• Hotdogs Obregon offers roadside dining at its finest.

Some of the finest Sonoran hot dogs in this town are served out of a humble cart in the parking lot of the Food City on the corner of Country Club Road and 22nd Street, and that’s not just my opinion. The tiny cart actually has sort of a cult following, and when rumors that it might close circulated last year, many people (including Tucson Weekly editor Jimmy Boegle, who rushed into my office with the news) were quite concerned.

The cart tied Janos Wilder’s J-BAR for the third runner-up spot in the Best
Sonoran Hot Dog category of the 2009 Best of Tucson® awards, and that’s saying something. I can’t even count how many times I’ve been given directions to the cart serving “the best Sonoran dogs in town.” I passed six hot dog vendors on my trip to visit the above-mentioned cart today.

A hot dog sets you back $2.50, and that includes a perfectly roasted pepper and access to the small, yet ample, condiment bar. There isn’t any music or decorations, but who needs it? The dogs themselves are a symphony of bacon, mayonnaise, pico de gallo and all the other trappings of a proper Sonoran dog.

Stop by some time, and pull up a rickety chair under the tarped-off seating area. Add a little shredded cheese and some of the delicious green sauce out of the squeeze bottle. Now just kick back and enjoy your initiation into the cult of the hot dog cart on 22nd and Country Club. Things are delicious here.

• It's mesmerizing watching this guy construct a Sonoran hot dog.

• Students stock up on all things saccharine at the new Campus Candy.

A new candy emporium called Campus Candy has opened at 910 E. University Blvd., and if you’ve got a sweet tooth, you’re going to want to drop whatever you’re doing and get down there.

The place draws you in with its beautiful elliptical counters, curvaceous tables and row after row of cylindrical candy dispensers. There are more than 500 candies to choose from and a frozen-yogurt station sort of hidden near the rear of the store. All the candy is priced the same too, so you can just walk along filling your bag full of sugary goodness with nary a care in the world.

It’s really worth a trip down there just to see owner Mark Tarnofsky holding court over the place. I’m not sure if that man is riding the crest of a super-intense sugar high, or if he’s always that enthusiastic, but dude is definitely all about the candy.

Check out the store’s website for more information.

Acacia Real Food and Cocktails - the new incarnation of Acacia at St. Philip's - opens tonight at its new home in Gallery Row at 3001 E. Skyline Drive. It will occupy the space formerly held by Sur Real.

Chef Albert Hall didn’t announce the move until the last week in December, and now, a mere two weeks later, he’s opening the new spot. That's lightning fast, especially considering the original location didn't close until after dinner last night.

It sounds like the new Acacia is going to be something else. A closed circuit television system will allow diners to watch the kitchen crew work, and there’s been word that the dining room will feature an exhibition kitchen and a wood-burning rotisserie. We’re not sure if those details are in place yet, but they should make for a unique dining experience when they are.

An employee tells us the new location opens at 5 p.m., today, Friday, Jan. 14.

• I forgot my camera, so this business card will have to do for now.

The new Medusa Kabob House has opened in the old Casbah Tea House spot at 628 N. Fourth Ave., and, damn, do those kabobs smell good.

Owner and general manager Ashur Davoudikia had been busy all morning making fresh kabobs, and a spicy scent was still lingering when I stopped in this afternoon. He’s done a very nice job of renovating the building with a fresh coat of paint and minimal decorations. Gone is the old tent room out back, but efforts are underway to convert the space into a swank dining area that should be open in a month or so.

But let's get back to those kabobs. When Davoudikia tosses a few on the grill, a cloud of scented smoke billows into the kitchen before leaking ever-so-slightly into the front dining area. This causes the mouth to water and the stomach to grumble while you sit there awash in a delicious haze waiting for your order ... and when it comes, you realize it was very much worth the wait.

On the menu: Beef and chicken kabobs, gyro and other wraps, falafel, hummus and a selection of combination plates suited for vegetarians and carnivores alike. The menu offered right now is limited, but Davoudikia says he’s steadily expanding it as requests come in.

Hours are from about 1 p.m. to about 9 p.m., but Davoudikia says he stays open as long as he has customers.

Call 647-2333 for more information.

The response to our new series The Food Truck Diaries has been great, and this week on Tucson Weekly TV, Adam Borowitz talks about the motivation behind the feature (while sitting outside of a food truck on Valencia, appropriately).

• Perla Morales says seafood is the breakfast of real champions.

Drive down South Sixth Avenue some morning ... and just keep going. If you’ve got an appetite, you’ll be tempted to stop at one of the numerous Mexican or fast-food joints that line the avenue from end to end, but just keep driving, and driving, and driving …

Eventually, South Sixth turns into Old Nogales Highway, and shortly thereafter, it intersects with Drexel Road. Now pull a hard right and park in the dirt lot. There, you’ll find Perla Morales readying Baja Mar Mariscos y Cahuamanta for another day.

Morales’ smile warms the cold morning as she explains that the food truck’s seafood offerings are incredibly popular at all times of the day. “Do people really eat seafood for breakfast?” I ask.

