Monday, March 9, 2015
After 10 years of serving up seafood to Tucsonans, Bluefin Seafood Bistro is calling it quits at Casa Adobes Plaza. However, if you need to get one last taste from the oyster bar or some more of that Bluefin bouillabaisse, there is some more time to do so.
The seafood-centric spot will be serving their last crab cake on Sunday, May 24. According to a statement from owners Jeff Azersky and Jim Murphy, their lease was under re-negotiation and they could not "come to an equitable deal" with the center's new owners.
"Thanks to our many loyal regular guests for dining with us. It always amazes us how many familiar faces we constantly see at our restaurants," the statement said. "This is the true testament to our work."
Bluefin will be moving forward and serving a new spring menu soon, despite the imminent close of the location entirely. Fans of Azersky and Murphy's take on fresh seafood can still get a taste at Kingfisher Bar & Grill after May 24 and onward.
Tags: bluefin , seafood , restaurant , closing , tucson , jeff azersky , jim murphy
News came about mid-day yesterday via Facebook that the Metzger Family Restaurant group had decided to close Gio Taco. Located off at 360 E. Congress St., the taco joint had opened just 15 months ago in the heart of downtown.
"Our take on tacos, inspired by the dynamic culinary traditions of the Americas, didn't earn the level of support that it needed for the restaurant to survive on the corner of Congress and Fourth," Metzger said in a statement.
According to the statement from Metzger and MFR, the business had hoped to remain open until the end of the month, but the closing is effective immediately, despite trying to reach an agreement with their landlord.
"We aren't too proud to admit that some concepts simply don't work," the statement goes on to say.
If you have gift certificates for Gio Taco, those will be honored at other MFR restaurants like Jackson Tavern and Poppy Kitchen.
Tags: gio taco , tucson , downtown , restaurant , closed
Friday, March 6, 2015
If you're a serious food lover, chances are you have a small stockpile of food-related reading materials collected already. Well, it's time to add some more to the pile because the Tucson Festival of Books is happening next weekend and is presenting a full schedule of food-centric events on March 14 and 15.
While you can view the full list of planned speakers on the festival's website, know that the topics will range from French cooking to desserts to cooking with birds and playing with knives (note: you should not actually play with knives). The speaking events take place both days from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on the UA campus, primarily at the Culinary Stage.
However, it isn't all about the reading, as there will also be a fair amount of eating involved in conjunction with the event. At the festival itself, Pastiche, Tucson Tamale Co., Renee's Organic Oven, Cafe Santa Rosa and more will be serving food for hungry bookworms.
Although the official Culinary Dinner on Saturday, March 14, is all booked up, the following night, chef Ryan Clark will be inviting Norman Van Aken into his kitchen for a special one-night-only east meets west menu. The dinner kicks off at 6:30 p.m. at Agustin Kitchen and is limited to just 30 diners. You can reserve your spot for the $85 (plus tax and gratuity) special chef's meal through the dinner's Eventbrite page.
Tags: tucson festival of books , culinary dinner , agustin kitchen , ryan clark , cookbook , norman van aken
Thursday, March 5, 2015
If you fancy yourself a garage-side brewmaster and you're looking to mingle with like-minded hop heads, mosey on over to Dragoon Brewing Co., located at 1859 W. Grant Road Suite 111, for a special meeting of the American Homebrewers Association.
As part of a national series of AHA rallies, the homebrewing organization is dropping into Dragoon for a special VIP tour of the brewery and a meet and greet with some of its brewers. After that, the group of amateur brewers and beet enthusiasts will test out different samples on tap and possibly even when a prize from Dragoon or the AHA.
The AHA brewery rally takes place on Saturday, March 7 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. The rally is free for current AHA members. If you aren't a member, you can join online or sign up for a discounted member rate at the Rally. Either way, you can RSVP to attend on the AHA website.
Tags: dragoon , brewing , tucson , homebrew , rally , meet up
Monday, March 2, 2015
Nook opened today at 1 E. Congress St. and I really couldn't wait to get in and give it a taste. Stopping in for lunch, the new spot was bustling with diners, which kept the staff busy but seemingly not overwhelmed.
With breakfast and brunch menus, an espresso bar with EXO Roast coffee, freshly baked pastries, grab and go options and more, there's a lot to choose from for your Nook experience. The lunch menu alone has an eclectic mix of dishes that draw inspiration from all over, including a soba noodle salad, Korean street tacos, green corn tamales, a classic croque madame and more.
