encouraged us to sprinkle the joy all around. We did.
Service was the same way. The owners and our server were kept busy non-stop but all you could see were sincere smiles and you got the feeling they wanted you to enjoy yourself because they were. Almost all of the tables were filled and some turned over while we were there, but nothing seemed rushed.
Coffee is served with two little Mexican Maria cookies. Raw sugar sits on the table. We opted for regular coffee, although Mexican coffee with cinnamon and sugar is available. The brew was dark and full-bodied. For some reason, refills meant taking our cups bake to the prep area. I’m not sure why they do it this way. Perhaps it keeps people from drinking six cups of coffee while only spending a little money on their meal.
Of course, tortilla chips and salsa were served. The chips were fresh and crispy and we thought perhaps they were made in house. The salsa was perfectly balanced.
I’ve become a big fan of chilaquiles lately so I ordered the Divorciadas version. That means both red and green sauces. I ordered my eggs over easy. All the plate meals come with refried beans.
Buendia’s version of my new fave dish was outstanding, especially the green sauce. The serving was huge, but I ate every bite and then used the rest of the tortilla chips to scrape up the last of the sauces. The eggs were cooked to a tee. The beans tasted like refries from the good old days. This was a crave-worthy dish.
MJ said she woke up with huevos rancheros on her mind so that’s what she ordered, but she went with the huevos nopal. The nopal served the base for the eggs instead of beans. Warm tortillas are served on the side. She said it was a nice touch and proceeded to clear her plate.
At the end of our meal, the check was presented in a tiny, muslin purse embroidered with a sombrero. Again, a small gesture, but that extra touch goes a long way to make customers feel welcomed.
Quite the accomplishment for someone to own one of Tucson’s oldest restaurants AND one of its newest eateries, but the Flores family can proudly claim that title.
El Charro Café was established in 1922 (that’s one hundred years ago for all the math challenged folks out there) and has been run by the Flores family ever since. The Monica opened last week. The Monica is named after Monica Flin, the family’s great aunt who open El Charro way back when.
The two restaurants couldn’t be more different in both food offerings and space design. El Charro is located in the Flin family home on a quiet side street near downtown. The space is cozy and colorful.
The Monica is a huge open space with clean lines and a big city buzz.
El Charro’s menu is strictly Sonoran with all the old favorites. The Monica – where you order at the counter – has burgers made with a hint of mushrooms, breads from Barrio Bread, pizzas and pastas and plenty more. There is a nice wine list and a full-range of cocktails. Chef Danny Perez heads the kitchen sith a fine hand and much creativity.
View from the private dining room.
We ate at The Monica last night and had a most enjoyable time. We ordered some shareables, a couple of burgers, a couple of entrees, desserts and took home two slices of pie.
The shareables included the panecito, a huge hunk of focaccia from Barrio Bread (Don Guerra is a partner in this new venture) with balsamic dipping sauce, an olive tapenade, goat cheese and wilted spinach. The focaccia was soft and warm and lightly seasoned and served as a great base for the other items.
Grilled Brussels sprouts were paired nicely with El Charro’s famous carne seca. The combination is clever and decidedly different. The mini chimis – another El Charro claim to fame – were filled with green chile cheddar and topped with three sauces – a red, a green and Bechamel queso. I loved all of them but thought the last one was top notch.
Mini chimis with three sauces
Heads up on the Responsible Burgers: Because they are comprised of 30% mushrooms and 70% grass-fed beef, the kitchen doesn’t cook them to temperature( i.e., rare, medium and well) so you won’t get that bloody burger found elsewhere. The Jules, which was the choice of the burger eaters at our table, is served on some of that tasty focaccia and topped with a three-cheese blend, grilled onions, arugula and a Dijon mayo. A true winner.
The Jules Burger and slaw
I didn’t get a chance to try the citron salmon but my friend, Norma, loved it. I enjoyed my meltingly tender short ribs that came with mashed potatoes topped with a French onion gravy, wilted spinach and wild rice. The taters were especially tasty with a perfect texture – not too thick, not too soupy.
