DesertEats: Andrew & Pals' Tucson Restaurant Blog

The Hub

2012-01-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

The Hub Restaurant and Creamery
266 Congress Ave
Tucson

http://www.hubdowntown.com/

We were looking for something nice near the Rialto. The Hub was a good choice. The restaurant focuses on American comfort food. (One other online reviewer refers to it as an expensive Boston Market), and ice-cream. We were all really pleased with our meals. I had the minestrone soup and the chicken pot pie. Both were very tasty and well prepared. The pot pie had a very light and thin crust, and the cream sauce was delicious. Heidi and Art shared an onion soup and then had pork chops and shrimp & grits respectively. I didn't taste either but everyone cleared their plates. Afterwards we had sample sized ice creams bowls. I had bourbon almond brittle, chocolate, and salted caramel. The first two were fine. But the salted caramel was to die for. My mouth is watering for it as I write.

Definitely recommended.

Pasco, University Drive

2011-02-28T20:07:00.001-08:00

I'm joining the chorus of raves for the newest restaurant on University Avenue. Pasco replaces the famous nightmare of Cafe Paraiso (well-known for the owner who'd yell at you). Pasco is not only a nice replacement, it's a fantastic one. Heidi and I had dinner there tonight.

Heidi had the Albodigas soup, which came with fresh avocado, lime and two very hefty meatballs. The broth was very tasty. She followed this up with the "Farm" salad which was very good but not very imaginative.

My meal by contrast was quite the adventure (in a good way). I had a "stacked food theme". As an appetizer I had the Pasco bacon and eggs. This would have made a lovely light supper or filling lunch by itself. It was 2 triangles of french toast, very lightly seasoned with maple syrup, topped by a latke, with spiced cooked pear slices, with a strip of pork and a panko-coated poached egg on top. The panko coated poached egg seems like magic too me. It definitely wasn't over-cooked, I don't know how they did it! I wasn't a big fan of the pork, but Heidi thought it was delicious. It was certainly very tender. The rest was great.

Everyone knows about me and the beef-waffles, so how could I resist chicken and waffles. A very tender and lightly breaded chicken breast served over two waffles with honey and butter. It was wonderful. Surprisingly light and very tasty.

We were a bit surprised at how long dessert took to come, but eventually the manager came out to apologize and told us that they just couldn't get the beignets we'd order to cook properly (they had apparently tried 12 times!) so they offered us a free slice of chocolate torte instead. Served with mint creme fraiche. It was lovely.

I had coffee which was quite tasty. I was extremely pleased with the fact that when they offered me a refill they didn't slosh more coffee into my current 1/2 drunk cup. I spend a good deal of time balancing out the cream, coffee and sweetener, and I hate it when somebody sloshes new coffee into my cup "warming it up". The fresh cup was very welcome.

Service was very attentive. Carlos was our cute little cubby waiter and was right on top of everything. A far cry from cafe paraiso days!

Oh and the whole meal was completely reasonable at about $40 + tip for the two of us. Definitely within budget for such a nice meal.

A definite A+. Go there and eat!!!

Frog's 5 star organic cafe

2011-02-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

At Oracle and Ina,

The good:
-The coffee was yummy.
-The pastries looked good (although i didn't actually eat one)
-the Staff were nicely dressed
-the place looked clean
-the service was prompt.

The bad
-Soup with absolutely NO flavor and no salt (again no salt on the table, what's up with that?)
-The most disgusting Croque Monsieur I've ever had. Waaaaaaay too much bechamel to start with.

The Ugly
-The fact that they wouldn't substitute fruit for salad or soup. I mean how hard is it to put your spoon into your vat of fruit salad (which they do sell) and put that in a cup instead of soup?
-The lippy cashier who decided it was a good plan to lecture me about "the rules", when I asked her to pass on to the owner that they should allow fruit salad.

Customer service hint #1: When a customer asks you to pass something on to the manager, just say "sure, I'll definitely pass that along" (even if you don't intend to). Do NOT take the opportunity to argue with them. Seriously, do they not teach people anything when they train them to be servers?

Restaurant owner hint #1: I think restaurants with no substitution policies are run by morons. it isn't that hard to give the customer what they actually want! Guess what? The customer might actually come back if you do.

Verdict: ok alternative for a coffee and a croissant or pastry, but definitely don't eat lunch there. Joël's is a much better choice for French Bistro soups and sandwiches.

The Keg, Oro Valley Market Place

2011-02-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

I'm from Alberta, land of oil, beautiful mountains and cattle ranchers. We're a bit like a really cold Colorado with better views... Steak was the food to eat and one of the local steakhouses near my house was the Keg. The keg in Calgary is 1/2 ski lodge (wood fires, paneled walls with photographs of people launching themselves off mountain tops on wooden sticks and 1/2 cowboy themed bar, with brands and bull horns on the wall. The steaks was always excellent, even if has got a little pricy in the past few years. The keg is a Canadian chain, but you find they're pretty good no matter where you go.

So I was really excited to see a Keg open up literally just down the street from me at the new Oro Valley Marketplace mall. I treated myself to a steak there last night because I was cold and frustrated with my work. Over all it was a pleasing experience, but a different one from my Calgary rememberances.

The ambiance of this Keg is very different from that of the Ski Lodge one in Calgary. This was definitely high end. I think they're trying to compete with Flemings (but seriously who can compete with Flemings?). Big spacious open and modern. With plenty of staff fussing over you. I had the french onion soup (pretty good, but needed salt), and the teriyaki steak dinner combo. The steak was delicious and tender. It was easily cuttable with only a dinner knife, I didn't need a steak knife (which was just as well since one wasn't provided). I also snarfed down my all-dressed baked potato. I was a little annoyed that I didn't get everything that was supposed to come with the dinner ("Served with a Caesar salad, vegetables, mushrooms and a baked potato.") I only got the potato. And they definitely did not substitute the soup for the salad. I paid full price for the soup. I could have whined, but I decided not to since the quality of the food was pretty damn good and I was feeling full with what I had. I didn't need more. I also had a lovely glass of merlot which went well with the steak and soup and put me in a nice mellow mood.

The service was attentive but not overwhelming. It was on the pricy side though. My meal including tax and tip came to $40. Not as pricy as Flemings. So it might be an alternative for my birthday dinner.

All in all a success.

http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/en/

Down Home Delights, Oracle Road in Oro Valley

2011-02-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.downhomedelights.com/

This place is definitely worth the drive up to my side of town. It's a great independent restaurant specializing in breakfast, lunch and brunch. I eat breakfast there regularly and have always had a fantastic meal. Everything is home prepared and the food is of the highest quality. If you have something that comes with fruit or homefries, have the fruit. Their fruit salad is fantastic. It often includes kiwi and strawberries and blackberries. It is not your standard fruit salad by any means. The service is always friendly and thoughtful. I took my family there on one very cold morning in January and they only had tables outside. But rather than let us shiver they rearranged a ton of furniture inside to make room for us. The only downside to the place is that I wish they'd serve a better brand of coffee, but otherwise everything there has always been great. Ask for their frequent diner card. it's worth it.

Good Egg on Oracle and River

2011-02-21T14:38:00.000-08:00

I love breakfast. I would happily eat breakfast for dinner and breakfast for dinner and breakfast for 2nd breakfast etc. Of course that would probably kill me from all the carbs and fat, but really it's my favorite meal of the day. So I decided to treat myself to a real hot breakfast this morning since I had an extra hour or so to kill. I went to the Good Egg on the corner of Oracle and River. I've been to some of their other locations (the one at Crossroads Market Place and the one on Broadway) and been reasonably pleased, but it's been a few years. This one is new and opened in the location of an old TGI Fridays (notorious for the fact that it was one of the last restaurants in Tucson to have a smoking section) which closed up shop a few months ago.

