The restaurants in the Metro Restaurants family are offering half-off gift certificates today, Monday, Aug. 8, through Wednesday, Aug. 10.

It occurs to me that this may not be the most smoking deal out there, what with Groupon and all of the other online coupon programs that keep popping up, but it’s still a good way to enjoy a good meal at a deep discount.

McMahon's Prime Steakhouse, Old Pueblo Grille, Metropolitan Grill, Grill on the Green and Abrego Grill are all participating. There’s more information on those restaurants over here.

Long-awaited downtown cafe Sparkroot opened its doors this morning. It's located at 245 E. Congress St. and has an ultra-cool mezzanine dining area overlooking the street.

The cafe - which is owned by Ari Shapiro of local Xoom Juice fame - also has a vintage juke box, places to hang your bike and take a look at this menu. Shapiro has said the cafe is also the first place in the state to carry Blue Bottle Coffee, which has nearly a cult following in the Bay Area.

What's that? You like breakfast dishes made with native foods and supporting the development of the very cool Mission Gardens going in downtown?

Then you might consider attending this breakfast event at the Mercado San Agustin Sunday. From the menu for the event:

Torta de Huevo, Sonoran style Tepary Beans, Home-made tortillas,
Pistachio Nut/Mesquite Muffins,
Fruit Salad,
Pan Dulce, Coffee and Horchata.

Tickets are only $10, and there will be pottery-making demonstrations and tours of the gardens, too.

2 Man Chain Gang #3 - Outback Steakhouse from Eater NY on Vimeo.

Rich Juzwiak, who is a very funny human being with a great blog, and Max Silvestri, who I am entirely unfamiliar with, eat at chain restaurants for the food blog Eater. The first two were alright and tolerable, but their meal at the Outback Steakhouse made them wonder if their wooden booth could be converted into a casket. Still, their misery is presented for your amusement.

Why do some states have like three officials foods, and Arizona doesn't even have one? This state is awesome. We deserve an official state food.

My push to have one designated starts now. I've got some ideas, but I'm sure Tucson Weekly readers have even better ones. You can hit me up on Facebook with any suggestions.

While you're figuring out what it should be, I'll be figuring out how to navigate the process of getting it officialy declared the state food. This will give me a chance to contact my local and national representatives, which is good. I have a few other things I want to discuss with them anyway.

Typically things slow down dining-wise during the summer, but not this year. Let's jump right in, shall we?

We said it yesterday, but it bears repeating: Takamatsu reopens tomorrow. Owner Peter Koga basically rebuilt the place from scratch, despite thieves who kept breaking in and stealing tools and wiring during the reconstruction. The teppan yaki tables are gone — not because they caused the fire; because that style of dining is falling out of vogue — but they’ve been replaced with Korean barbecue.

I know the banner outside says “Smokin’ in July,” but the opening of Mr. K’s Barbeque on River and Stone is creeping closer, even though they just moved the soft opening date back a week. Keep tabs on that over at their Facebook page.

Meanwhile, there’s word that two of the guys from the original Mr. K’s on South Sixth — which is staying open, and could even see improvements — are working on another barbeque joint. The name “Baby Ray’s” has surfaced in a few conversations, but nothing solid yet.

Brushfire BBQ is about a month from opening its second location out on the eastside, and liquor licenses have been filed for both locations. The addition of a bit of beer should be a hit with one of Tucson’s favorite barbecue destinations.

We spoke with the owner of the new Italian eatery Bella D’auria this week, too, and he says a soft opening should take place this month. The eatery will boast authentic Italian fare and a nightclub atmosphere. Sounds super classy, and the chef in charge is going the extra mile to accommodate diners with food allergies and diet restrictions. The opening is expected to take place in September.

Hot-pot dining rules, and the only place in town to do it is Impress Hot Pot. Thing is, they’ve only had dinner hours until now, but that changes next Monday. This is a great place to impress a lunch date. You will appear cultured, and the dipping sauce bar is a good place to show off your creative side.

Save the date for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona’s Salsa and Tequila Challenge. Best part of the tequila challenge? No margaritas! Not that I'm down on margs, but such a restriction will make it a heck of a lot more interesting. This event sounds like a total blast, and it benefits the myriad programs the food bank runs to help keep Southern Arizona fed.

Sparkroot’s sign is up and the furniture is going in today. This place is going to feature super high-quality drinks and food, but without any pretension whatsoever. It will also be the first place in the state to carry Blue Bottle Coffee, which is all the rage in San Francisco. Sparkroot is expected to open very soon.

A Dairy Queen is going in on the corner of Silverbell Road and Speedway Boulevard. It’s a cute, brand-new building and looks to be almost done. Woo-hoo!

Not sure if I mentioned this previously, but Planet of the Crepes is now parked outside of the Joel D. Valdez main library on weekdays. It's in the former spot of Eat-a-Burger, which has been like standing room only since opening an indoor restaurant across the street. POTC can also be found at the Sunday farmers' market at St. Philip's Plaza.

We’re heading down to V Fine Thai Dining this week to check out their new wine-racking program. Apparently patrons can have up to 12 bottles stored in a temperature-controlled room. Restaurant officials say the restaurant is the only independently owned eatery in the state with such a program, and that the only other places that do are some chain joints up north. Sounds very cool.

Also in case you don't follow the Range closely: A pizza place in a funeral parlor, sun stroke in a Culver's parking lot and a great little farmers' market.

And, in observance of prickly-pear season, which is currently in full swing, I give you a picture of the prickly-pear lemonade I made with Ms. Burns lemon basil and a garnish of borage blossoms and pineapple mint. Hey, it’s hot out there and a guy’s gotta stay cool. Talk to you soon.

Unfortunately, the chicken shwarma sandwich, one of the best in town, has been taken off the menu. Hey, that's cool. There's plenty of other tasty stuff available, and I've never had a bad sandwich at the place.

• Mmmmm, cheesesteak.

• Audra Christophel and lots of good vegetables (and eggs!).

One of the barriers between people and farmers’ market vegetables is so simple it’s often overlooked: How do you use what they sell there? That’s where Christophel, the consignment coordinator for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, comes in. She can explain it better than me, so I won’t get into it here. But you should visit her sometime.

The veggies are really, really good, too, and they come from either a food bank farm or people’s backyards. I bought enough squash and garlic and other things to make dinner for about $5. And it was all grown locally, so that $5 goes to local people, not some company bigwig smoking fat cigars in some distant boardroom.

The farm stand at the Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center is there from 9 a.m. to noon, the first and third Friday of each month. Hey, that’s this Friday! Good times.

• Sweet potato fries and butternut squash soup tonight!

We just got off the phone with Tyler Fenton, the owner of the new Reilly Craft Pizza and Drink that’s going in at the old Reilly Funeral Home at 102 E. Pennington St.

Fenton, who was on his way out of town and didn’t have much time to talk, says the restaurant will be centered around artisan pizzas, but will also serve fresh-baked sandwiches and homemade pasta. It will also have a bar and lounge component.

Fenton says the interior design is being handled by the same people who designed HUB Restaurant and Creamery and Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails. He also said there will be an emphasis on maintaining the historic feel of the building, which was built in 1908.

An opening date has not been set. We’ll have more after we meet with Fenton when he gets back into town.

I really hadn't ever thought about the balance between ventilation to prevent "soggification" and keeping your pizza warm, but now I'll never look at a pizza box the same way. This guy's excitement about something seemingly mundane makes me re-evaluate my perspective on life a bit. I'm not kidding.

[Laughing Squid]