A Travel Channel spokeswoman dropped us an e-mail to confirm that Tucson will be featured in the episode of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods scheduled to air Monday, May 17.

We already reported some months ago that Zimmern was taping an episode about the carne seca at El Charro, but the recent e-mail said the Travel Channel star also stopped by two hole-in-the wall restaurants while he was in town.

According to an entry on Zimmern’s blog he had birria at Maico’s, the tiny Mexican joint that serves up great food on Styrofoam plates at 835 E. 22nd Street; and pumpkin empanadas, tacos de cabeza and flan at Pico de Gallo at 2618 S. Sixth Ave. Both of the restaurants are fully Tucson authentic, and we applaud Zimmern’s nose for good food.

Will business at the two places go through the roof like it did after Lindy’s was featured on Man v. Food? We’re not sure yet, but that sure would be a leg up for two down-home Tucson restaurants.

A new restaurant called 47 Scott is scheduled to open next month at 47 N. Scott Ave., according to its website.

Information is scarce regarding the restaurant, but a press release says 47 Scott will debut a "comfort food" menu at the upcoming 2nd Saturdays event, which features concerts, food, performances and loads of other entertainment on Saturday, May 8.

If anyone has more information about the eatery, feel free to leave a comment or send the information to [email protected]. We're dying to know more!

Brian Metzger, who owns and operates jaxKitchen with his wife Sandy, says homegrown vegetables could be showing up on his menu as early as this summer, thanks to a new chef’s garden.

Metzger said via e-mail that the entire staff of the restaurant and Noel Patterson (formerly of Hacienda del Sol and VinTabla) pitched in to dig and plant the garden on a plot of land in Barrio Viejo. He said vegetables have been planted, and plans are being developed to integrate them into meals at the popular northwest-side eatery.

“We are really excited that we will be able to offer our guests farm-to-table food, at jaxKitchen prices!” wrote Metzger in the e-mail. “We plan on our chef Casey McQueen having a ‘chef’s garden menu’ beginning hopefully in mid-June and running throughout October which will feature whatever the earth plans … in an ever-changing combination of flavors.”

An entry on the restaurant’s website says the vegetables will be featured on a tasting menu that will change almost daily. The entry also says that pictures and news will soon be posted on a new blog focusing on the garden.

Metzger is also looking for volunteers interested in helping out with some garden work. Call 219-1235 for more information.

In related news, jaxKitchen unveils a new menu this Wednesday, and now offers al fresco dining at a couple of tables on the sidewalk in front of the eatery.

Throughout the week, we'll be posting slideshows of some of the sights at this year's Pima County Fair, which is concluding today, Sunday, April 25. See all our photos at Flickr.com/TucsonWeekly. Here's the food.

Curious things can happen when a church with a largely Vietnamese congregation has a pastor with a penchant for Louisiana cooking.

Such is the case at Our Lady of LaVang Parish (800 S. Tucson Blvd.), where the second annual Crawfish Festival takes place this weekend. The event features traditional Vietnamese food prepared by church members and loads of bayou-style crawfish, which parish president Anton Tran admits is somewhat of an odd pairing.

“My pastor knows how to cook that stuff,” Tran said. “They may eat some kind of crawfish in Vietnam, but not like this.”

Tran was busy this morning getting the ton of crawfish he had flown in for the event ready. It will sell for about $5 a pound at the festival, which also features Vietnamese sandwiches, noodle plates, barbecued pork, egg rolls and desserts. Entertainment will include karaoke and bingo.

The festival takes place from 1 to 11 p.m., Saturday, April 24; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, April 25. Admission is free. Call 940-6749 for more information.

One locally owned eatery and two chain restaurants are coming to Oro Valley Marketplace, a shopping center on the corner of Tangerine and Oracle roads.

Harvest Moon, a Chinese restaurant that our food reviewer really enjoyed, is moving from 12985 N. Oracle Road to the shopping center. Quincy Zhang, who opened the restaurant back in 1999 with his wife, Wanda Zhang, said the new spot is twice as big as the current location.

“Better service, better location; same prices, same menu,” Zhang said.