The meal was a disaster from beginning to end. There was a fairly long wait 15-20 mins. They offer you free coffee during the wait but it was watery and old. I decided to eat al fresco, as it wasn't too cold and they had heaters on the patio. You have to wonder what moron ordered the furniture for the patio. Did they sit in the chairs before buying them? Quite possibly the most uncomfortable badly designed restaurant seating I've ever seen. The chairs consisted of a woven plastic around a thick metal ring that sticks right into your leg. The only reasonable hypothesis I have for these torture devices is that they are designed to distract you from the horrible food.

I had standard breakfast fare: 2 eggs over medium with sausage, country potatoes and sour dough toast. The eggs were, in fact, well cooked and cooked to my order, and the coffee inside was way better than the dishwater they were giving outside, but that's where quality ended. So, tell me, who has an *egg* restaurant and doesn't put salt on the table. And it wasn't just my table. None of the tables around me had salt. I had to ask for salt. The sausage was inedible. It was dry and cold and the only discernible flavor was a ghastly amount of white pepper. For all I could tell they literally were made of shredded peppered cardboard.

I love toast. In my family, eggs are to be eaten with thin strips of buttered toast called "soldiers". That was impossible here. It was texas toast. Pre-"buttered" with something, which I doubt was butter. WHY WOULD ANYONE pre-butter your toast. Butter is such a personal thing. I like a lot of it. But they waved their magic butter wands lightly over these honking big bits of bread so that you might think there was a hint of butter on them. Seriously, how hard is it to bring a ramekin of butter to the table (which I requested, but was delivered to me 10 minutes later).

The service was definitely friendly and -- butter delivery aside -- was pretty prompt, but that was the only redeeming quality of my meal.

Avoid at all costs.

musings around AZ and UT

2009-08-08T20:21:00.001-07:00

I was recently on the road, and thought it would be fun to chronicle some of the most and least memorable food et al. experiences.

1. Chinle/Canyon de Chelly, AZ: the one coffee place advertised in the Frommers Guide is called Changing Woman Coffee. The service was decent but the regular coffee was awful, and the espresso drinks were...worse. Avoid. (We brought picnic food for our dinner and breakfast, and so luckily did not have to suffer at the cafeteria at the Thunderbird Lodge, reputed to be pretty awful.)

2. Moab, UT: the Slick Rock Cafe in Moab has great, friendly service and food that is quite forgettable. Next time in Moab we hope to remember not to eat there and to find something better.

3. Boulder, UT: Hell's Backbone Grill is one of the most amazing restaurants, in the world and not just in the region, especially considering that most of their customers are tourists. The food is prepared lovingly and most of it is local - including from their own garden, and including locally-raised meat. We ate a pretty good dinner there (appetizers, cocktails, wine, main courses, desserts - all of which were impressive), and had the most delicious breakfast on our way out of Utah. And the service is impeccable. DO NOT MISS!

3. Boulder UT: Burr Trail Grill: we had a great lunch here. Awesome service, wonderful food.

4. Torrey, UT: Cafe Diablo: decent food that sounds more exciting on the menu than it turns out to be on your plate. The desserts were the best part (all are made on the premises, including their ice cream); the appetizers and entrees, though creative, all seemed to have deep-frying in common. Great ambiance, gorgeous location, great service.

5. Teasdale, UT: restaurant at the Red River Lodge: meh. [Note: nonetheless, this lodge is THE place to stay in the area; we spent three nights there and loved it.] We ate breakfast here twice. The first time, the service was, um, not great (I meanly joked about a failed summer internship program); the second time, the service was fantastic (and provided by a different server). The food is decent and considering how few options there are here, is pretty good, but it was worth driving the hour to Boulder for breakfast at Hell's Backbone Grill on our third morning. The coffee at the lodge was barely so-so; do yourself a favor and instead have your morning coffee at...

6. Torrey, UT: Robber's Roost coffee (and books!): simply put, best coffee in town. Period.

7. Kanab, UT: Laid-back Larry's: excellent coffee in the middle of nowhere. WOW!

8. Flagstaff, AZ: Pato Thai cuisine. Simply put, this is the best Thai food in Arizona, if not the west coast, and I lived in LA and and the SF bay area for years. Flagstaff's darn lucky to have such an amazing restaurant with fresh, spicy, flavorful food and great service.

9. Flagstaff, AZ: Rendez-vous at the Monte Vista Hotel: after dinner, do you ever feel like you need a cocktail AND dessert? Rendez-vous has it all. I drank two of the most delicious mojitos I've ever had, and enjoyed a slice of chocolate cake that while not as good as the one from Hell's Backbone Grill many hours up the road was nonetheless sumptuous. The coffee the next morning at Rendez-vous was great.

10. Flagstaff, AZ: MartAnne's on San Francisco St. Less than a block away from where we stayed at the Monte Vista Hotel is this great local Mexican restaurant. Tex-Mex influence but not in a bad way; the green chilaquiles were as good as any I've had in Mexico City and Oaxaca, and the accompanying beans, tortilla, and salsa were the perfect match. YUM! Coffee sucked, though, but the food more than made up for it.

Jerry Bobs La Canada & Lambert

2009-07-26T10:27:00.001-07:00

I won't bother posting the contact details here since you shouldn't waste your time going there. This is about the new Jerry Bob's at Lambert and La Cañada. Cold pre-cooked sausages. Rubbery overcooked eggs. Flavorless mound of 1/2 cooked hashbrowns. Toast came with a scary looking bright yellow "butter" sprinkled on it. No jam, honey or marmalade, just grape jelly. No splenda. Had to wait 10 minutes to get my cold, burnt coffee. Does a picture emerge? MacDonalds would have been a better choice...

Saffron Indian Bistro

2009-07-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

Saffron Indian Bistro
7607 N. Oracle Rd.
Suite 101
Oro Valley, AZ 85704

http://saffronaz.com/web/

Monday-Saturday 11 am to 10 pm
Sunday 11 am to 9 pm
Lunch Buffet Daily $8.95 : 11 am to 3 pm

A few nights ago, some good friends were going to join us for dinner. We had planned to eat at Zemam's, an outstanding Ethiopian restaurant fairly close to home, but our friends put forth the outrageous suggestion (kidding!) that we drive north quite a ways to eat at Saffron, which they suggested could very well be Tucson's best Indian restaurant. We trust their taste in food, so we agreed to the long-ish ride in the 105-degree heat and ended up at Saffron.

And we're glad we did! We had an amazing dinner there. The four of us have pretty vegetarian tendencies, we so ordered four vegetarian dishes to share: the shahi kofta (Indian spiced vegetable rolls simmered in a traditional aromatic mughlai curry sauce, laced with a touch of saffron and garlic), daal makhani (black lentils slowly simmered with traditional spices, a specialty of the northwest Indian frontier), chana masala (a north Indian specialty of slow simmered chick peas cooked with tomatoes, onions, roasted garlic and laced with exotic spices), and baingan barta (traditional smoked eggplant cooked with fresh green chilies, ginger root, and fresh coriander leaves) - yes, these description are directly copied from their menu. And they describe the food accurately; all these dishes were delicious. I'll get back to that in a moment.

First, some words about the decor. It's minimalist and modernist, and thus quite a contrast from the other Indian restaurants in town. It looks sleek and cool, and like it wants to cater to a very hip crowd. It works pretty well, too; we sort of forgot we were in a strip mall on Oracle Rd because the decor was so cool-looking.

