Friday, May 8, 2015
If you love kimchi and you can't get enough kombucha, the Sonoran Desert Museum has a class for you. On Saturday, May 16, you can head to the museum for a desert-centric workshop on the bitter, tart and tangy world of fermented food and drink.
The class will take attendees through 2000 years of fermentation history with sauerkraut, sourdough bread, cider, mead, wine, vinegar and kimchi all in focus. Whether you ferment to develop unique flavor or you do it for the health benefits, you can also learn how to make these aged beauties at home through the use of wild yeasts and bacterias that float in the air.
The event, which is co-sponsored by the Sonoran Permaculture Guild, is $66 for non-members and $60 for members. It will run from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on May 16 at the museum, located at 2021 N. Kinney Road. For more information on this event and upcoming events at the museum, visit the Sonoran Desert Museum website.
Tags: fermentation , workshop , kimchi , sourdough , vinegar , mead , sonoran desert museum , tucson
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Learning about how Presta Coffee roasts their coffee beans for Stella Java just made us all the more excited for the new coffee shop and roaster's grand opening. Well, the time is almost here because Presta Coffee is opening its doors on Friday, May 8 with a special latte art competition.
The event will pit Tucson and Phoenix's baristas against one another in the quest to pour the perfect latte art. You can watch on as judges pick which lattes look the best and beverages will be provided. There will be coffee swag and cash money for the barista who consistently pours the top latte all for a $5 competitors fee. It's free to attend the event.
The grand opening party will kick off at Presta, located at 2502 North First Avenue Suite 100, at 6 p.m. and run until 11 p.m.
Tags: presta coffee roasters , opening , barista , latte art , competition , tucson
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
If you've been to Foothills Mall recently to pick up a sweet pair of discounted Levi's, you might have noticed something missing from the mall. That's because Cheesy Rider, Tucson's own grilled cheese restaurant, closed their food court location.
Cheesy Rider, which was originally a food truck, became known in town for incorporating comfort foods like mac and cheese into grilled cheese sandwiches. In September 2014, Cheesy Rider made the leap from truck to mall food court. According to owner Sean Scott, they are currently not sure if they will continue serving up grilled cheese on the food truck.
Tags: cheesy rider , closed , grilled cheese , foothills mall , restaurants , tucson , Image
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Are you an Ethiopian food fanatic, expertly sopping up different spiced offering with bits of spongey injera? Or maybe you're a newbie to the cuisine who doesn't know wat from tibs. Either way, as a part of Local First Arizona's Localist program, Cafe Desta is offering a unique opportunity to try out their Ethiopian fare. The event will feature unlimited tastings of different traditional dishes, as well as local wines and an injera bread demonstration, all for just $5.
The Cafe Desta tasting event takes place Wednesday, May 13 from 6 until 8 p.m. at the restaurant located at 758 S. Stone Ave. The event is open to everyone—not just Localist members—but you have to sign up online in advance in order to attend. For more information on becoming a Localist member, which carries its own special perks, visit the Local First Arizona website.
Tags: cafe desta , local first , ethiopian , tucson , restaurant , dining , event
Monday, May 4, 2015
It's safe to say one of the most selfless acts a person can do is bear and raise a child—even knowing full well they'll be rotten teenagers at some point. Well, it's time to give back to the person that gave up their body and time and life to make sure you were happy and healthy. That's right, Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10 and that means you should get your mom a present and take her out for the weekend's best meal: brunch. However, you don't want to take your dear ma to just any old place—she deserves the best.
Here's where you should go and what you should get for Mother's Day brunch this weekend:
Tags: mother's day , brunch , dining , tucson , maynard's , 47 scott , arizona inn , penca , cafe botanica , agustin kitchen , cafe a la cart
Thursday, April 30, 2015
In a somewhat shocking turn of events, one of those national listicles actually got something right when it named Mother Hubbard's one of the top diners in the country. Men's Health, of all publications, went on a modest tour of diners across the country and our little haven for waffles and Native American eats made the cut.
The article says:
When Kelzi Bartholomaei bought Mother Hubbard’s Cafe in 2010, she vowed to maintain its diner spirit but reconstructed the menu to showcase what she calls contemporary Native American comfort food. At this Tucson institution, you’ll find outstanding diner coffee, blue-corn-and-pine-nut waffles, and a calabacitas scramble made by whirling eggs with roasted squash, peppers, corn, cheese, and hot sauce.
Oddly enough, they didn't even recognize her for her delicious homemade sausages or house-smoked mesquite bacon, but that's just a testament to the greatness that is Mother Hubbard's: there's just too many good things going on there to name them all in one paragraph. After all, the spot has about ten different kinds of waffles, many of them naturally gluten free, and they don't carry the upscale mark-up.