The desserts were rich and wonderful. A devilishly good chocolate cake called ‘the ticket cake’ had creamy center and chocolate ganache topping. The tiramisu held a Mexican spin with a Mexican wafer and hints of coffee, orange and clove. Its name? Café de Olla. I think that translates to coffee pot.
Sorry, I have no pics of the marguritte pizza that I took home. I ate it cold for breakfast this morning. Styled after Roman pizza, this was a thick square of more of the focaccia, with cherry tomatoes, cheese and tiny leaves of basil and the house tomato sauce – a great way to start my day.
There are several menus at The Monica: The Pantry Menu – perfect for lunch to eat there or to go. The pizzas are available then as well as salads, soup of the day, chili and cornbread and more.
The Breakfast menu comes either from the Pantry or a full menu of intriguing breakfast items. The Lunch menu can also come from the Pantry or bigger plates. There’s even a Happy Hour menu and pantry items like loaves of Barrio Bread, El Charro tamales and other food items to take back to the office or home for dinner.
I want to go back for lunch and sit on the beautiful patio. What I’ll order who knows, but if I know that if I worked Downtown, I would eat at The Monica several times a week and never really repeat myself.
The Monica is a wonderful addition to the Tucson restaurant scene. Gracias, Chef Danny Perez and his hard-working team. Gracias, Flores family.
El Charro Café is finding all kinds of fun and tasty ways to celebrate their 100th Anniversary.
The latest creation, which is both fun and tasty, is their collaboration with local Dragoon Brewing Company and the specially created Cerveza of the Century. Brewed with Centennial hops this Sonoran Amber pairs well with everything from a simple quesadilla to a full combo plate. Eric Green, Dragoon’s Head Brewer, describes this one-of-a-kind brew as a little malty and a little sweet with hints of fruit.
Carlotta Flores, and her son Ray, are excited to serve the Cerveza of the Century at all Si Charro restaurants, including The Monica, which will open in a matter of days. The Monica is named after Monica Flin, Carlotta’s aunt, who first opened El Charro Café in 1922.
The Cerveza of the Century is only one of the many events planned to celebrate the 100 years of serving some of the finest Mexican food in the country. The Flores family can boast that El Charro Café is the oldest Mexican restaurant still run by the same family in America.
Campbell Avenue can claim the title of Breakfast Restaurant Row in Tucson. Starting at Grant Road and ending at Sunrise, Campbell Avenue is a long stretch of breakfast delights.
Yes, you’ll find all those chain places but the following are all local.
Each of the restaurant offers its own take on the first meal of the day with innovative menus and outstanding hospitality. On any given day the following places are busy from the moment they open their doors to closing. There is often find a wait for a table, but that’s okay because you’ll leave satisfied.
Some follow traditional diner hours and close around 2:00pm; others also have an extended menu that includes lunch and dinner. Still others only serve brunch on weekends.
From the moment P&P opened, people have been flocking to its doors. The menu has plenty of familiar breakfast dishes, but prep is done in most untraditional ways.
The Ares Collective first opened P&P in 2014 at a tiny spot about a half mile up the street from its present location. The space was so tiny that on weekends, the wait could seem endless. But people waited, including Alton Brown, who raved about the food and the vibe. A few years later, the owners opened a site on the eastside and another in Scottsdale. About two years ago, they renovated the bigger, fancier building they now occupy.
The menu is small but most creative. Sure, if you want eggs and toast, you can order the Simple Breakfast, but then you’d miss out on all those other savory dishes like the cast iron duck confit or the harissa shakshuka or the oven-roasted sweet potato hash. On the sweeter side you’ll find French toast served with macerated berries, candied almonds and chai butter.
The bread comes from August Rhodes their own bakery.
The Blue Willow is the OG of breakfast places found on Campbell. It is also one of the few in this group that offer all three meals. Opened in 1972 by Janet Seidler, today the Blue Willow is in the very capable hands of her daughter, Rebecca Ramey.
Today the menu has many of those same options found on the original menu, but now one can enjoy mimosas or Bloody Marys or an assortment of coffees.