Our server was attentive and quite competent. She first served us a bowl of papadum, which was unlike the typical tasteless cardboard at many Indian places. It was crispy, fresh, and most importantly, flavorful with a hint of spice. The mint chutney that came with it was refreshing and a perfect accompaniment.

As for the food, we'd ordered it "medium-spicy" so as not to be overwhelmed in case "spicy" was too much, and used the hot pepper condiment that came with the food to add heat. Which worked perfectly: the food was spiced at the right level (the four of us tend to prefer things on the spicier side), and the added heat from the fresh chile sauce was great. Of all the dishes, my favorite was the shahi kofta - or, more specifically, the sauce it came in. Fragrant and full, it was also quite rich and complex. The baingan barta was the best I've had in town, and ranked up there with the best ever. The black lentil dish was a novelty for all of us, and we really enjoyed the smoky flavor that dominated. And the chana masala was perfect.

I highly recommend this place - since eating there, I've scouted the web and found a number of mixed reviews, but our experience there was fantastic.

Maynards Market and Kitchen

2009-02-26T06:52:00.000-08:00

Maynards Market and Kitchen
400 N. Toole Ave (in the historic train depot, across from Hotel Congress)
Tucson, AZ 85701
520.545.0577

http://www.maynardsmarkettucson.com/

Maynards Market and Kitchen is the long-awaited new occupant of the space in downtown Tucson's historic train depot. The previous occupant of the space, Central Bistro, was an unmitigated disaster (from the perspective both of food and ambiance), so for the last couple years those of us living downtown have been awaiting Maynards, hoping for something, anything, better than what was there before.

In my book, Maynards scores high, with some room for improvement. To begin, there are two separate spaces: the market, and the kitchen. The market is geared toward locals, selling various foods and other goods along with coffee, wine, and the occasional pastry. The market seems to be modeled along the lines of Wilko and Time Market, two very successful businesses nearby. It could be thought of as a high-class convenience store in a great location with a super ambiance - it feels very urban inside, and being located right along the train tracks provides a unique experience. The one negative I see about the market so far is that it doesn't open until 10 or 11 am - long after I want to stop in for a cup of coffee on my way to work. Nonetheless, it's also a great afternoon hang-out place; it's got a very long table at which people can sit, read their newspapers, or their laptops. As for coffee, it can be had as of 7 am next door at the restaurant, to which I now turn.

Maynards Kitchen is located just next door, and in it we seem to have a winner of a restaurant. Like the market, the restaurant is geared to be very site-specific; it does not shy away from its location in the train depot, and features plate glass windows facing north with spectacular view of the Santa Catalina Mountains, foregrounded by the train tracks and the excitement of real trains that pass by regularly (don't worry; the new owners installed very thick glass, so the experience is visual and not auditory: no noise from the trains makes it into the restaurant).

Food-wise, Maynards has improved since it opened in early December. Having talked with the owner several times, it's become clear to me that he's very keen on getting the food right, and is now on his third chef since the grand opening! The result has been a menu that caters to the interests of the clientele, and food made with local and fresh ingredients, a priority for the restaurant. Having eaten there twice since the new chef arrived, I can confidently say that the food is quite good, and the service has so far been consistently excellent. Both are perhaps as good or better than across the street at the Cup Cafe (which has the same owner), and the ambiance is just as unique and quirky. If you go, be sure to pay attention to the ceiling, a tribute to Southwestern Art Deco, along with the chandeliers hanging from it. What's more, the extra-long zinc bar is ultra-hip, and helps match the urban decor and atmosphere of the neighboring market. The bartender mixes up a mean cocktail (by which I mean, it's outstanding), and the desserts - though limited in type - are amazing.

I'm thrilled to live just two blocks from Maynards, although if I ate dinner there as much as I really want, I'd quickly reach my budget limit. However, it's an excellent restaurant, far exceeding our expectations so far, and is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Hats off to owner Richard Oseran for doing it right!

Blanco Tacos & Tequila

2007-09-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

2905 E. Skyline Drive in La Encantada
Food: Mixed
Ambiance: it's in La Encatada... need I say more
Price: My meal alone was $50
Overall: Eh...

I'm a little baffled by the need for an incredibly expensive taco restaurant in a city where you can get the real deal. As AW points out the fact that the restaurant is called "blanco" and is in the rizzy La Encantada mall cannot be a coincidence.

I had a really mixed experience here. Some things were great; somethings were awful. Let's start with the awful. My main course, the house speciality of Blanco Enchiladas, was revolting. The sauce tasted awful. The black beans were flavorless and dry and the rice was uninspired. It wasn't cheap either at $15. I'd rather go to poca cosa or El charro any day for enchiladas. The other awful thing was the furniture. We sat outside, and the chairs were pretty darn uncomfortable. They were too deep. The tables also made conversation difficult.

Ok. The good stuff. The Peach and Hibiscus Margerita was delicious. My dinner friends also enjoyed the berry mojito and the watermelon Margerita. The cheese crisps were very tasty, if a bit sparse on topping. And the tour de force was the flan, which was AMAZING.

A mixed bag overall, not my favorite restaurant, but I'd probably go back if only for the flan.

Vila Thai

2007-06-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

Vila Thai Restaurant
972 E. University Blvd (upstairs, at Main Gate)
Tucson, AZ
http://www.vilathai.com/

This is one of the best restaurants to open in Tucson lately, and probably my favorite restaurant around campus. Till now, I've thought that Tucson had a couple decent Thai restaurants, but Vila Thai is by far superior, and I feel quite fortunate that it's located minutes from my office.

I've eaten at this restaurant a number of times. Although the service was a little uneven when the restaurant first opened, it's been nothing short of perfect lately. And the food - well, it's wonderful. A few things that I think are quite important about the food:

1. the restaurant is happy to accomodate vegetarians by adjusting ingredients in dishes listed on the menu.

2. the restaurant makes the food exactly as spicy (or non-spicy) as you specify.

3. the food is fast AND delicious.

I'll elaborate a bit. I tend to order the panang curry lunch special with tofu. I love this dish super-spicy, and whenever I ask for it that way, I am quite satisfied. The depth of flavor in the curry is wonderful, and all lunch specials come with rice (your choice of white or brown) and vegetarian pad thai - some of the best pad thai in town.

I've also ordered the tom yum soup a lot lately, and it's consistently full of flavor and quite filling. I think I've set some sort of record this week by eating there three times (and it's only Thursday) - but with such good food, I'm not surprised I find myself there so often. Definitely worth eating at - also, I've never been for dinner but hear it's lovely.

CaffeNation

2007-05-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

CaffeNation
3191 E. Valencia Suite 111
Tucson, AZ 85706
(520) 294-4995
http://www.caffenation.com/

We went looking for free wifi this morning and found a cool little place. It's called CaffeNation and it's down by the airport. We went there because we wanted free wireless, coffee, and something to snack on.

It's an unassuming little storefront in the back of an industrial/business park just north of the airport. It's one room with about ten tables scattered about. Not very happening decore-wise.

On the other hand, the coffee was very good and the bagles basically fresh. (Though the samples on the counter were dusty!)

Where they shined though was the lunch fare. I got the chicken posole soup with the tomato and provolone salad. The former was red, rather than white, but spicy and really yummy. The salad was also very nice.

DKO got a fruit sald and brownie. The former was fresh and I haven't heard yet about the brownie.

I was also pleased with the rapid friendly service. Not haute cuisine, but a nice little spot.