Mother Hubbard's green corn waffles were also one of our 100 Essential Dishes in 2015.
You can stop by and see what all the fuss is about at Mother Hubbard's, located at 14 W. Grant Rd. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. and Sunday from 7 p.m. until 2 p.m.
Tags: mother hubbard's , native american , best diner , national , men's health , waffles , bacon , sausage , Image
Monday, April 27, 2015
To me, the easiest way to explain the relationship of tequila and mezcal is that old thing your high school geometry teacher used to say about quadrilaterals and squares: all tequilas are mezcals but not all mezcals are tequilas. Actually there's bacanora, sotol, raicilla and the more common mezcal de Oaxaca too. So, what's the difference?
To boil it down, it's all a matter of where and from what agave species (or succulent in the case of sotol) the liquor is made. However, if you're interested in tasting the difference, Agave Fest at Hotel Congress is the event for you—and trust me, even beginners in the spirits tasting game can taste the variety in the wide world of mezcal.
Tags: hotel congress , agave fest , tequila , mezcal , bacanora , sotol , janos wilder
Conveniently located right near campus for those broke as a joke college kids in town, China Pasta House is a haven of quick, cheap and tasty eats. Even if you're not in school, the modest restaurant, located at 430 N. Park Ave. just south of 6th Street, is a good spot to check out for authentic eats for anyone who's thrifty.
Case in point: the pork bao. I'm well aware no one really wants to see my hand next to tasty food, but for the sake of scale, I included it. The lightly sweet, pillowy buns filled with seasoned pork are massive, but, best of all, they're only $1.50 each with or without bok choy. You can also opt for the veggie-friendly sweetened bean paste filled or mushroom bao for the same price.
Another inexpensive must-try item at China Pasta House is the tea egg. Tasting the black tea boiled egg is well worth the 50 cent price tag and the special blend of seasoning that goes along with it really makes the egg unique.
Then, of course, there are the dumplings. If you bring a friend and you each get a few of the smaller appetizer dishes, you definitely only need to split a half order of dumplings for a full meal. Half orders come with 15 perfect little steamed pouches filled with pork and cabbage, leek and egg, shrimp, veggies or more for right around $6.
For those dining solo, the pork and pickled vegetable noodle soup or sum sun noodle soup are both solid options if you have no one to share with. Both massive noodle-filled bowls run at about $7.
Since many of the menu items are such a steal at this little Chinese joint, it really gives you the opportunity to sample many different things, maybe trying something you wouldn't typically order. The service is very fast and friendly, and, since you aren't shelling out for pricey dishes, that means you can leave a nice tip even if you are generally a cheapskate, right?
China Pasta House is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m . You can also order items for pick-up by calling 623-3334.
Tags: china pasta house , tucson , cheap , chinese , restaurant , budget , bao , bun , noodles , dumplings , Image
Friday, April 24, 2015
It's no secret that Penca's Bryan Eichhorst has a passion for agave distillates. Recently, he created a full menu for the downtown restaurant listing all of their mezcals—there are 32—in categories with notes on how it's made and from where it originates.
With a few new spring cocktails and old favorites like the housemade tepache, Penca's cocktail menu is modest, but ranges from bold and spirit forward to sipable and tart with just a few drinks.
One of the menu's stand-out new drinks is the Jicaro—a cocktail that shows both Eichhorst's knowledge of the history of agave spirits and his penchant for making them into balanced cocktails.
The four ingredient cocktail uses infusions to give the simple drink an extra edge. Eichhorst infuses Del Maguey Vida mezcal with elote (you know, corn). He also infuses, er, macerates aguamiel with chiltepin chiles.
Tags: penca , jicaro , craft cocktails , mezcal , aguamiel , elote , chiltepin , tucson , bryan eichhorst , agave , Image
Last night in Tempe, the Arizona Foodist Awards announced their winners among the list of 2015 nominations. Hotel Congress' Cup Cafe was recognized for their popular breakfast dish: cast iron baked eggs.
The dish features two eggs, ham, leeks and gruyere cheese that are baked in cream and herbes fines in a cast iron pan and served with a side of potatoes and toast. The $11 plate is served at Cup Cafe daily from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The cast iron baked eggs were also one of TW's 100 Essential Dishes this year, and, if you haven't checked those out, you have some reading and subsequent eating to do.
Although Agustin Kitchen, The Coronet, Casino del Sol's Aaron Defeo and Tough Luck Club were all nominated for various awards this year, Hotel Congress was the only Old Pueblo joint to get a nod in 2015. There's always next year, right?
Tags: hotel congress , cup cafe , arizona foodist awards , 2015 , winners , breakfast , cast iron baked eggs
