I saw a curious Dairy Queen RV lurking around this area the other day as well. I’m not sure what’s up with that, but it was huge and rather impressive. I’ve heard that some chain restaurants are attempting to step into the world of food trucking. Maybe it has something to do with that.

Also, the blizzard of the month has Nutter Butters in it. That is all.

I can’t think of a better way to start a Monday than meat and mini-bars, so let’s get to it.

Mr. K’s Barbeque on the corner of River Road and Stone Avenue opens today, and reports from the soft opening — which raised more than $2,200 for the Tucson Fire Foundation and the UA School of Pharmacy — indicate good things.

The main gist of it is that the barbeque is killer. I believe it. Steve Sargent, a partner in the business and a native of Texas, brings plenty of barbeque experience to the restaurant, and he's using family recipes from Charles “Mr. K” Kendrick. Add to that the massive restaurant knowledge of John Foster — of Mays Counter and other local eateries - and you have a recipe for barbeque success.

Foster told us a while back he would debut a new mini-bar concept at the restaurant that sounded interesting. He said there will be an enormous selection of those little airplane liquor bottles to choose from, and customers add their own mixer. It was such a novel idea that it even had members of the state liquor board scratching their heads, but it got the o.k. anyway.

You can check out some pictures from the soft opening here.

By way of full disclosure, I’ve known one of the guys in this company for about a decade, although we've seldom spoken or even seen each other. He and his wife used to hold a literary happy hour at a different bar every month. Somebody should pick that idea back up. It was a lot of fun.

I’ve been told the woks may eventually come with recipes crafted by the chef at Tucson’s Mountain Oyster Club, an exclusive dining establishment that had carpet emblazoned with the shapes of cow testicles back when it was located downtown on Stone Avenue. There were also posters of pin-up girls in the bathrooms. I have to be careful, though, because I angered a lot of the club's members when I wrote about the place for the Arizona Daily Star more than a decade ago.

Anyway, the woks look pretty cool. The company also makes other stuff. More on that here.

Owner Vila Jarrell really pulled out all the stops for her newest restaurant, which pays equal homage to the local art scene and the culture of Thailand. She used to own and operate Vila Thai near the UA, which closed when her new restaurant opened earlier this year.

The courtyard area is as much a sculpture garden as it is a lounge area, with giant metal insects and flowers intermingling with couches Jarrell says are upholstered in the same colors as the robes worn by Buddhist monks. Lighting is soft, but ample. Everything is stone, wood, bamboo and metal. A nearby high-rise provides a blue-tile wall that resembles waterfall, if you squint just a bit. At night, a giant “V” is projected upon it.

The inside is done in equally soft tones, with pictures of Thai culture and a lot more art. Bamboo, rugs, modern metal and wood furniture and a small bar fill the rest of the space.

Now we must talk about the food, if only for a second.

The Dairy Queen on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Sixth Street is donating all the proceeds from sales made on Saturday, Aug. 13, to an educational fund for the daughter of an employee killed last year.

A flyer in the window of the store says employee Lissette Chittenden was killed in a car accident, leaving her nine-year-old daughter behind. They’ve been collecting money for the girl’s college fund since Saturday, July 30, and will donate all of the money made Saturday to the fund.

Ice cream and helping pave the way for a little girl’s education? That’s a win-win.

• This is the sign in the window at Dairy Queen.

• Ajahn Sarayut: Abbot, master meditation teacher and expert eggplant epicurean.

Well, I didn’t know exactly where to go, but figured Wat Buddhametta: Tucson Buddhist Meditation Center at 1133 S. Swan Road might be a good start. I hadn’t been there before, but had heard the Buddhist monks living there were from Thailand, and that Thai cooking often included eggplant. So I loaded up a bag of eggplant and basil and headed out to take my chances.

I’d never met a monk before, and was nervous. I arrived to find several monks eating a gorgeous, fragrant meal. They seemed happy to see me. I let them eat and went to sit in their Buddha room for a while.

When lunch was over, I worked out a trade: Eggplant for cooking lessons. The abbot and headmaster of the center, Ajahn Sarayut, said that would be fine, and upon the delivery of another bag of eggplant, invited me back for a lesson.

Here’s how you make killer Thai eggplant, Wat Buddhametta-style: Squish up some garlic and thai chiles in something and simmer it in canola oil until your kitchen starts to smell fantastic. Add oyster sauce, a little black pepper, some fermented soy bean sauce and a bunch of eggplant. Stir until soft, mix in fresh basil and enjoy.

