The Onyx Room holds its grand opening this Friday, April 1, but the new restaurant and nightclub's
Facebook page says a limited menu is already available.

As I've noted before, John Bryant Jr., head cook down at the Onyx Room, strikes a nice tone when describing the Southern cuisine he's bringing to the Old Pueblo. Take a look at the menu full of steaks, oxtail, neckbones, chicken and all the proper Southern side dishes here.

The Onyx Room is also kicking off its schedule of live music with a performance by Epiphany this Saturday. There's more information via the restaurant's website over here.

An interesting article in the New York Times this weekend about how quinoa's recent popularity in the United States has made the product outside of what Bolivians, who lived off quinoa for centuries, can afford:

Now demand for quinoa (pronounced KEE-no-ah) is soaring in rich countries, as American and European consumers discover the “lost crop” of the Incas. The surge has helped raise farmers’ incomes here in one of the hemisphere’s poorest countries. But there has been a notable trade-off: Fewer Bolivians can now afford it, hastening their embrace of cheaper, processed foods and raising fears of malnutrition in a country that has long struggled with it.

The shift offers a glimpse into the consequences of rising global food prices and changing eating habits in both prosperous and developing nations. While quinoa prices have almost tripled over the past five years, Bolivia’s consumption of the staple fell 34 percent over the same period, according to the country’s agricultural ministry.

The resulting quandary — local farmers earn more, but fewer Bolivians reap quinoa’s nutritional rewards — has nutritionists and public officials grasping for solutions.

“As it’s exported, quinoa is now very expensive,” said María Julia Cabrerizo, a nutritionist at the Hospital de Clínicas, a public hospital here. “It’s not a food of mass consumption, like noodles or rice.”

Tomorrow is the day when foodies get up early to score incredible deals at their favorite independent and locally owned restaurants via the Tucson Originals gift-certificate sale.

Many restaurants sell out fast, so you have to act quick. The gift certs are good for dining in only, and cannot be used to purchase alcohol. There's more information here.

There are moments in this video where I'm wondering if the Justin Bieber lookalike hosting "My Drunk Kitchen" isn't just faking her drunkenness, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm just happy she didn't set her apartment on fire.

[Urlesque]

Kampai Sushi at 4689 E. Speedway Blvd. is now Bushi Traditional Japanese and Asian Cuisine. Master sushi chef Shunichi Funakoshiya has crafted a nice selection of sushi rolls, noodle dishes and other Asian offerings for the restaurant, and there’s a good wine list and numerous sake cocktails to choose from as well.

The restaurant is also collecting donations for victims of the disaster in Japan. You can check in at the restaurant’s Facebook page for more on that.

The menu and a few musings about the restaurant’s samurai theme can be found here.

D and D Island Grill JA—an awesome Jamaican food truck you can read about here —has shaved a “D” of its name and relocated to the corner of Grant Road and Sixth Avenue.

The food truck is now parked in the same block as Taco Fish and Molcas.

If you like tender, succulent meat, you’ve got to try D Island Grill JA’s ox tail sometime. The dish is basically the circular version of baby-back ribs, sort of like rib donuts or something. The truck’s tropical fruit drinks are also a good fit for warm days like today.

So I hear these Coca Cola Freestyle machines have been installed at a couple of locations around town, but the only one that I’ve been able to verify is the one currently up and running at El Taco Tote at 1340 N. Wilmot Road.

Did I mention these things serve 106 kinds of soda? This is like a dream come true for every kid who ever filled a 44-ouncer with 12 kinds of fountain beverages to make his own Frankensoda, and I applaud the quidzillionaires at Coca-Cola for their efforts.

You’re invited to help Janos Wilder and the staff from Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails expand the community garden at the Children’s Museum Tucson at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 19.

Wilder and his staff will be planting all sorts of vegetables from Native Seeds/SEARCH, including native watermelon, beans, corn, peppers and others. When the vegetables are ready to harvest, they’ll be used in a special dish at Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails, with a portion of the proceeds going to the museum.

Wilder does a lot for this community, but this one hits on a lot of levels. There will be other festivities as well, being that the garden work coincides with the museum’s birthday bash.