Feast!

2007-02-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

Feast
4122 E. Speedway Blvd
www.eatatfeast.com

Two nights ago, I dined with a couple friends at Feast, one of those restaurants located in a nondescript strip mall that is representative of much of Tucson's dining culture. Luckily, once you enter the restaurant, you quickly forget that you're on busy Speedway Blvd. The decor and ambience in the place are really unique and beautiful; it feels quite cosmopolitan in there.

This was my third time dining at Feast, and so far it's three home runs. The servers are personable, kind, witty, and attentive, and the food is superb. I wasn't too terribly hungry Saturday night, so I opted for two appetizers: the "ducklava" and the lobster, corn, and scallion bread pudding.

Both dishes were perfect. My friend Steve asked if the ducklava, a baklava-inspired dish that contains duck confit between layers of phyllo, was "ducklicious" - I replied that it was "quacktacular." And the bread pudding - WOW! What a delicious combination of ingredients. As for Steve, he enjoyed his yellow vegetable curry, though said it could have been more interesting, while my pal Adam really liked his pork sandwich a lot.

For dessert, the three of us shared a very yummy piece of pineapple upside-down cake.

Another great thing about Feast is its drink selection: when it comes to beer and wine, they have such a range of choices. This place receives an A+ in my book, and I highly recommend it to all.

Robert's Restaurant

2007-01-06T07:21:00.000-08:00

Robert's Restaurant
3301 E Grant Rd
Tucson, AZ 85716-2811

This place has been around forever, at least as long as I've lived in Tucson and it's always been outstanding. I noticed nobody'd written it up, so I figured I would.

It's a breakfast place, rather unimpressive from the street, the only sign that it's something special is the always crowded parking lot and the line of folks waiting for a table out the door.

The interior is also unimpressive, formica tables and benches, about twenty tables and another ten seats along the bar.

The fare is pretty normal. A casual glance at the menu doesn't set this place apart either. However, the careful menu-reader might notice the cajun sausage and a centrally placed reference to cinnamon buns.

It's the buns. There's no way around these puppies. They are the yummiest, butteriest, biggest, and just plain best cinnamon rolls in town. You can order one as is, or get it toasted. The latter is to die for.

The last time we were there, the waitstaff was exceptionally good. It's like she could read our minds.

Get there early or go on a weekday. It gets crowded and sometimes they run out of buns!

Mt. Lemmon Cafe

2006-10-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

Location: Summerhaven
Food: grill-ish, sandwiches, salads, famous pies

In order to escape a particularly stressful day, I spent today on Mt. Lemmon with a couple good friends. Upon arrival in Summerhaven around 11.45 am, we were feeling hungry and wandered into the Mt. Lemmon Cafe.

What followed was kind of disastrous, though we were good-natured about it enough not to get upset. Besides, it's Summerhaven, so they almost have a monopoly on restaurants at this place. The basic drawback is that between the time we sat down and the time our food arrived, an hour had probably passed. I don't know if I have ever experienced such terrible service - so bad it was funny. Our first mistake was asking for "another minute" when we were first asked if we were ready to order. About 20 minutes later, our order was taken, and our food (a couple veggie burgers, a BLT, and some chili) took at least 45 more minutes.

The food itself was decent. One order was screwed up, but they did so by doubling the order instead of halving it as requested. The best part of the meal was looking up at the wall at a framed newspaper review of the restaurant, entitled "Looking for good food". My immediate reaction was, "Yes, as I sit here with the food I waited so long for, indeed, I am looking for good food."

The pie we ordered for dessert was great. Expensive though - $6.75 for a slice of pie! (My veggie burger cost $8.75.)

My advice: pack a picnic lunch to take to Mt. Lemmon, and just order a slice of pie.

Galo's

2006-09-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Galo's Restaurant
7854 E Wrightstown Rd
Tucson, AZ 85715
(520) 731-3178

We've actually gone to this place a few times, but haven't had the opportunity to write them up.

Location. It's in a little strip mall on the southwest corner of Wrightstown and Pantano. Way out on the east side of town. Close to us, but probably far from most folks would would like this kind of food.

Ambience. It's upscale, but very simply laid out. A young mom and pop operation: I believe the husband is "Galo" and the wife is Robbi. We've dealt almost exclusively with her, though there are other waitstaff about. It's a very pleasant atmosphere and she brings a friendly personal touch.

Cuisine. Simple, but upscale and elegant. There's a very nice tilapia, a pork dish, and a salmon dish that DKO likes. There is a nightly potato that's usually very tasty and veggies with everything done very well. Salads are yummy and the desserts are to die for, especially the pineapple upside down cake, chocolate cheesecake, lime chiffon, and a mudpie that I love. Last night, we had a stellar soup: butternut squash and granny smith apple: very fine. The general tenor for all is crisp and tasty.

Wine list is very good but a bit short.

Definitely worth checking out....

La Pura Vida - Catalina

2006-09-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner was one of those special surprises, a rare treat well worth the drive. HH & AT were at Catalina state park for a hike and I drove up to meet them at La Pura Vida in Catalina (about 5 miles north of me). It's a ways away but REALLY well worth the trip. The food is a mix of Costa Rican and Nicaraguan & the place is charming. I had the blackbean soup, which was nicely spiced with cilantro and had egg and fresh raw green and red peppers in it. Afterwards I had the Brochetta (sp?), which was a shishkabab with steak, chicken, pork and veggies on it. It had a nice light sauce lightly sprinkled on top. It came with an interesting "tropical" salad that had fruit and greens in it with a coconut flavored vinegrette. HH had the Casada Pollo which came with Beans, rice, cabbage salad, plantains and farmer's cheese. Art had the evening special which was a snapper in orange sauce. Art paid it the ultimate compliment by NOT smothering it in hot sauce as he typically does. We all enjoyed our meals greatly. Desert was Tres Leches cake (very yummy and fattening) and Carmel flan which had a nice smooth (vs eggy) texture. We stayed for a while and the owner treated us to a shot of Costa Rican Banana liqueur which was delicious.

None of us are big fans of strolling musicians who move from table to table; we're too white and uptight for a private performance. Nevertheless we were all enchanted by the guitarist who played classic Central American Ballads. He had a lovely voice and played nicely. He also was very charming and chatted briefly with us as he stopped at our table. He was not aggressive and we really enjoyed his music. He alone was worth the drive out there.

I know it's far, but GO! (It's on Oracle right in the middle of Catalina, 159XXX N. Oracle. it's on the east side of Oracle across from the MacDonalds. ) I'm definitely going back!

Red Sky Cafe (Midtown)

2006-04-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

(The following is forwarded, with permission, from Mark H.)

Alice and I had a special meal at the Red Sky Cafe, which I don't think
has its own website but is reviewed here:

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/ent_dining/64535.php
and here
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/taste/9590

It is in Plaza Palomino on the very south end.

I had the duck confit which was staggering. Only comment was the breast
meat was a little less cooked than I thought the requested "medium"
should be but it was all very good nonetheless. Every bite was sumptuous
- fruity and wine-scented but not overpowering the flavor of the tender,
de-boned meat. It came with delicious potatoes and a wonderfully
diverse assortment of crisp-cooked vegetables. It is not priced for
every day but compared to what I've gotten at other places for this price
($19) and more I would call it a bargain. I thought the servings were
very generous, the presentation delightful, and our UA student
waitress perfect. We shared a flourless chocolate torte for desert which
was definitely yummy and cute. It is on of my A list for gastronomic
splurges.

Mark H.