It is so good, and I thank the kind monks and workers at Wat Buddhametta — who also have a food trailer at the upcoming Tucson Meet Yourself festival - for welcoming me into their kitchen.

Next up: Pad Thai! Food sure is fun sometimes.

• Garlic and chile squishing apparatus.

• The finished product!

• Hebert Perez makes good food. You should try it.

Most of the Mexican street food you find around Tucson is Sonoran-style, says Hebert Perez, who is from Mexico City. He says he’s trying to represent his hometown flavor, while giving roadside diners as close to a gourmet experience as he can summon out of his tiny food trailer.

Here is how Perez treated me today. First he asked me if I wanted a hot dog or something more specific to Mexico City. After talking about the food for a bit, he told me to sit down and said he would be out in a moment with a fajita plate that was “not commercial, you know, authentic Mexico City food.”

He arrived a short time later with a plate of tender steak, ham, bacon, bell peppers, cheese and onions, all of which was topped with sprigs of fresh cilantro. Accompanying it was a flour tortilla and a small dish of plum-habanero salsa. He left, and came back a moment later with a tiny Serrano pepper stuffed with bacon and cheese.

"This fajita dish is called alambre, it's very authentic Mexico City food,” explains Perez. “I try to stay close to that, but I also want to give people gourmet food, something that they can really enjoy without having to go to a restaurant, you know?”

All of the ingredients were fresh and crisp, and the flavors played a delicious game of Twister with my tongue. One wonders what Perez will be up to next. I will definitely be back to find out.

Perez also serves hot dogs, but they are topped with mango relish and poblano-garlic-cilantro aioli and served with delicious hand-cut French fries. His green-chile hamburgers served on specially made buns and accompanied by a Bordelaise dipping sauce are expected to be available next week when the full menu is finalized.

The hours are a little iffy right now, but he opens around 11 a.m. every day. You can follow the truck on Facebook over here.

• Hot dog, mango relish, poblano-garlic-cilantro aioli.

This is why I am telling you about one of the greatest things I've discovered covering the food beat here at the Tucson Weekly: The weekly meat sale at the UA Meat Sciences Department at 4181 N. Campbell Road. The entrance is actually on Roger Road; follow the "Meat Sale Today" signs.

At this sale you will find meat. Lots of meat. Meat for humans. Meat for dogs. Ground meat. You will be surrounded by well-fed meat-lovers carrying boxes of steaks. Students in labcoats will help you make selections. You will sample homemade beef-jerky sticks and be a happier person because of it.

One of the guys working last Friday said the animals are all raised on a farm near Flagstaff, and that everything is butchered and prepared on site at the school. Also: Meat nerds are awesome, and it is truly a pleasure conversing with them about their craft.

The Collegiate Cattlegrowers Association website is still under construction, but I've been promised it will be up before long. For the time being, the hours for the sale are 3 to 5 p.m., every Friday, but those hours are extended from 3 to 7 p.m. when school is back in session.

If you want one last taste of Montana Avenue at 6390 E. Grant Road, you'd better hurry. A spokeswoman for the restaurant tells us it will be closing Saturday, Aug. 13, and reopening as another Zinburger location on Friday, Aug. 19.

This will be the second local Zinburger location. The restaurant - which is part of the Fox Restaurant Concepts family - also has locations in Phoenix and Clifton, New Jersey.

Montana Avenue is also running a special tomorrow, Wednesday, Aug. 10, featuring half-price bottles of wine.

We just got an e-mail from Jessica Stephens of the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitor's Bureau about an effort currently underway to bring the show Man v. Food back to Tucson:

You might recall that MAN VS. FOOD came to Tucson in September 2009 to film a segment where host Adam Richman was shown tackling plates of delicious grub at Mi Nidito, El Guero Canelo and Lindy’s on 4th.

We now have a chance to bring this show back to Tucson by voting for a fan-made video on MAN VS. FOOD’s Facebook page. Click on the link below to watch Tucson food lover Kyle Hook give his video testimonial as to why the show should choose Tucson for a return visit:

http://www.facebook.com/ManVFood?sk=app_155478144518683

You can vote for Kyle’s video one time per day until August 11th, when the winner will be announced. Must be 13 or older to vote. Valid e-mail address is required.

This program gave enormous nationwide exposure to Tucson’s many culinary delights when it filmed here before, so please share this with as many Tucson folk (and out-of-towners) as you can!

She has a point. Business at Lindy's went through the roof after the episode aired, and remains strong today. It's amazing what a little national exposure can do for a restaurant.