Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Although the pop-up restaurant trend has firmly entrenched itself in the dining culture of other cities, the concept is still gaining traction here in Tucson with occasional events that offer a little something different than what you'd typically expect from local restaurants. One local up-and-coming chef is running with the idea, creating unique one-time events in various alternative venues.
Pop-Up Tucson is run by 22-year-old chef Riley Chandler, who has trained under chef Janos Wilder and assists in Carriage House events. For the first event, Chandler hosted a five-course dinner in Ventana Canyon on May 1 alongside chef TJ Culp. Culp runs similar pop-up-style events in Phoenix.
On Saturday, May 14 at 10 a.m., Chandler will present his second event at a currently undisclosed location, which will be provided to attendees once they RSVP. For this event, Chandler and chef James Piazza will offer a three-course, mimosa-paired brunch. Piazza, who is 27, is a pizzaiolo and chef currently working for Chris Bianco in Phoenix.
Tags: pop-up tucson , dining , events , riley chandler , janos , james piazza , chris bianco , brunch
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
JAM Culinary Concepts, the parent company of both Vero Amore and Noble Hops, recently took well-loved former Indian food truck Twisted Tandoor under its wing, with promises of an eminent brick and mortar location. Though that restaurant is still projected to be a couple months out, you don't have to wait to get anther taste of Twisted Tandoor.
Vero Amore has already incorporated the Singh family Twisted Tandoor recipes into their line-up with their unique Indian pizza nights for the past year and a half, while seeking to get the truck up and running again for catering and private events. Now, the restaurant's speakeasy-inspired bar, The Still (located behind a rotating wall in Vero Amore at 2920 N. Swan Road), will play host to a special Indian Night event.
Led by Roopinder Grewal of Twisted Tandoor, Josh and Aric Mussman of JAM and bartender and manager of The Still Tiffany Eldredge, the one-night-only event will run from 7 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, May 12 and will offer seven dishes and eight cocktails inspired by Twisted Tandoor.
Here's the menu:
Tags: twisted tandoor , the still , vero amore , indian , cocktails , dining event , tucson
Monday, May 9, 2016
By now it’s clear that food isn’t just about restaurants and dining out, but has grown to be a movement that focuses ever more on local farms and farmers and the traditions of food in any given region. After all, Tucson wouldn’t have won its illustrious UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation without the region’s rich agricultural history paired with modern strides to not only revive it, but make it accessible and inclusive to those in the community.
One of the organizations at the forefront of that very effort in town is the Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace and their heritage crop efforts at the Mission Garden. That’s why local food fanatics should head to the garden on Saturday, May 14 for the 2016 Dia de San Ysidro festival.
The event, which aims to celebrate traditional farming in Tucson by highlighting Old World and indigenous food traditions, will include a procession from Tucson Origins Heritage Park to the garden, performances from Mariachi Milagro and the Desert Indian Dancers from San Xavier, a Native American Four Directions Blessing, a presentation on water saints and acequias by M. Brescia (PhD) and a Pozole de Trigo tasting. Attendees can also take part in a community wheat harvest where you can thresh and winnow alongside members of Presidio San Agustin.
The celebration has roots in Arizona history, and the organization shows it off with an 120-year-old excerpt from the Arizona Weekly Citizen from May 19, 1894:
“All honor was shown today to San Ysidro Labrador…San Ysidro is the rural saint, the patron of the fields and crops. The image was carried today about the fields below town, with a gay procession following…At every house refreshments are on hand, and are served. A feature is usually an olla of teswin, a light wine made of corn. No other intoxicants are permitted…The first of the crop of each field was promised to the patron saint. The Chinese gardeners have come to have due regard for this annual festival, and were among the heavy contributors, some of them giving money.”
The cultural festival begins at 9 a.m. and is open to the public. While the event is free, a $5 donation is requested per person. For more information, visit the Friends of Tucson's Birthplace website.
Tags: mission garden , friends of tucson's birthplace , gardening , farming , agriculture , harvest , fetival , events , san ysidro , cultural , pozole de trigo
Friday, May 6, 2016
Chicago's Alinea went to a ticketed system, ditching the standard reservation system. Other James Beard award winners, like Chez Panisse in Berkeley, have done away with tipping. It seems no matter where you look, fine dining restaurateurs are tweaking the typical protocol in order to find a system that works across the board: a good quality to price ratio for guests, a fair wage and sane hours for employees and a workable amount of cash leftover for the owner.
It might sound simple just to list those three things, but achieving them, especially in a town like Tucson where the median household income is about $5,000 less per year than the rest of the state and about $10,000 less than that of the U.S. as a whole, is another story entirely.
That's where chef Albert Hall comes in. At 60 years old, he's been in kitchens for 45 years and has seen some dramatic shifts—particularly in the last 11 years while his fine dining restaurant Acacia was in business. But, on Sunday, May 15, Acacia is closing its doors for good.
Tags: albert , hall , acacia , fine dining , tucson , restaurant , future , Image
Thursday, May 5, 2016
It's time to break open those piggy banks and spend some of your hard-earned pennies on the woman who brought you into this world. Whether you're like best friends or it's best to spend one day per year together, your mom accomplished the superhuman feat of childbirth just for you, so you can spare a couple hours for brunch—and brunch you shall because here are 11 spots around Tucson where you can treat your mommie dearest right this Mother's Day (Sunday, May 8).