The Blue Willow Special is only one of the many big breakfast options. The dish offers savory ingredients with a Southwest spin. Scrambled eggs (3) are tossed with shredded chicken, Hatch green chiles, tomatoes and chopped corn tortillas are topped with cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream. Served with the famous homestyle potatoes and your choice of toast or tortillas, this meal is most satisfying on several levels,
Or take a simpler but no less delicious route and have a bowl of the popular Blue Willow granola.
You can dine inside or on the award-winning patio. The Blue Willow is also open for lunch and dinner.
Baja is the known for a wide assortment of Eggs Benedict all done up in the most creative ways. Portions are so humongous that diners often ask for a doggie bag.
The vibe here is very casual but that doesn’t mean service suffers. Someone is always on the floor warming up coffees and seeing to people’s needs.
If Benedicts aren’t your thing not to worry. Choices are as simple as the Classic Baja Breakfast (two eggs any style, your choice of ham, bacon or sausage and either an English muffin or toast) or the Avocado toast (two slices of wheat toast, herb cream cheese, cojita cheese, avocado and jalapeno bacon with two eggs, any style,)
Not to be outdone by the savory side, Sweet Treats include giant pancakes in an assortment of flavors, cinnamon toast French toast and the house specialty Leige waffles. Pearl sugar in the batter caramelizes when cooked renders sticky crunch. Sounds weird, but these may well be the best waffles in town,
Ghini’s French Café
1803 E. Prince Road 520-326-9095
Tuesday -Sunday 8:00am-2:00pm
Another old timer, Ghini’s, is celebrating over twenty-years of serving breakfast a la Françoise. Don’t be confused by the address. Ghini’s is located in the Safeway Plaza on the corner of Campbell and Prince.
Three variations of croque madame kick off the menu. The stuffed crepes can be either savory or sweet. Omelettes (notice the French spelling) can be as simple as a three-cheese or rise to the level of the Marseillaise with Spanish anchovies, local tomatoes and garlic.
Garlic is featured in many of Ghini’s dishes but no worries about the stinking rose overpowering the light eggy plates.
The signature dish is the Eggs Provençal, a dish Ghini herself has made since her childhood time in France. Eggs, however you like them prepared are served with sauteed local tomatoes, fresh garlic and thyme. You have your choice of breads that are all made in La Baguette, the family bakery that shares the same space.
After having spent a good part of a year awhile back researching chimichangas, I’m excited to see a new addition to chimi lore.
Si Charro – aka The Flores Family of El Charro Cafe fame – has partnered with local comic book artist extraordinaire, Frank Powers in creating a 4-page comic book called “The Accidental Origin of the Chimichanga”.
As many Tucsonans know Monica Flin, the founder of El Charro, created the first chimi years ago and as the title indicates the whole thing was an accident. There were children around so when Tia Monica accidentally dropped a burro in hot oil, instead of using a Mexican swear word she yelled, ‘Chimichanga’.
The illustrations are wonderful and the story includes the history of El Charro which will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary next year.
The comic books are available at all Si Charro restaurants. Kids can color the drawings in and then submit them for a chance to win a $100 gift certificates. They must be in by Christmas eve and can be submitted on line if you so choose.
I would get two just to have another piece of Tucson culinary history.
Tucson Tamale opened a second production facility. Partnering with Diamond Ventures, another local business known for real estate development and private investment, Tucson Tamale refurbished the former iconic Malone Meat and Poultry Building on West 29th Street.
Todd and Sherry Martin opened Tucson Tamale in 2008 in a tiny storefront on Broadway using old family recipes to hand wrap an assortment of tender, fluffy tamales. Winning awards and high praise from national TV programs, TT expanded to more stores and then a facility on Grant Road.
They’ve expanded to 15 varieties over time (including special holiday versions) and now their tamales can be found in over 4,000 stores across the country.
The total work space is now over 28,000 feet…but all the tamales are still wrapped by hand.
The goal is to produce 10 million tamales next year alone.