“Oh yes, it’s very popular” she replies, obviously amused with what was probably a very stupid question, being that she's been working for hours and it's only 8 a.m.

Octopus, stingray, shrimp and other things that swim make up the expansive menu, and for an extra 50 cents, you can have your order marinated in white wine, soy sauce and lemon. The adventurous may veer toward the “hot water,” a chiltepin-doused bowl of raw shrimp covered in Clamato and soy sauce. For the less-adventurous, stick with the crab legs or ceviche.

Owners Braulio and Frances Lopez open at 7:30 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday; and stay open until 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Hours on Sunday are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Call 406-6454 for more information.

• The view from Drexel Road.

Chef Ramiro Scavo, one of the driving forces behind the yet-to-open Pasco Kitchen and Lounge, has some seriously ambitious plans for the UA-area eatery.

Scavo says he’s installing a rooftop garden at the restaurant, where he’ll grow some of the veggies and spices used in the kitchen below. He said the garden will be installed after the restaurant opens, but he’s considering putting a few tables up top so diners can eat in an urban garden that overlooks nearby University Boulevard.

Pasco will also operate differently than your average restaurant. Most restaurants write the menu and order what is needed to fulfill it. Scavo is having local farmers raise the meat and vegetables, and he will write the menus to reflect whatever happens to be in season.

“The lambs and pigs are being raised right now. They’re roaming and munching on alfalfa,” said Scavo, adding that he’s working with River Road Gardens at the Tucson Waldorf School and Walking J Farms in Arivaca to ensure the items come from as close to home as possible.

Scavo says he and his partners in the restaurant—mixologist Andrew Record from the Grill at Hacienda del Sol, Scavo’s fiancée Kelly Hadd, and Amber Araiza, the former bar manager at Harvest Restaurant—are planning to serve comfort foods made with local ingredients.

“We’re talking about comfortable food that we grew up eating, but we kind of flip it,” said Scavo. “We’re going to show people that eating local and organic doesn’t mean you need to be on a diet or go out of your comfort zone.”

A farm cart will also be added, where passers-by will be able to nab smoked sausages, rotisserie meats and other items.

Pasco Kitchen and Lounge is going in at the former Café Paraiso location at 820 E. University Blvd. It’s expected to open in February.

Jim Stanley over at the 17th Street Market tells us construction on the market’s new café and juice bar starts next week.

Stanley said plans are still being finalized, but that the market’s enormous selection of fruits, vegetables and other items should make for some very interesting juices and smoothies when the café and juice bar opens sometime this spring.

Also worthy of note: The weekly drum circles at the market are on hold until further notice. Organizers say the drum circles will start back up when the construction work is completed.

Borrowing the name from the famous LA food truck, The Flying Pig, Ron Jeremy is starring in this new porn flick.

I can just imagine the dialogue right now.

"Where are your condiments?"

"Condiments? Oh, you can get your condiments right here."

Cue porn music.

From Eater:

Seriously, we've heard of food porn and all, but this is ridiculous: actor Ron Jeremy is going to star (link NSFW) in an adult film called The Flying Pink Pig that parodies the food truck craze. So much so they almost completely duplicated the name and image of The Flying Pig, an actual food truck in Los Angeles that serves up Asian-Mexican food like pork belly bao and tamarind duck confit tortillas.

Ron Jeremy, however, is no stranger to food — in the past he's appeared in the Food Porn episode of No Reservations. Anyway, the film has puns abound: "And the food doesn't suck, but the girls sure do!" "Refills are free!" "Sloppy seconds are on the house!" Etc., etc. There also appears to be some sort of caper-esque plot that involves Jeremy trying to take over the Pink Pig.

Meet Ivan Lucchina, general manager of Allegro: Il Gelato Naturale at 446 N. Campbell Ave., Suite 120. He moved here all the way from Italy to make gelato and sorbet for you. He has cool rotating display cases and two degrees from Carpigiani Gelato University.

The fruit flavors are made with 50 percent fruit and actually taste like what they say they are. Flavors like carrot and fennel stand out against more traditional flavors like tiramisu and chocolate. There are 24 flavors in all, and Lucchina uses natural ingredients to make it all right there.

The interior design consists of cute little orange stools, glass tables and LED lights all over the place. It sparkles with an operating room’s cleanliness, and those rotating gelato cases give it a space-age feel. It’s smart, clean and hip and a very welcome addition to the offerings in the UA area.

Prices range from $3.50 to $5, and a pint to go is $10. There’s coffee, hot chocolate and other stuff. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; and 10:30 a.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday.

Call 207-1991 for more information.

(On a side note: I couldn't wait until I got home to try the tiramisu stuff, so I started spooning it into my mouth with my fingers on the drive home. I had to stop myself when I realized I was licking my hands like a crazy person at the stoplight at First Avenue and Grant Road. A woman in a blue coat looked at me from the crosswalk with a disgusted look on her face. Undeterred, I dug into the other pint of mango. Warning: This stuff is really freaking good. That is all.)