Tags: nook , downtown , tucson , breakfast , brunch , lunch , coffee , pastries , cuban , sandwich , new american , Image
It's official: Renee's Organic Oven is open for breakfast. Owner Renee Kreager announced that her small, locally-focused restaurant is expanding its hours on the weekdays to include breakfast from 8 until 10:45 a.m., and she gave us the menu.
"I was just looking to open it up to people who say they can't normally make it in," she says.
Renee's Organic Oven, located at 7065 E. Tanque Verde Road, will be serving breakfast boards featuring local and organic wares (think morning charcuterie), rustic casserole-like quiches with meat or veggies, a savory millet porridge, biscuits and gravy with made-in-house sausage, breakfast pizza and more. That gravy, by the way, is available as a side that can (and probably should) be poured over all of the menu items.
While Kreager's husband cooks all that up, she says she's excited to present her cocktail menu. The seven-drink menu features sangria using Dish from Dosha Ayurvedic juice, a tincture-like house Bloody Mary with beet and carrot juice, a Yellow Brick cold brew concentrate cocktail and more. Kreager says she hopes to start serving her drinks as a flight.
Although Kreager is just kicking off breakfast, she's already planning to offer a selection of healthy, plant-based grab-and-go lunch items in specially designed eco-friendly packaging so breakfast diners can eat a good lunch too, whether they're on their way to work or to bike up Mount Lemmon.
"People want to eat healthy but it has to be easy," she says. "I'm just trying to help give them an option."
Speaking of bikes, Kreager says those who bike over to Renee's Organic Oven can enjoy $2 bottles of Fat Tire. If it's too early to drink for you, though, those same Dish for Dosha medicinal, Ayurvedic juices made by Cecilia Arosemena are available virgin.
If you've already scrolled down to take a look at the full menu, you might have noticed a polite disclaimer on the front page's top left corner. Kreager says that although her restaurant is normally known for being accommodating to all diets, this menu was planned to already be that way, so she's asking her customers not to change, add or subtract anything from her dishes.
"We're asking customers not to alter our breakfast menu items. We've put them together to be conscious of vegan or gluten-free diets," she says. "But that doesn't mean that we don't love you."
Tags: renee's organic oven , breakfast , new , menu , vegan , gluten free
Friday, February 27, 2015
On March 14, The Dish will serve its last dinner service, although that isn't the end of the space.
For the last six years, chef Michael Muthart took charge of the kitchen's operations, serving up options like Moroccan spiced grilled rack of lamb and steamed mussels with a saffron broth. However, Muthart has also been running a poultry and fowl ranch called Top Knot Farms in Benson. Now that his ranch is taking off, he's stepping out of the kitchen and into a role as a rancher.
Although Smith and his partner Jennifer Elchuck interviewed other chefs, they ultimately decided to stop dinner service at The Dish.
"I wish I had a better answer than 'It's time,' but something told me it was time to start settling up," he says.
However, that's not the end of the story for the space. After a break for "retooling," The Dish will be transformed into a bar and tasting room area with small dishes like charcuterie boards. About once every three months, Smith plans on bringing Muthart back into the kitchen for special theme or wine dinners. The first one, he says, is slotted for May 17 and will likely feature Top Knot's chicken and eggs.
Smith says The Dish had one of its best months for sales to date in the current location and is happy to end on a high note.
"It's good to go out while you're still meaningful and vital," Smith says.
If you want to stay up to date on the changes coming to Rum Runner, you can sign up for the bottle shop and bar's newsletter.
Tags: the dish , rum runner , tom smith , michael muthart , closing , restaurant , tucson
Phoenix might have their llama drama, but down here in Tucson we have Mamma Llama back again. About two years ago, Mamma Llama Empanadas closed the door to their brick-and-mortar operation off of Craycroft and Grant roads. Vicki Sims and Kris Masalsky, the duo behind Mamma Llama, recently decided to license their empanadas to Todd Martin at Tucson Tamale.
Although the phrase "license their empanadas" might seem like the crispy, flaky, golden brown love and attention is baked out of Mamma Llama, Masalsky says that her and Sims have actually been behind the scenes and in the kitchen, training the Tucson Tamale crew how to make their empanadas.