Tucson Tamale also runs a top- notch mail order business. We’ve shipped packs of tamales just this week. With the holidays approaching these are a great way to give far flung friends and family a taste of Tucson.
Or visit one of the stores at 7159 E. Tanque Verde or 7286 N. Oracle to get some of these tasty treats for yourself.
Technically, my lunch with my life-long friends at The Cup in Hotel Congress was not a birthday celebration, just a coincidence. Nevertheless, Christina bought me lunch, we had lots of fun and life seemed almost normal.
The patio at The Cup is one of the best in town and for a Wednesday the place was pretty packed.
There were seven of us but somehow, we only ordered three different dishes from the extensive menu: the daily quiche, the Drunken Fish aka fish tacos and the Chilaquilas Verde (me as part of my new mania).
The quiche had layers of ham, cheese and another something I didn’t catch, which allowed for a taste of every item with each bite. It was perhaps the largest piece of quiche, I’ve ever seen. But it must have been good because there were only crumbs on the plate. The side salad was gorgeous.
The batter on the tacos was made with Crooked Tooth Brewery beer. The tortillas came from Cruz Farm, which is “Situated between the foothills of the sublime Chiricahua Mountains of Southern Arizona”. Again, plates were cleaned bare.
The chilaquiles were served in a cast iron pan that was packed with braised pork, two poached eggs, corn tortillas, tomatillo sauce, asadero and cotija cheeses with a hint of cilantro. Fresh fruit was served on the side. The chile verde added a different spin from the more traditional chilaquiles, but the difference was a welcome change.00
The next night was a full-on bday celebration: dinner at Kingfisher with Karyn Zoldan and Edie Jarolim, my s foodie friends and two fab food writers.
We requested the corner booth in the bar which gave us full view of comings and goings of other diners and the very busy staff.
The bar at Kingfisher is probably one of my most favorite places to eat in Tucson. The vibe is smart and sexy and in spite of the fact that there are fewer tables and one has to make reservations even for a chair at the bar, none of that has been lost.
We each ordered a different beverage – okay the birthday girl had both an amaro and an Albarino.
We went all seafood. Starters included the House Smoked Ruby Trout that comes with red onion jam, hot mustard, croutons and the tempura like calamari. (sorry no picks.)
For entrees, Karyn ordered the special monkfish.
Edie opted for the wasabi dusted ahi.
and I ordered the sea bass that came with gold beet thyme salad, blood orange gastrique, roasted butternut and new potatoes, green beans.
I don’t have all the details on the other dishes but you can see by the pictures the care that went into the detailed presentation.
We finished with Marianne’s Flourless Mexican Hot Chocolate Torte. A squiggle of chocolate coffee sauce and a generous scoop of whipped cream made this the perfect ending to a wonderful; evening.
Birthday week means plenty of good eating and while not all of the following had anything to do with my birthday, you can see I’ve been enjoying many of the culinary treasures found in town.
Breakfast with Mary Jo Pollack was the kickoff. We’ve been making the rounds at all the “Best” breakfast spots in town. This sunny morning, we opted for the Seis Kitchen located at Mercado Agustin in the West End. They have a beautiful patio.
MJ ordered the Plato Mixto which includes scrambled eggs, cheese and a choice of two other items – chorizo, bacon, Puerco verde or roasted green chile. I’m not sure which she chose but she did ask for extra greens instead of potatoes (both come with the meal.) Flour tortillas and smashed beans are also included. As a note, they gave her potatoes so someone in the kitchen wasn’t paying attention. She didn’t see to mind and scooped the mix up in the tortillas that accompany the dish.
I ordered my new addiction, chilaquiles. This dish varies with the chef but the basics are the same. Seis calls theirs tradicional and thus had corn tortilla chips, Puerco Verde, red chile sauce, two fried eggs*, queso fresco, pico de gallo & crema. Served with smashed beans and crispy potatoes. Other than cold potatoes – they were still pretty tasty – this was a great version.
Tuesday meant a trip to 4th Avenue and since John had never been to Boca Tacos Y Tequila we decided to go there providing we could find a parking place close enough. We did.