Tags: tucson , brunch , mother's day , list , dining , agustin kitchen , wildflower , penca , hilton , carriage house , the coronet , north italia , cafe a la cart , acacia , pastiche
Friday, April 29, 2016
Eight years ago, Aaron Defeo, who was then running Hotel Congress' bar program, sought to create an event unlike any Tucson had seen before. He wanted to give pros and guests alike the opportunity to sip spirits, rub elbows and learn more about the liquor world through a place-centric tasting event.
"There just weren't any opportunities for people to taste a wide variety of curated spirits," Defeo says.
What's more is many of the tasting events that did exist were sponsored by one specific brand, which meant little diversity in the selection.
Flash forward eight years and Defeo's original single-day tasting event at Hotel Congress has exploded into a full week of seminars, tastings, concerts and more and become the Agave Heritage Week. Congress' general manager Todd Hanley wanted to expand the event this year, including off-site venues and more to grow the festival.
Tags: agave heritage week , tucson , festival , mezcal , tequila , dinner , janos wilder , aaron defeo , todd hanley , sergio inurrigarro , hotel congress , carriage house , rialto theatre , roger clyne , la ley , saul hernandes
This year, though, MSA’s spring market fest has a little something special for the food crowd too. The Seed + Feed culinary showcase will add an extra layer to the all-local event with food-centric panels and demos. On Saturday, April 30, Gary Nabhan of Native Seeds/SEARCH and the newly-founded UA Center for Regional Food Studies will present on the city’s new UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation beginning at 1 p.m. The following day, beginning at 11 a.m., Don Guerra of Barrio Bread will lead a “Seed to Bread” workshop.
The full Spring Bazaar takes place Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information on this and other Mercado San Agustin events, visit the Mercado's website.
Tags: mercado san agustin , spring bazaar , tucson , artisan , market , local , shopping , events , barrio bread , gary nabhan , unesco , Image
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
The debut Agave Heritage Week starts Tuesday, May 3, and includes some sumptuous meals, live music, guest speakers and more, all built around the humble agave.
You can find the whole schedule here, but check out this dinner that Janos Wilder is preparing at his new Carriage House on Friday May 6:
Passed Hors D’oeuvres
Local Beef Cheek Mini Tacos
Smoked Poblanos and Mushroom Flautas
Cocktail: Blanco tequila, raspberry, habanero shrub, sparkling wine
First
Ceviche Blanco
Wild Mexican shrimp, pickled nopalitos, local chiles, mizuna greens, Anita’s corn tortillas
Agua Amarga: Blanco Tequila, Apple Almond Orgeat, Lime, Averna
Second
La Codorniz Con Tequila
Tequila and lime cured quail, agave chiltepin glaze, mesquite smoked beef tongue, roasted pan patty squash, garlic confit, prickly pear and yucca root puree.
John Rose: Reposado Tequila, Demerara syrup, lemon, AZ Red Malbec, salt
Tags: Native Seeds/SEARCH , Hotel Congress , Janos Wilder , agave dinner
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Once you’ve mastered pie making in the kitchen, it feels like a turning point in your technical ability. Finicky dough can cause problems and what the heck do you even thicken a berry pie with? Tapioca? Cornstarch? Arrowroot?
Well, no doubt, you’ve already mastered a pie or two in your time, and now is the time to celebrate that achievement with other local pie bakers at the 13th annual Pie Party. Equal parts pie potluck, pie bake-off and fundraiser, this event brings the community together all in the name of that sweet, crusty dessert we all know and love.
For those looking to get competitive, bring your pie creation to the YWCA of Southern Arizona’s Frances Mclelland Center (525 N. Bonita Ave.) from 11 a.m. until noon on Sunday, May 1. Pies are separated into fruit, cream, vegan, wheat-free and other categories. Last year’s winning pies include date pecan mesquite, strawberry ginger and chile mango margarita cheesecake , so you’ll want to be sure to flex those creativity muscles if you plan on going for Best in Show this year.
The top pie baker also gets to choose which nonprofit will get the cash prize at the end. Participating nonprofits for the 2016 event are Local First Arizona Foundation, Make Way for Books, Tucson Roller Derby, Camp Born This Way and Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona. Pie entries earn two free tickets to the event when submitted.
For those just looking to eat some pies and donate to local nonprofits, the pie party runs from 3 until 6 p.m. on Sunday. Pie is sold at $3 per slice or two for $5. For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.
Tags: pie party , tucson , nonprofit , ywca , baking competition , community
Friday, April 22, 2016
Originally, I was going to write about one of my favorite quick meals to be found in midtown Tucson for under $10, the Tempeh BLT sandwich and a 16 oz. cup of Conspiracy Roast coffee (pictured above) at the Food Conspiracy Co-op on 4th Avenue.
As usual, Tucson had a different idea.
While I was groggily filling up my coffee cup, the woman next to me offered a cheery, “Good morning!” and I found myself wrapped up in a 45 minute conversation about Tucson, methods on achieving our lofty career aspirations and ultimately how to live a happy life.
Jawana Cox moved to Tucson two years ago after living in Alaska, Colorado and Virginia, and has been trying to get her holistic healing business off the ground while her husband finishes up his accounting degree. She has been tirelessly researching how to use LinkedIn, Instagram and other types of social media and watching webinars on small businesses for guidance on how promote hers, Wholesome Touch for Health, effectively.
Next on her list of things to do is teaching a series of four classes at the Food Conspiracy Co-op each Saturday in May about four interwoven topics from medicinal herb and essential oil use to removing stress from busy lives.
As the minutes ticked by and groceries were picked out around us, our conversation shifted from how we’re actively pursuing our careers to how we think about them.
Tags: Food Conspiracy Co-Op , 4th Avenue , Tucson , life , conversation , careers , kindness , story