Bonsai Teppanaki -- Swan and Fort Lowell

2006-03-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

Bonsai
3305 N. Swan Road

325-4494

PRICE: Expensive
QUALITY: Poor
SERVICE: Extremely slow
AMBIENCE: Bizarre techno modern Japanese, harsh lighting
Seating: Teppanaki Tables

This is my first *really* negative review. Two words leap to mind: the meat was like shoe leather. LITERALLY. The service was slow (we had to ask for our drinks 3 times). The patter of the Mexican teppanaki chef was bizarrely risque and not in a cute way. The seats were way too low (even mike practically had his chin on the counter). Diane got her drink in a plastic kiddy cup.
The Edamame were cold.

The good things: The soup was ok, the salads were ok in an iceberg lettuce sort of way, the chicken was nice.

Definitely not a repeater for us.

Cafe Poca Cosa has moved!

2006-03-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite mexican restaurants has moved! Cafe Poca Cosa used to be at Broadway and Scott. It's moved two blocks north to the SE corner of Pennington and and Scott. (My understanding is that "little" Cafe Poca Cosa -- the lunchtime version has ALSO moved, to Stone and Alameda).

A couple of notes about the new location.

1) it's hard to find, it's at the convergence of a couple of narrow one way streets. Your best bet is Pennington from 6th St or Pennington from Stone. Worse, it has the TINIEST restaurant sign I've ever seen (yet the restaurant was very full last night)

2) There is parking (in fact, the restaurant is UNDER a parking garage. But it now costs $2 to park.

3) All the prices seem to have gone up (the Plato Poca Cosa used to be $18, now it's $20) and it looked to me like their menu was a little smaller, but that may have just been the evening (menu changes twice daily)

4) On the upside: The new location is beautiful inside. It's a little less ethnic and a little more hip. It's also much more spacious.

5) They have new tables and chairs which are very comfortable. They also have new plates (which I think make the portions look smaller, but I'm pretty sure they're the same size).

6) The biggest improvement in my mind. It is Soooooo much more quiet in there. The old location was so loud you could barely hear each other talk. This new location is very pleasant.

Still my favorite Tucson Restaurant!

Mama Louisa's Midtown Near DM

2006-03-04T07:52:00.000-08:00

Mama Louisa's Italian Restaurant
2041 S. Craycroft Rd
Tucson AZ

520/790-4702

http://emol.org/mamalouisas/

PRICE: reasonable
QUALITY: Very good
SERVICE: very good
AMBIENCE: A little tacky
SEATING: Tables

Mama Louisa's is not the kind of place you want to go if you want fancy modern Italian food. But if you want good old fashioned home-made pasta (and PILES of it), its FANTASTIC. My favorite dish is the mama's combo -- Eggplant parm, meat lasagne and tortellini, all smothered in their marinara sauce. Mmmmmm! But it's a lot of food so go hungry. You can also get access to their soup and salad bar which offers a fairly typical spread of salad bar offerings.

Well worth the drive to the middle of nowhere!

A

Gee's Bistro

2006-02-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

Gee's Garden Bistro
1145 N. Alvernon Way,
Tucson AZ

520-325-5353
http://www.geesgarden.com/

PRICE: reasonable
QUALITY: very good
SERVICE: very good
AMBIENCE: nice
SEATING: Tables

About 8 of us went to Gee's Garden Bistro for Dim Sum last week. I'd been there before but enjoyed myself enormously this time. We were fortunate enough to have SF along who could order the right things in Cantonese. But everything was delicious and very reasonably priced for what we ate (which was a lot) at around $15 per person.

The Great thing about Dim Sum is the variety of foods you can get, so it's hard to point out any great favorites, but everything was very good. Service was quick on everything except the baos we special ordered.

Well worth a repeat!

Central Bistro

2006-02-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

Central Bistro

400 N. Toole Ave
Tucson, AZ 85701
520-623-1955

Central Bistro is the new restaurant located at the newly restored historic train depot on the east edge of downtown Tucson. The restaurant's location - at the hip yet authentically restored depot, across from the Hotel Congress - provides a challenging set of restaurant hurdles, and after eating at Central for dinner two weeks ago, I am not sure it's yet up to the challenge.

Before going on, I'd like to point out that reviewing a restaurant based on its first opening day may not be so fair. So please be sure to take any negative criticism below with a grain of salt.

That said, there's a fair amount of negative criticism to state here. Upon entering the restaurant, my three dining companions and I all noticed the terrible lighting - bright fluorescent lights in the entry way, followed by extremely bright halogen lighting throughout the seating area. I honestly wished I had brought my sunglasses.

A very friendly server quickly seated us. One thing that was practically flawless during our meal was the service; our server was consistently smiling and friendly, although rather than providing a printed list of drinks, she recited the available beverages very quickly, leading to some confusion.

The dinner menu looked good at first: an interesting variety of dishes, and a somewhat sufficient amount of vegetarian options (we were a group of 4 vegetarians). One quick glance at prices, though, made us all raise our eyebrows: entrees seemed to be in the $15-20 range, which we tentatively accepted assuming the quality of the food would match the relatively high price. We went ahead and ordered: I asked for the grilled portabella burger with roasted red peppers and feta, as did one of my dining companions. The others ordered a pasta dish, and meat loaf (not enough veggie options for him), respectively.

Our food was fair. The presentation was inadequate: for instance, the entrees looked tiny on the relatively large dinner plates, with side salads on a separate plate, resulting in an overall impression of "not enough food". Our friend who ordered meat loaf soon discovered that it was undercooked in the middle - not a good look for meatloaf, especially at something like $18. Our portabella burgers were decent, but again seemed way overpriced.

As the meal went on, we decided we'd offer some friendly tips to the owners, and wrote down our grievances (without being catty or mean) to give to them as we left. A few days later, I ran into several other friends, who had just come from Central Bistro - apparently, our advice had yet to be followed.

All in all, our first experience at Central was somewhat disappointing. I refuse to give up, though - a good restaurant belongs in a cool place like the Depot, and I optimistically believe they can do it if they work hard. Perhaps they need to find the right rhythm, but let's hope they do it soon - with the Cup Cafe across the street, Central Bistro faces some stiff competition. I feel as though they need to explicitly reach out to the residents in downtown Tucson in order to establish a regular clientele of local diners; this is one way to ensure success downtown.

In the meantime, I hope to return there, as long as I discover some improvements next time.

TucsonRestaurantReviews from a UA Astronomer

2005-11-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

Hi all --

Not got a review of my own to contribute yet, but in an independent series of web steps yesterday I ran across the following web page put together by a postdoc at the Seward Observatory. He reviews a lot of our knowns, favorites and otherwise; check it out!

http://ursa.as.arizona.edu/~rad/restaurants.html

:) Heidi

Wok 'n Sushi

2005-09-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

Wok 'n Sushi
4802 S. Sixth Ave
520-889-6300

PRICE: Moderate, especially for sushi

QUALITY: Very Good/Excellent

SERVICE: Friendly, a little slow but not annoyingly so

AMBIENCE: Not terribly remarkable

SEATING: Tables, booths, sushi bar

This is a new restaurant located a little bit off the beaten track from those of us on this blog, on South 6th Ave south of Ajo Way. It's worth the trek, though. I've now been there twice for dinner, and the novelty of this place makes it really fascinating as well as a good eating experience.