We were the first people in the door but throughout our meal there was a steady stream of diners. We ate inside in front of the large wooden map of the world, which provided pleasant entertainment.
John ordered three grilled shrimp tacos (hold the cabbage) and I chose a mixed trio of grilled shrimp, salmon and the Dan Gibson, named after a former boss who now heads the visittucson, our local visitors’ bureau. In contrast to the seafood choice this had barbacoa style beef cooked in tomato chile sauce.
Pickled onions came with both orders.
We also ordered a tortilla chips. They come with a flight of the small batch salsas Chef Maria Mazon is known for. I can’t remember all six (one had strawberries in it, another was hot with habenero chiles) but they were all good ranging in heat levels. My fave was the tomatillo. John ordered a Dos Equis and I bailed out with a cola.
Warm tortilla chips
The chips were wide, red strips that came in a brown paper bag. Warm and lightly salted, we agreed that this is how tortilla chips should be.
John loved his tacos that consisted of four good-sized shrimp grilled with a light char. They put the guacamole on the side which made it easy for me to snatch some.
My taco trio was top notch. The salmon had two big pieced of tender blackened salmon, a sprinkling of cabbage and guacamole. Fantastic! I love the shrimp, of course, but the Dan Gibson was a delightful mess of savory tender shredded beef.
Wednesday night’s birthday dinner at Flora’s Market Run was a wonder. We, meaning birthday person Edie Jarolim, Karyn Zoldan and I, have had many great meals together but due to the pandemic our dinners in the last year or so consisted of take out in someone’s backyard or a park. This year we’re back at enjoying fine meals at fine restaurants.
Flora’s is in the old Rincon Marker building which has been revived in a most charming way by the Prep & Pastry team. Great job, folks. And while the menu is small, we enjoyed every bite along with some sparkling conversation.
We started with the charcuterie board. Edie had interviewed owner Nathan Ares for an upcoming article and he told her they are the only certified charcuterie restaurant in Tucson. None of us were aware such a certification existed, but doing a little research shows that it might a relatively new thing. It was total chef’s choice but nothing was identified. There were two meats (I believe mortadella and prosciutto), two cheeses (one a blue) fresh fruit, house made jam, a grainy mustard and several chunks of ciabatta. Anyway, the board was delicious although photos weren’t taken until after we got started.
Charcuterie at Flora’smy portion
We also ordered the charred Brussels sprouts. These were outstanding, After the char with some chili crunch, they’d been dressed with a lemon vinaigrette and sprinkled with goat cheese and a ciabatta crumb. We often order sprouts when we dine together and have enjoyed many variations but I have to say these were some of the best we’ve tried. The sprouts were small but I think that was one reason why they were so good. The lemon dressing was light and didn’t over power the dish. I’d order these again in a flash.
the salmon
Karyn ordered the sesame seared salmon that came with miso roasted cauliflower, gohychang roasted Brussels sprouts, butternut honey puree scallions and an herb salad. We didn’t get a bite but she was pretty quiet while she was eating so I’m guessing it was really tasty.
Edie and I both ordered the blackened scallops. Sometimes a protein is blackened to the point of ruination, not so here. There was just enough to bring out the subtle flavors of the three big scallops. They were artfully arranged on a bed of creamy grits, seared shallots and a collard green and apricot mostarda. Taking a swirl through the chorizo vinaigrette on the plate boosted all the flavors. Again, a dish I’d happily reorder.
the scallops
We inhaled the mixed berry cobbler that was topped with house made ice cream. Sadly, that meant no pics of this delicious ending.
I abstained from drink that night but Karyn had a Paloma and Edie had the True Mad North, a blend of del bac whiskey, green chartreuse, vermouth and bitters. The cocktail menu is an interesting mix of traditional cocktails and house created items.
Service was top notch, friendly and at a perfect pace.
Flora’s Market Run is open for breakfast and lunch and they have special Happy Hour menu.
I highly recommend giving Flora’s a try or two, especially for dinner where the kitchen shines.
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