"We trained the staff to carry on our tradition," she says. "We'll still be involved."
After 13 years of making Mamma Llama Empanadas, you might think it'd be tough to let go of the reins a little, but Masalsky and Sims both agree that partnering with Tucson Tamale made sense since they've always had a similar customer base and have always wanted to work with Martin. Mostly, the pair is just happy that their empanadas are back for Tucsonans to enjoy.
"If it's a good goal and a good dream, somehow it finds a way to come back," Masalsky says. "It wasn't just about the food for us. We wanted to make a good product, but it was really about building and maintaining relationships."
Tucson Tamale is offering packs of two frozen empanadas to take and bake or a hot empanada of the day plate ($6.79) which comes with two sides. The following four flavors are currently available:
Viva Argentina: beef, tomato, raisins, green chile, cinnamon and other spices ($4.49)
Peruvian Twist: artichokes, green chile, mayo, cheese ($4.99)
Peachy Keen: peaches, cranberries, walnuts, cinnamon ($3.99)
Buenos Dias: egg, Tucson Tamale's Sherry salsa, green chile, mozzarella ($3.99)
Masalsky says that though the crew launched those four empanada flavors initially, chances are that they will have more variety in the future. You can buy Mamma Llama Empanadas now at Tucson Tamale locations.
The ladies of Mamma Llama will also be handing out empanada samples at each of the three Tucson Tamale locations from 1:00pm - 3:00pm on March 1 at 7159 E. Tanque Verde Road, March 8 at 7286 N. Oracle Road, and March 22 at 2545 E. Broadway Blvd. Attendees at those events can also enjoy buy-one-get-one packages of empanadas.
Tags: mamma llama , empanada , tucson , tucson tamale , vicki sims , kris masalsky , todd martin , Image
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Get your planners out, folks, because the Heirloom Farmers Markets and Living Streets Alliance have announced the dates for this year's Tucson Tandem weekends. The pair of two day events blend the Viva La Local Food Festival and Cyclovia Tucson into a weekend long celebration of two of the best things known to man: good food and bicycles.
On Saturday, April 18 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Viva La Local will take over Rillito Park to present all things Tucson food including 25 of the town's best restaurants, over 80 farmers market vendors, local brewers and vintners, and more. Samples of both food and drink for the day run at $5 a pop and entry is $6 for adults and free for children under 12. Proceeds go to benefit the Heirloom Farmers Markets. Should you bike to the event, there will be a complimentary valet and if you buy a bunch of fresh fruits and vegetables, a veggie valet will be there to watch your goods while you dine and imbibe on the park's East Field. Live music will include Tesoro, Cadillac Mountain and more.
Then on Sunday, April 19, downtown Tucsonans can celebrate a glorious five-mile stretch of carless streets from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. The sixth annual festival isn't about getting anywhere quickly or going a long distance—the day is just about imagining the city with fewer cars on the road with 50,000 of your fellow Tucsonans. Whether that means walking, skating, cycling, unicycling or whatever other alternative mode of transport that you fancy, Cyclovia is just a good day to get out and see downtown and south Tucson.
Tucson Tandem has also announced the whole thing will happen again Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 for the fall festival. After all, it's never a bad idea to look ahead past the expansive wasteland of summer to the glimmer of hope known as the end of October.
For more information, visit the Viva La Local and Cyclovia Tucson websites.
Tags: viva la local , food festival , cyclovia , tucson , heirloom , farmers market , tucson tandem , living streets alliance
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
You might still be reeling from The Abbey's closure last year, but now you can have a taste of something familiar at Brian Metzger's other joint Jackson Tavern. That's because the Old Fort Lowell area restaurant is bringing back one of The Abbey's signature dishes: the Abby Burger.
Although other places in town serve up English muffin-topped burgers, the Abby Burger is unique with its bacon jam, caramelized onions, aged cheddar and aioli, blending sweet, savory and smoky flavors all in one handheld package. Now that it's a regular menu item at Jackson Tavern, they've decided to switch it up by offering the option of a single patty Abby with a side of fries for $10.50 or a double burger with fries for $12.
If you're ready to take your tastebuds on a trip down memory lane, you can head to Jackson Tavern, located at 2900 N. Swan Road.
Tags: the abbey , brian metzger , burger , abby , english muffin , jackson tavern
