This just in from Rocco's Little Chicago:

Holy cats! Today's our last day on God's green Earth with Old Style in the house. Help my staff drink it up tonight, 5 till close, buck a can!

The word is that the local distributor of Old Style, Finley Distributing, simply hasn't gotten enough orders to continue supplying the beer, so it's being discontinued.

Rocco's also appears to have some prizes available for fellow lovers of Old Style, including this glorious number:

The magic begins at 5 p.m., so get there soon so you can begin saying goodbye to Old Style.

We've got some new Tastykake info via Matt Russell this morning:

To all Tasty fans in AZ and other parts far from Philly: Please excuse our growing pains!
We’re sorry you may be unable to find your favorite Tasty item in your area. As we expand Tastykake into new markets, we have to take into careful account a number of important matters—including maintaining quality and freshness and distribution logistics and costs. While most Tastykake items are available in our distribution area, we are simply not able to distribute certain classic Tastykake items in a way that preserves the high quality and freshness we’re known for. We appreciate your patience while we fix these issues and hope you enjoy other Tastykake items.

It appears to be from the TastyKake Facebook page, as seen here.

See what happens when people rattle a cage?

Just a note: Apparently, the folks over at Frankie's Cheesesteaks are in talks with Tastykake corporate about the 'Kakes. If you're interested in joining the fight, it would probably be worth the time for you to send your thoughts to those folks via their website or Facebook page.

In case you were unaware, it's currently Independents Week, according to Local First Arizona.

(Get it? Independence? Independents? Homonyms, anyone? Okay, I'll move on.)

That means that, using a "Golden Coupon" from the one of the largest partnerships between local businesses in the state, you're entitled to 20 percent off select goods and services from more than 300 participating retailers across Arizona.

More than 54 Tucson-area retailers are participating, including Pop Cycle, Antigone Books, Vero Amore, Ben's Bells, Pastiche, Three Amigas, The Fix, and more.

For a list of participating retailers, check Local First Arizona. To pick up Golden Tickets, head down to the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd., or print out your own here.

Dammit, every time I think I'm done writing things about Amy's Baking Company, they pull me back in.

According to Consumerist (via Radar Online), apparently those wacky Bouzaglos are at it again (or, perhaps, remain at it), as they allegedly make their employees sign a contract prior to employment.

As one might assume, this contract appears to have been written by people who don't understand how the real world works, as it includes terms that seem...a bit harsh for working in a damn restaurant.

For instance (and note that everything in blockquotes can be considered [sic]'d right off of the bat):

5). Any attitude will result in immediate termination.

Well, I guess that's why poor waitress Katy Cipriano was fired instantly after asking Amy a question. READ THE CONTRACT, SUCKER.

17) The recipes and techniques that have been developed by Amy at ABC are exclusive and shall remain confidential. Any removal of recipes will be considered theft.

Considering that "America is about "ressling" as the Bouzaglos put it a few months ago, I'm not certain that they've got much to worry about regarding recipe theft.

20) By signing this contract, you are hereby accepting that you will be employed exclusively by ABC Amy's Baking Co. LLC. And shal not work for any competitor within a 50 mile radius of ABC within one year of termination or voluntary Resignation, without prior authorization from ABC. Amy's Baking Co LLC.

ahahahah what

So we're clear, that would mean that you'd be unable to work ANYWHERE in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Your closest job opportunity within the food industry would probably be the In-N-Out Burger in Casa Grande -- no jumping ship across the strip mall for you!

There's so, so much more to it -- but I can't share more with you for fear of my brain collapsing in on itself in an attempt to understand the madness.

Head to Radar Online for more.

The Cup Café in Hotel Congress will be temporarily closed starting this Sunday, while its famous penny floors get a facelift.

Seems the Café floor was missing a little over a dollar and they are working with local coin shops to replace the missing copper with unique pennies to keep things interesting. The floor will also get a strip down and a polish to try to bring its luster as close to original as possible. During the week-long closure, they also plan on finishing some long-needed back-of-house repairs.

It's to reopen July 6; let's hope they don’t do too good of a job on the floor — no one wants to have to wear sunglasses for breakfast!

The Garland was one of the first counter-culture restaurants in Tucson. I’m not sure when they opened but I know I ate there when my daughter was a baby and she turned thirty-five in February. It was veggie oriented with big salads, crepes, baked goods and what not.

Well, in doing a little bit of “presearch” for an upcoming review I called only to find that the number was no longer in service. There was no Facebook page either, even though there was a website. The menu on the website seemed to include a whole passel of new dishes including Vietnamese food and sushi. The omelets and crepes and salads were all there but the new stuff seemed a bit odd.

So I took a drive over and discovered that The Garland is no longer. I don’t know when it closed.

Instead there is a banner that reads, “coming soon…..zemam’s, too!” While I sat there, several women came to the door and knocked. Eventually someone let them in.

When I called over to the original Zemam’s on Broadway the guy I spoke with confirmed that they will be opening a new restaurant some time near the end of July. The original Zemam’s will remain open.