Here’s the press release with the rest of the details:

Tucson, AZ — The Children’s Museum Tucson is expanding its community gardening on Saturday, March 19 with a little extra help from local chef Janos Wilder. Planting of the garden will take place at 10:00am and will grow regional vegetables and fruits thanks to Native Seeds/SEARCH. The produce will be featured in a special dish at Janos’ DOWNTOWN Kitchen + Cocktails with a share of the proceeds benefitting the Museum.

Families coming down for the planting are encouraged to stay for the Museum’s Birthday Bash also taking place on Saturday, March 19 from 10:00am to 2:00pm with free admission all day.

The planting list includes Hopi Red Dye amaranth, Alamos amaranth, O'odham Pink beans, Maricopa sweet corn, Havasupai Mix sunflower, Tohono O’odham Yellow-Meated watermelon, Del Arbol de Baja California Sur chile, Negro de Valle chile, Ordoño Wenks Yellow Hots chile, Mrs. Burns' Famour Lemon Basil, Texas Wild Cherry tomato, Punta Banda tomato as well as a “For the Birds and the Bees" Wildflower Mix.

The Children’s Garden is made possible through the generous support of the Children’s Museum Tucson’s Board of Directors and Slow Food Tucson.

Slow Food Tucson is affiliated with Slow Food USA, which supports Slow Food International. Slow Food is a global, grassroots organization with supporters in 150 countries around the world who are linking the pleasure of good food with a commitment to their community and the environment.

Native Seeds/SEARCH conserves, distributes and documents the adapted and diverse varieties of agricultural seeds, their wild relatives and the role these seeds play in cultures of the American Southwest and northwest Mexico. They promote the use of these ancient crops and their wild relatives by gathering, safeguarding, and distributing their seeds to farming and gardening communities.

The last time finished food prices jumped as much as they did (3.9%) in February? November 1974, when prices climbed 4.2%.

“About seventy percent of the February rise can be traced to higher prices for fresh and dry vegetables, which jumped 48.7 percent. Advances in the indexes for meats and dairy products also were major factors in the increase in the finished consumer foods index.”

Energy costs also increased. While motorists have seen prices for unleaded gasoline rise by 30-40 cents per gallon since Jan. 1, the price of diesel fuel has risen even steeper.

The department said “the intermediate energy goods index advanced 4.3 percent in February. Over 30 percent of the February monthly increase can be traced to prices for diesel fuel, which moved up 12.6 percent.”

The Department’s Consumer Price Index will be released tomorrow.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has warned that rising commodity prices, led by a doubling of corn prices and increases of 25 percent or more for beef and pork products, will lead to higher costs at the supermarket counter this year.

Meat prices rose by almost 6 percent in 2010.

If anyone wants to swap lentil and chickpeas recipes or share ways to jazz up ramen noodles, let me know.

[Des Moines Register/ShortFormBlog]

From a press release that is nearly too exciting for me to bear:

TUCSON TO WELCOME CULVER’S RESTAURANTS
Wisconsin-based Franchise to Feature Great Food, Service and Hospitality

The Midwest-based Culver’s franchise will open two new restaurants in Tucson later this summer.

Culver’s is an expanding fast-casual franchise system with 428 independently owned and operated restaurants in 19 states. The restaurants’ award-winning customer service is based on small-town, Midwestern values, genuine friendliness and an unwavering commitment to quality and cleanliness. Signature items include the ButterBurger®, (from the lightly buttered bun) made from fresh, never frozen U.S. beef, and fresh Frozen Custard, including the famous Flavor of the Day program.

In 2010, Culver’s guests love for its high-quality menu options and superior customer service led to recognition by Consu! mer Reports in its “Best Burgers” poll and Zagat in its Fast Food Survey.

The restaurants will be operated by Kevin Hart at 40 S. Broadway Place, and Kyle Kolsrud at 6905 N. Thorndale Rd. There are currently six Culver’s restaurants in Arizona.

Oh, Culver's. Soon your Snickers Concrete Mixer and I will be reunited, never to be torn apart.