The restaurant's decor is not terribly inspired, but the restaurant's concept is: imagine a fusion of sushi, Mexican/Southwestern US, and Mongolian Barbecue. Yup, they have it all, and in true fusion fashion: for instance, the "Chile Relleno Roll" is a magical concoction that this place had better patent, because I wouldn't be surprised if it gets copied soon. Imagine taking a roasted, peeled chile pepper just as you would for a chile relleno (my favorite Mexican dish, by the way), then filling it - cramming it full - of high quality sushi-grade raw tuna. They they add a line of cream cheese, batter the outside of the chile pepper, and deep fry the thing - and the result is so delicious it's hard to describe. Go order some and see for yourself! Other hits unique to this restaurant include the jalapeno California roll, the SIxth Avenue roll, and more yummy mixes of Mexican+Japanese. It may sound unorthodox, but they pull it off really well.

Their other sushi is pretty good; I would rate it as second-highest quality for Tucson - not quite up there with Sushi Ten or perhaps Sushi Cho, but pretty fresh fish nonetheless. Although the service seems a bit slow at times, servers are both hard-working and attentive when they do provide attention. Our server last night was very good at reassuring us that despite the huge group celebrating a birthday that had ordered ahead of us, our food would nonetheless eventually arrive (which it did, and which we devoured).

Another cool aspect of this new restaurant is its events: every other Friday night, for instance, there's a drag show with some of Tucson's hottest drag queens. This attracts a wonderfully diverse group of patrons at the restaurant, which stays open till late on the weekends, resulting in a very hip environment - something Tucson needs more of. Note to other restaurants: be more like this one, please!

Now, for those of you not into sushi: there is a really good-looking Mongolian barbecue with lots of offerings on top of all the sushi, making this place ideal for groups of people that include sushi-lovers and sushi-haters. Though I have yet to try the Mongolian barbecue at Wok 'n Sushi, it looks good to me - perhaps another of our reviewers will head there to test it out for us and report back.

That's it for now. My recommendation: this is an excellent place for dinner or drinks+snacks. I hope it's successful, because I want to see it and more places like it in our fair city.

Michaelangelos, Italian, Casas Adobes/Oro Valley

2005-08-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

Michelangelo's Restaurant
420 W Magee Rd
Tucson, AZ 85704
520-297-5775

PRICE: *very* reasonable at lunch, more typical midrange for dinner
QUALITY: excellent
SERVICE: Good
AMBIENCE: Beautiful, both "classy" and "classical"
SEATING: Tables & Booths

This used to be my favorite Italian Restaurant before I discovered Torino's. But this still ranks up there for me. I'm especially fond of getting lunch there, because you can get a fantastic meal for an unbelievably low price (Main course, soup and drink for under $10). Been there uncountable times and only once have been disappointed (when the soup was tasteless).

Today's lunch was excellent. The minestrone soup was tasty. Their homemade garlic bread rolls are delicious. you can get herbed butter if you ask for it, which is definitely better than this phony olive-oil business (the olive oil is real, but I'm told they don't do that in most restaurants in Italy). My veal parmagiano was clearly home made (not a prepurchased or prepackaged cut like you would get at Olive Garden), the fettuncini that came with it was good (although I thought the sause was a bit spare).

Great place, if you are ever up at Magee and Oracle around lunch time.

Oy Vey Cafe, Kosher Vegetarian (sort of), On Campus

2005-08-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

The Oy Vey Cafe
1245 East 2nd Street,
Tucson, AZ,
at the Hillel Center of University of AZ. (A block North of the Union)

(For anyone that cares (I don't) it's Parve and Dairy. Hashgacha: Conservative, Rabbi Eisen, from Tucson Va'ad Hakashrut.)

PRICE: Reasonable (sandwich, chips & pickle for $7)
QUALITY: Good
SERVICE: Very Friendly
AMBIENCE: Cafeteria
SEATING: Indoor and outdoor tables.

I'm not Jewish, and definitely not kosher, but there is somethign appealingly healthy about Kosher restaurants. Especially when they claim they are vegetarian and whole foods. I've walked past Oy Vey many times as I've passed the Hillel on Campus and thought I should eat there, but it's taken me 7 years to actually walk in and order a sandwich. I'm glad I did.

I ordered a Mediterranean Wrap, which came with a small bag of chips, a pickle and a slice of cantalope. The Large drink is Tucson-sized (i.e. enormous). I have to say I was surprised by my wrap. I was expecting falafel. Instead it was mostly lettuce, some feta, olives, onions and sundried tomato paste. It was very good, but it just wasn't what I was expecting. While waiting for my sandwich I got to see several other plates being passed out. They all looked very good too.

The restaurant is vegetarian in the "fish is a vegetable" sense of the word. There aren plenty of salmon and tuna dishes on the menu.

Worth another trip if I'm feeling virtuous about how I eat.

Bankok Cafe, Thai, Midtown (east of campus)

2005-08-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

Bangkok Cafe
(520) 323-6555
2511 E Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85716

http://bangkokcafe.net/

PRICE: Moderate, but pricey compared to other Thai restaurants
QUALITY: Very Good
SERVICE: Friendly, fast
AMBIENCE: Thai :-)
SEATING: Tables, bar

This is my favorite Thai restaurant in town. I always come away very satisfied. I've been there uncountable times with many people and have had some great meals. (Although DKO thought the food was too spicy for her tastes). I normally have the Tom Khar Kai cocunut, ginger and chicken soup. At $7 it isn't cheap, but the bowl is supposed to serve two and it is *packed* with chicken. The last time I ate there I had the Chicken Satay Skewers with peanut sauce. They were excellent. On other occasions I've had the Pad Thai noodles and some curries. These have all been very good.

My only complaint is that the restuarant is pretty expensive for a Thai place. Even at lunch. They do have lunch specials, but the specials don't seem to contain any of my favorites so I never get them. But if you are looking for Thai, eat here.

Torino Ristorante Italiano, Fine Italian, Oro Valley

2005-08-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

Torino Ristorante Italiano
(520) 575-6700
10355 N La Canada Dr
Tucson, AZ 85737

PRICE: Fairly steep, but worth it.
QUALITY: Excellent
SERVICE: Very good and friendly
AMBIENCE: Fine
SEATING: Tables, Booth/Table combos

Well I was waiting for DKO and MH to write up their review of this restaurant, but they've flaked on me. So now I'll give it a try. The three of us went to this restaurant near my house for an early supper a couple of weeks ago. I've also been there by myself, with Andy and Adam, with my parents and with my sister. I've never been disappointed in my meal. They've always been excellent.

I'm afraid it was sufficiently long ago that I can't remember the details of each of our meals. MH had the Gnocci in Maranara, I had Chicken Saltimbocca, and DKO had some kind of fresh fish dish. Diane and I started with an excellent potato & leak soup. MH had a salad. The bread they brought with the meal was excellent. MH and I both had wine; MH's was excellent, mine was a little dry. DKO had a Kiir Royal, but she was disappointed by the fact that there was clearly sugar in it. Desert was amazing. Both MH and I had the chocolate/hazelnut tartufo Icecream, which was scrumptious. DKO had tiramisu. I personally have never been a fan of Tiramisu, but I had a taste of DKO's and it was the best I've ever had. All round a great meal. But very pricey ($150 for the 3 of us).

On previous occasions I've been equally impressed. There is one dish that I wish they did differently: the Caprese salad. They only put olive oil on it as a dressing -- It really needs balsamic vinegar too. That minor quibble aside, This is a restaurant that I'm always happy to take visitors too. It's definitely the best restaurant in Oro Valley, and one of my favorites for Tucson anyway.