The menus will be similar but the new spot on Speedway will have a menu that features food from “other countries” the man told me. He didn’t mention anything specific — only that the countries involved are the ones the owners traveled in when they were in The Peace Corps.

Yesterday, USA Today released a Zagat-created list of the 20 best Mexican food restaurants in the country.

Astoundingly, there were zero restaurants from Arizona on their list.

Sure, there were mentions of restaurants from price ranges all over the scale, $9 to $70 for a meal with a drink and a tip, from states around the country — but none from the Old Pueblo...or Phoenix, for that matter.

Apparently, New Orleans has better Mexican food. As does Honolulu, Baltimore, Atlanta, Washington and Orlando.

You know — hotbeds of Mexican culture and cuisine.

Now, if you're so inclined, you can check out the list over at azcentral.com — but personally, I'd recommend that you check out our Best of Tucson winner for the past 7 years, Cafe Poca Cosa; the long-time favorite, El Charro Cafe; Mi Nidito, which played host to President Bill Clinton; nationally-renowned purveyors of Sonoran Hot Dogs, BK and/or El Guero Canelo; the beloved Taqueria Pico de Gallo; one of the numerous delicious taco carts around town; or one of my favorites, Guadalajara Grill.

We've all got our preferences in this town, sure. But one thing's for certain: Zagat ain't got nothin' on us, Tucson.

If your culinary guilty pleasures include big chain restaurants like Starbucks and Pizza Hut, get it out of your system now because from July 1-14, Food Conspiracy Co-op on Fourth Avenue is challenging Tucson to eat local.

That doesn't just mean hitting up locally owned restaurants, but also stocking the pantry with locally sourced food. So, to make that a little more feasible, the Co-op will be offering discounts on local foods, including Isabella’s Ice Cream, Not So Gringo Salsa, tamales from Tucson Tamale Co., and sandwiches, wraps, granola, brownies, salads, muffins, bagels, and green chili breakfast burritos from the Conspiracy Kitchen. Look for the details of the sales on Facebook and Twitter.

Dick Gase, Food Conspiracy Front End Manager and Floating Head in the Photo Above, is offering some help. Gase will be trying to eat 100% local during the challenge's two week period, and he'll be blogging his way through it on the Co-op's website.

To celebrate the halfway point, there will be a Beer Dinner on Sunday, July 7 at Dragoon Brewing, 1859 W. Grant Rd, catered by the Conspiracy Kitchen. The dinner is limited to 30 people and tickets are available at the Co-op for $45.

I think this is totally doable. Two weeks of eating nothing but Not So Gringo Salsa sounds like heaven to me.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed the food at Frankie’s South Philly Cheesesteaks knows that TastyKakes are all part of the experience. But apparently there are some issues with the company and owner Frankie Santos can no longer get TastyKakes delivered to his shop of North Campbell Avenue. There are faux TastyKakes out there, but people who know want the real thing.

Inside Tucson Business (a sister paper of Tucson Weekly) columnist Matt Russell has the info:

Recent developments at the TastyKakes parent company, involving complex mergers, debt payoffs and exclusive distribution rights, have resulted in Santos’ inability to sell them at his restaurant. The plot has all the makings of a Martin Scorsese thriller, with the requisite drama and mystery, and Santos — who I imagine would be played by Joe Pesci in the film adaptation — is loaded for bear.

In short, a corporate merger has dramatically changed the distribution mechanism through which Santos has historically obtained the product. As a result, TastyKakes are no longer being shipped to Southern Arizona. What is now available is what Santos calls a “TastyKake knock-off,” a competing product that looks similar to the original, but a poseur nonetheless. “It ain’t a real TastyKake, and I ain’t selling it!”

Last week on Facebook, Frankie asked his fans to write to TastyKakes and I’m passing on the info and ask that you help the cause.

Tell them you want the real thing back at Frankie’s!

Sure, it's a little easy to pick on Paula Deen, with her deep love of heavily-caloric cuisine and her once-secret diabetes, but this week, after a court deposition seemingly outed her as a fan of casual racism, now it's an all-out-assault on the chipper TV host/chef. The Daily Show got into the act last night, with a two part segment. In the second portion, Jessica Williams helped to discern whether Deen has "Type 1" or "Type 2" racism:

This morning, Deen was supposed to appear on the Today Show to discuss this entire fiasco, but apparently didn't feel like facing the heat:

'Paula Deen was scheduled to do an interview with us this morning, live in our studio, but we just found out, she’s a no show' - @mlauer
— TODAY (@todayshow) June 21, 2013

While she might not be able to repair her relationship with Matt Lauer now, Deen is working on some sort of damage control:

Video statement to follow shortly http://t.co/Te2yWwhPzG .
— Paula Deen (@Paula_Deen) June 21, 2013

Look how serious she is! She's going to make sure people understand that she didn't mean those things she said under oath...wait, that's probably a bad idea. Maybe blame the butter. Butter makes people do crazy things.

[UPDATE: Here's her apology video, which, and maybe this is nitpicky, has three edits?]

UPDATE ON THE UPDATE: Actually she removed the first apology (still viewable here) and has put up another one. She's been let go by the Food Network either way.)