In-N-Out Burger is also opening a location at the shopping center. Carl Van Fleet, vice president of planning and marketing for the California-based company, said via e-mail that the location is expected to open in June. The In-N-Out location under construction at the corner of Broadway Boulevard and Kolb Road is also scheduled to open in June, according to the e-mail.

Finally, the Explorer newspaper reports that a Keg Steakhouse and Bar is opening at the shopping center. We called the restaurant’s corporate office to see when the location was expected to open, but a spokesperson was not available for comment.

A new cupcake store called Sweet Things Cupcake Shoppe will open soon at the Foothills Mall. The menu is posted at the shop's website, which is already up and running. The store's Facebook page says the opening will happen this summer.

It wasn't long ago that Tucson didn't have a single store solely dedicated to cupcakes, at least that we know of. When Sweet Things Cupcake Shoppe opens, we'll have four or so—and all of those opened in the last year.

The Cheba Hut, Tucson's pot-themed sandwich shop, is celebrating tomorrow’s pro-marijuana holiday with eating contests, live music and more giveaways than you can shake a pack of rolling papers at.

Pot people everywhere celebrate “420” tomorrow, an informal holiday observed annually on April 20. The origins of the holiday tend to vary depending on the age of the person asked and the potency of what they've been smoking, but tomorrow is unofficial marijuana day, and a lot of people will be getting really high around 4:20 p.m.

The Cheba Hut opens at 10 a.m. tomorrow, but owner Steve Bigelow says the live music (six bands!) and other festivities won’t get hopping until 2 p.m. The Tucson chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has also chosen the restaurant as the end point for its marijuana march, which starts at 3 p.m. on the corner of Broadway Boulevard and Plumer Avenue.

A sandwich-eating contest is scheduled to take place at about 4:20 p.m., said Bigelow. A contest to see who can eat the most “goo-ball,” a mixture of Rice Krispies, peanut butter, honey and chocolate, will also be held. Bigelow said there’ll also be tons of free food, commemorative Frisbees, plastic pot-leaf necklaces, giveaways and a dunk tank where he and employees will make appearances.

Admission is free. Call 624-2880 for more information.

The rumors that Janos Wilder would be taking over the old Barrio Food and Drink space are no longer rumors.

Here's the news release:

Janos Returns To Downtown

Janos and Rebecca Wilder announced this afternoon that they are returning to downtown Tucson to open a new restaurant in the site of the former Barrio Grill at 135 South Sixth Avenue in the SoCo (south of Congress) district. The Wilder’s, who own Janos and J BAR on the grounds of the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa, began their Tucson restaurant career in 1983 when they first opened Janos Restaurant in the former Hiram Stevens house on the grounds of the Tucson Museum of Art.

“This is coming full circle for us.” Wilder commented, “We’re inspired by the opportunity to return to our downtown roots and to be a part of the renaissance taking place there. We couldn’t be more excited to be opening a new restaurant downtown.”

The new, as yet unnamed restaurant will be located in The Odd Hall, a 1914 era building built by prominent architect, Henry Jaastadt whom also designed Tucson High School and the original

The onion-and-blue-cheese scones at Café Passé are some of the finest breakfast offerings available downtown, and it looks like we'll have a larger space to enjoy them in starting next week.

Café Passé, which is located at 415 N. Fourth Ave., is expanding into the former Cali Kind Clothing Company at 417 N. Fourth Ave., says Tabatha Christian, a café employee. The expansion will double the number of seats at the café.

Christian said the amount of outdoor seating will also increase thanks to a large area in back of the eatery. The area will be connected to the current patio area, which boasts live plants and a number of tables.

Several new gallery/retail spaces will also be opening at the location. Tana Kelch from Bohemia is opening a space there, as is local artist Duncan Linthicum. Christian is opening a shop that will sell locally made fashions, jewlery and home décor.

A stage in the new space will also allow the café to feature live music, and movie nights are planned for the outdoor area.

The menu will stay the same, except for the addition of five new omelets, said Christian.

A grand opening from 6 to 10 p.m., Thursday, April 22, will feature live music by the Tryst, Duo Sonido, the Awkward Moments and the Fell City Shouts. Call 624-4411 for more information.