Casa Vicente, Spanish, Downtown

2005-08-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Casa Vicente
Restaurante Espanol
375 S. Stone Ave.
520 884-5253
www.casavicente.com

PRICE: tapas are $5-$8; entrees are $15-$19
QUALITY: good
SERVICE: pleasant, but can be slow
AMBIENCE: utterly outstanding
SEATING: lots of little square tables in one big room

This is a really wonderful place, a very different kind of restaurant for Tucson. It's real hard to find, located off the street adjoining a parking lot. There's an uninhabited dusty patio and several locked doors before you find the real entrance tucked in the back.

You enter the bar, a full wall of illuminated glass block, raised with the restaurant proper two steps down to your right past the hostess podium. We didn't stop in the bar, but went straight down to the restaurant, where we met our friend AKC.*

The restaurant itself is pretty plain. A big room with stucco walls with some Spanish artwork painted on. There was a large stage on the west side of the room and I had the (ultimately false) impression that the place doubled as a disco of sorts after hours.

Cena. Have you ever been to Spain? A really fun place, but very difficult for Americans at dinner time. After lunch and a siesta, dinner/cena doesn't happen to very late in the evening, 9:00 pm at the earliest. I have vivid memories of searching for places to eat and getting odd looks from the locals for wanting to eat so early!

What we had missed was tapas, small dishes that you can get in bars. These aren't hot wings and nachos, but really interesting things.

Tapas. So that's what we did; we ordered six or seven of them and just grazed. The Tortilla Espanola was very nice, a frittata served cold. The Pisto Castellano, a vegetable stew was a bit bland. Vieras Marineras, bay scallops, very nice, though on the bland side. DKO and AKC had the Gambones, large shrimp in wine and garlic. The Croquetas de Jamon, cured ham and 'bechamel croquetes', was also quite good. The Champinon con Jamon, zippy mushrooms, was outstanding. Mejillones al Vapor, mussels, was really good too. Montado de Lomo, pork on bread, a little on the bland side. I'm blanking on the rest, but generally very interesting and yummy things, some a little bland.

Dessert. I had the tarta de Chocolate, the big chocolate dessert. Rich, and not excessively sweet; very nice. DKO had the arroz con leche, a traditional rice/milk dessert, done quite well.

Wine. DKO and AKC had one of the sangrias and I had two glasses of Rioja, both nice, but I'm blanking on the names.

Musica. The music was the high point. A fellow played classical guitar, very good, no talking, no stalking tables, unobtrusive, really set an outstanding atmosphere.

Staff. Very helpful, very nice, but our guy was a bit on the slow side.

*AKC has now turned us on to several really nice Tucson venues. I think she'd be a nice addition to the reviewers.

Joel's Bistro, French bistro, University Avenue/Main Gate Square

2005-07-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

NAME: Joel's Bistro
ADDRESS: 806 E. University Blvd. Tucson, 85719 (next to Sinbad's)
PHONE: 529 7277

PRICE: University Lunch time regular ($6-9)
FOOD QUALITY: Excellent
SERVICE: Good
AMBIENCE: Nice (yellow walls, table cloths, flowers on table)
SEATING: tables

Joel's is a regular lunch place for the faculty in Linguistics. It's reasonably priced, can accomodate vegetarians. It verges on being elegant without being stuffy. It's a favorite for many of us. I normally have the French Onion Soup (very good) and the montecristo sandwich, which comes with a small side of greens. The two of them together are actually too much food, but both the sandwich and soup are so good it's hard not to order both. Today I had the split pea soup, which was ok, but not as good as the French Onion. Favorites of other linguists include the brie and almond sandwich and the quiche. My only complaint is that the place is becoming too small to accommodate all the people who want to eat there. I'd definitely recommend Joel's if you are in the Main Gate area for lunch.

Sakura West, Teppan Japanese, Northwest Tucson

2005-07-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

NAME: Sakura West Teppan Steak and Sushi
ADDRESS: 6091 N. Oracle Rd. Tucson
PHONE: 520 297-5555

PRICE: Expensive (cheapest entree is $14, most expensive is $26)
FOOD QUALITY: Good
SERVICE: Good
AMBIENCE: Modern & Clean (however see my notes about the other Sakura restaurant)
SEATING: Tables, TeppanGrill seating, Bar seating, Sushi Bar seating.

I've actually been to Sakura West (and its sister restaurant Sakura) a couple of times so this a cumulative review of them both. This is the kind of restaurant that you go to for a celebration, the Teppan Grill tables are themselves entertainment, with the chefs doing all kinds of tricks (Throwing food at you, catching an egg in their hat, Making volcanoes out of sliced onions etc., flipping their knives and spatchulas etc.) Last night I actually didn't intend to eat there (by myself), because it's expensive and really meant for outings of friends, but I ate there because the thai place I was going to eat at was closed and this was just a couple of doors down. But I've been to Sakura-West with my sister before; and to Sakura with Heidi and Art.

I had the chicken teppanyaki, which came with soup (strangly for a japanese restaurant, I'm pretty sure it had chicken broth), a salad (Did the Japanese really eat iceberg lettuce with carrot shreds covered in ginger dressing? -- Actually, when you come down to it, I thought the japanese only originally ate fish and vegetables; what's with the steak and chicken???? But I digress). I ordered Fried Rice which costs $2 extra. On previous occasions, I've had the sushi (ok) and the steak and chicken combo. The quality of the food at Sakura west has been consistently good. The one time H&A and I ate at Sakura (on the east side) we all got sick.

In terms of service, I think the chefs at Sakura-West are better than the ones at Sakura. They do more tricks. The Waitresses are dressed in Kimonos, but the food servers are dressed in generic restaurant black or red. Service was good. I like the look of Sakura West better than Sakura (east) too. Sakura east is also a sports bar and the walls are covered in tacky sports stuff. Sakura West has a sparer Asian look to it.

It's a fun place to go for party, as long as you don't have any vegetarians in your group.

On The Border, PseudoMexican, North Tucson

2005-07-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

NAME: On the Border
ADDRESS: 68 W. River Rd
PHONE: 520 408-9166

PRICE: Midrange
FOOD QUALITY: Tasty/fine
SERVICE: Good (but one waitress spilled a coke on the lady sitting next to me)
AMBIENCE: Stereotypical texMex
SEATING: tables, booths, bar-seating

Ok, so let's talk about restaurant chains. There are many reasons to avoid chains: they suppress local businesses, they support the evil corporate culture that's ruining our society, they force homogeneity upon us all -- every town we go to now has a Chili's and an Olive Garden, they exploit their workers, etc. etc. All of these things are made exponentially worse when we're talking about a chain mexican restaurant in Tucson, which is the *LAND* of good authentic mexican. On the other hand, with a chain, you are guaranteed some consistency in the quality your meals, you get exactly what you expect (not great, but certainly not disgusting), they're often open when family-joints are closed, and well they bring a sense of stabilty and familiarity to our lives. Well, anyway, whatever your stand on the debate is, here's a simple fact: I ate at an On the Border tonight and you are going to get a review, because that's where I ate.

The meal was accompanied the usual chips and salsa. Their salsa is a bit too hot for me. I think it's hotter than you get at places like El Charro. I asked for Guac but never got it. I ordered the new "3 cheese fajitas". They were very tasty, once I managed to get them to bring me some tortillas to wrap them in. The Fajitas were accompanied with Mexican rice and refried beans. I wish they wouldn't force you to have those -- I never eat them; I think they should be optional (as they are at places like Chili's). The service was good, except my server looked vaguely like she'd stepped out of a 1940s movie (crazy platinum blond hairdo) and the lady next to me got covered in a spilled coke. The Waitress was very apologetic, but I think they should have comped the lady's meal (I don't think they did). I mean, it went in her hair... I also wasn't asked if i wanted desert, but maybe they just wanted rid of me ( a solo diner never seems as welcomed as couples and groups)

Overall, I guess it measures out to EXACTLY what you expect from a chain restaurant. Predicatable quality of food (not fantastic, not bad), reasonable price, and adequate service.

