Here's a list of Mother's Day specials sent in by Tucson Originals, the alliance of independent and locally owned restaurants. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9.

Two specials at other restaurants are also included.

Find it after the jump.

In this multimedia slideshow, UA student Katrina Arrington follows a few local farmers who started the Tucson Community Supported Agriculture.

Aaron DeFeo, who runs the beverage program at Hotel Congress, says more than 45 tequilas, mescals and other agave-based liquors will be featured, and tequila experts from several companies will be on hand to answer questions.

The first question I’d like to ask is how anyone is expected to get to work on Thursday when Hotel Congress holds awesome events like this on a Wednesday.

Samples of cocktails made with flavor-infused tequilas will also be featured, and there's an optional dinner being offered across the street at Maynards Market and Kitchen.

Click here for the full scoop.

John Foster, one of the people behind May’s Counter Chicken and Waffles at 2945 E. Speedway Blvd., says the restaurant is on track to open by the end of the month.

May’s Counter Chicken and Waffles will specialize in Southern comfort food: Po’ boy sandwiches made with homemade bread, red beans and rice, chicken done several ways, hamburgers, collard greens, candied yams, fried okra and broasted sweet-potato wedges. The chicken and waffles will be made with pressure-cooked chicken and malted waffles, a combination Foster says is best served with Vermont maple syrup and a dash of Cholula.

The eatery will also have a full bar, lots of outdoor seating on a wrap-around porch and live music on Sundays, said Foster.

The restaurant is a collaboration between Foster, famed Phoenix chef Aaron May and Ryan Field of the local My Big Fat Greek restaurants. Foster is currently helping Field with a new My Big Fat Greek location at the Foothills Mall, which is expected to open this weekend.

Foster and his family have been behind-the-scenes players in the Tucson food scene for decades. He’s designed interiors, kitchens and buildings for Thunder Canyon Brewery, El Guero Canelo, Brooklyn Pizza Company, Safehouse, Beyond Bread and Xoom Juice. His younger brother has designed kitchens for local resorts, including the recently opened Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, and his father repaired restaurant equipment back in the 1970s.

Hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; and 6:30 a.m. to “whenever” on weekends, says Foster.

The owner of Mr. An’s Teppan Steak and Seafood Sushi Bar at 6091 N. Oracle Road says the restaurant will be open for business starting Monday, May 3.

Kwang C. An, who also owns Great Wall China at 2445 S. Craycroft Road, says he spent about $1 million revamping the building, which now boasts a fresh interior and an updated patio area outfitted with couches and fireplaces. The restaurant will host a benefit this Saturday, but won’t be open to the public until Monday.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday; 5 to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m., Friday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday. The bar is open from 11 a.m. until close every day, with happy-hour specials from 3 to 6 p.m. Call 797-0888 for more information.

An’s other project, An Congress, is currently under construction on the southwest corner of Congress Street and Fifth Avenue. He says the 15,000-square-foot sports bar and restaurant will serve American and Pacific-rim fare, and will have outdoor and rooftop dining areas. It’s expected to open by November.

Nicole Flowers, the former manager of 58 Degrees and Holding Company, says she and Travis Reese, formerly of the B Line, are teaming up to open the new downtown eatery 47 Scott.

Flowers says renovations to the space at 47 Scott Ave. are nearly complete, and the menu is finalized. Expect steaks, burgers, rotating seasonal specials and a brief and affordable wine list. A bar menu will feature items such as homemade fries, a grilled-cheese platter that serves several people and a cheese plate, among other items.

The atmosphere will fall somewhere between the upscale feel at the now-defunct 58 Degrees and the casual vibe at B-Line. The menu tops out at $16, with most entrées in the $12 range.

"If I had to whittle it down to one word, it would be 'comfortable,'" Flowers said.

Dave Baker, who most recently worked at Maynards Market and Kitchen, will be head chef, said Flowers. Baker has also trained under chef Albert Hall, owner and chef at Acacia at St. Philip's.

Flowers also said the location has a patio that's shaded by nearby buildings after 3:30 p.m. That sounds like a downtown happy hour just waiting to happen.

A grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, May 8.

Eclectic Pizza, which won a Best of Tucson® staff pick last year for its gluten-free options, will make an appearance on the Sundance Channel next month.

Renee Kreager, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Steve, says the restaurant will be featured in an episode of The Lazy Environmentalist slated to air Tuesday, May 11. She said the show focuses on teaching a teenager how to make healthy food choices.

Producers have not shared much information about the episode, Kreager said. However, she was relatively confident that the show would shine a favorable light on the restaurant.

“The host and the staff ordered hundreds of dollars worth of food and liked everything. They were really happy with it,” she said.

Sadly enough, the Kreagers are so busy running the restaurant that they rarely have time to watch television—and they don’t get the Sundance Channel, Kreager said.

If it’s going in at the former Burger City, which we've heard is the case, that would be sort of poetic. Monkey Burger was originally going to be the second Burger City, so a reversal of those roles rings with some kind of strange irony.

And take a look at this monstrosity that Monkey Burger has added to the menu. They call it “The Kitchen Sink,” for obvious reasons. Part of me says, “Wow, what a novel take on the hamburger,” while another part of me says, “Goddamn, how much is too much?”

• Cholla buds!

Pima County Parks and Recreation used to offer classes on harvesting cholla buds, but a spokeswoman says budget cuts forced them to ax the programs this year. That’s a shame. We attended one of the classes taught by famed ethnobotanist Martha Burgess last year, and it was incredible.

Still, there are resources to help you harvest your very own supply of this delicious desert food. There’s this awesome article we found online, and here’s a slideshow of the whole process as performed by a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, whose members have eaten this and other desert foods for millennia. Oh, and here's a recipe for cholla bud salad courtesy of none other than the luxurious Canyon Ranch.

You can also buy the dried version from Tohono O'odham Community Action for $20 a pound. But we suggest harvesting your own. We did last weekend, and the resulting stir-fry was delicious.

Small Planet Bakery baker Aaron French talks about his experience with baking in this multimedia piece by Kellie Mejdrich, a UA School of Journalism junior.