Thunder Canyon Brewery, Brewpub, Oro Valley -- Foothills Mall

2005-07-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

NAME: Thunder Canyon Brewery
ADDRESS: 7401 N La Cholla Blvd, Tucson, 85741 (foothills mall)
PHONE: (520) 797-2652

PRICE: Moderate
FOOD QUALITY: Acceptable/good
SERVICE: Good but persistant
AMBIENCE: Brewpub chique
SEATING: Tables, 1/2 booths, Booths, Bar seating

I've been to TCB a couple of times now, it's a decent place to catch a pre-movie dinner/lunch. I used to have the Burmeister Burger (Burger with an artichoke heart topping), today I had the ham and swiss sandwich, along with a bowl of the tomato mushroom bisque. Everything was tasty, price wasn't too bad ($13 including tip and tax). I've never tried the beer here, so can't comment on that. The only annoying thing was the fact that 3 different servers tried to take my plate away before I was finished my meal (see good but persistant rating above). The menu is typical pub fair: Sandwiches, fish and chips, bratwursts etc.

Anyone know the name of this place?

2005-07-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

There's a Peruvian restaurant on Oracle somewhere. I cannot remember the name of it--have completely spaced it out of my brain. Anyone know it?

The food at this place was wonderful. Not everything I would have wanted, but excellent for what it offered. We were almost the only people there for dinner one weekday evening and it turned out our server was the proprietress of the establishment. We had a great time chatting with her and getting her recommendations on what to order (she was right).

The thing about Peruvian food is that if you find a place that serves it, what you're likely to get is the cuisine of the coast and the educated classes. That's fine, no question, but I lived in Peru (in another millennium) in a very high and very remote Quechua-speaking village. We were above the treeline up at the altitudes where even corn doesn't grow. Not surprisingly, the one constant item on everyone's menu was the potato.

Now Peru has got to have the best potatoes in the world. They pretty much originated there. You can find variety after variety after variety, and they're all incredibly flavorful and come in a number of colors. Your basic American baking potato doesn't compare at all. Even the more "exotic" varieties we have are poor cousins at best to their Peruvian relatives.

But I digress. What I would love to find in a Peruvian restaurant are the potato (and other odd) dishes of the high Andes: the food eaten by the Quechua Indians. If I could only eat chuno (tilde over the n) again, it would be heaven. Chuno is a form of freeze dried potato. People in the mountains place a woven cloth (likely llama wool) on the ground and spread out a sackful of potatoes across it. The potatoes are left there to freeze and thaw. I don't actually remember how long the process takes, but the result is a shriveled spud that keeps and keeps and is used as the basic ingredient in most dishes.

Chuno is the food of the poor and most Peruvian restaurants would never consider serving chuno dishes if they could even *get* chuno. Ah, well. I keep hoping.

Wild Noodles, Fusion Noodle restaurant, Oro Valley

2005-07-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

NAME: Wild Noodles
ADDRESS: 7475 N. La Cholla, Foothill's mall (NW corner, near linens and things)
PHONE: 520 531 9373

PRICE: Reasonable
FOOD QUALITY: Poor
SERVICE: Good
AMBIENCE: Acceptable, predictable
SEATING: Tables, 1/2 booths

Comments:

I had to go to Walmart today (I know, evil evil), and this place is right nearby. It's one of this new kind of restaurant that seems to be taking off. It isn't fast food, but it isnt' a full service restaurant either. The menu for Wild Noodles calls it a "Quick Food" restaurant. Other restaurants using this model include places like Pei Wei's, Sweet Tomatos, Bonanza, Sauce etc. This place is aiming to be on the high end of this genre of restaurant. Unfortunately my lunch today didn't quite measure up.

The restaurant itself is decorated in a generic industrial style, giving little added pleasure to the experience. The service (such as it is -- you go up to a counter and order, then the food is brought to you based on your table number) was very good. When I was pouring over the menu the cashier came over and asked if she could help me find something. The menu is mixed and varied ranging from Mac and Cheese to Mongolian Noodles.

I chose the teriyaki chicken on udon noodles. The noodles were ok themselves, the sauce was uninspired and a little too hot. The broccoli was totally uncooked and inedible (and there was a LOT of broccolli), the chicken was meagre.

Probably won't go back.

Sasso's Pizza and Deli, Rancho Vistoso, Oro Valley

2005-07-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

NAME: Sasso's Pizza and Deli
ADDRESS: 12152 N. Rancho Vistoso blvd, Oro Valley (In the Rancho Vistoso Safeway Mall)
PHONE: 520 742 9595

PRICE: Reasonable (entrees $7-10)
FOOD QUALITY: Adequate
SERVICE: Adequate/poor
AMBIENCE: Excellent
SEATING: Tables only

COMMENTS:

Ever since I left Boston, I've been looking for a good cheap Pizza/Pasta/Sandwich shop of the kind owned by Greeks in Boston. I still haven't found one, and Sasso's isn't it either.

First the positives. They've made a real effort to make the establishment nice to look at. The decor is excellent. The menu is varied and seems reasonably priced.

It may have been that I picked the wrong thing, but I was really looking forward to a good baked pasta dish. I ordered the baked beef ravioli. The cheese on top was skimpy and barely melted (let alone browned). The Ravioli itself was clearly purchased from Safeway, and wasn't home made. The marinara sauce was tasty and nice, but was watery at the bottom because the pasta hadn't been properly drained. To be fair, i saw what other people had on their plates and they looked much better than mine. Next time I'll try a pizza or a sub.

You order at the counter, and the server was bizarre. She stared at me resentfully when I ordered and practically threw my food on the table (although she did come and offer me a refill on my coke). I kept wondering if she was totally stoned. But the food came promptly, and nothing was missing.

I'm willing to give this place another shot, but it was a mixed bag.

Dragon Village, Chinese, Rancho Vistoso, Oro Valley

2005-07-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

NAME: Dragon Village
ADDRESS: 15152 N Rancho Vistoso Blvd, Oro Valley (In the Rancho Vistoso Safeway Mall)
PHONE:520 229-0388

PRICE: Cheap
FOOD QUALITY: Very Good
SERVICE: Excellent
AMBIANCE: Mediocre (it is in a strip mall...)
SEATING: Tables only

COMMENTS:

Finding decent Chinese food in Tucson is a nightmare. There are tons of good sushi and Thai restaurants, but finding a good Chinese restaurant is difficult. I had a very nice and quick lunch at Dragon Village on Friday. They have very reasonably priced lunch menu with combos priced from 3.95 to 6.95. That includes soup (egg drop or hot and sour), a spring roll, crispy wanton wrappers, fried rice and your entrée. The choice of entrées is predicatable and Americanized, but the food was very nicely prepared. I had the Kung Pao Chicken. The meat came from good cuts, and the vegetables were perfectly cooked, the sauce was nice and wasn't overwhelming. The service was prompt and very friendly.

I came in late in the lunch hour and I was very pleased to see the owner/cook's whole family (including several small kids) come in to eat with their parents. They were really enthusiastic about the food themselves.

The decor was fairly plain, and cheaply done, but the quality of the food more than made up for this. They had only tables no booths.

The restaurant does take out, but does not appear to deliver.