Fox Restaurant Concepts is holding a job fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., today, tomorrow and Wednesday (Aug. 27-29). It's going down at North, 2995 E. Skyline Drive.

Find a few more details here.

Zombie fans, if you're going to be shuffling around out late tonight, make sure to swing by Mama's Hawaiian Bar-B-Que at 850 E. Speedway to help fund this year's Zombie Walk.

The lurching crowd of the undead plans to take over the streets this year on October 13, during that month's 2nd Saturdays event.

According to the Tucson Zombie Walk website, 20% of purchases from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. tonight will help fund this year's prowl — just make sure to mention the Zombie Walk at the register.

[Zombies Take Over Mama's Hawaiian Bar-B-Que - Facebook]

The old Ruby Tuesday's location at 4811 N. Stone Ave. will soon be home to another location of Taco Tote. There are currently two locations of the chain eatery in Tucson.

This is such incredible news. What we need in this city are more chain restaurants serving Mexican food. (Sarcasm alert.) But at least this chain eatery has a charming origin story on its website:

El Tacotote really began as a collection of family recipes. The Heras brothers’ mom made the tastiest tacos in Sinaloa, Mexico. Mrs. Heras insisted on premium meats and a blend of spices perfected over the years by the family members.

In 1988, after the family moved to Cd. Juarez, Mexico, the family noticed something missing in the local cuisine. It was the Heras touch. They created the El Taco Tote concept and opened their first restaurant that same year. After enjoying an overwhelming response, they opened three more locations in the next four years. In 1994, the Heras brothers decided to introduce this extraordinary concept to the U.S. with a new location in Laredo, Texas. This location also proved to be a huge success. During the next three years, they opened three Taco Tote restaurants in El Paso, Texas. Now the Heras brothers are bringing the wonderful flavor of “real mexican grill” to you, our most valued customer.

Labor Day is coming up. If you want to lay in a good supply of quality meat for your big barbecue, we suggest checking out the Collegiate Cattle Growers Association's meat counter at the University of Arizona Meat Sciences building at 4181 N. Campbell Ave.

The weekly sale takes place ever Friday afternoon, and the selection and prices always seem to be just fine with the people we've seen happily carting away huge boxes of steaks and other things. There's more on the sale over here.

(Please note that the hours on that sign in the photo are no longer correct. The new hours are 3 to 6 p.m., Fridays. That's a whole extra hour of meat-shopping. Woohoo!)

When I walked up to Bobby Dean's Hickory BBQ—which is parked outside of what appears to be both an automotive shop and a smoking accessories store—owner Robert Mikles appeared in the window. I ordered a brisket sandwich, which he delivered in minutes. I handed him $6. He smiled big and said he hoped I'd be back soon.

I'm not a barbecue connoisseur, so let me ask the meat lovers out there a few questions. Is the meat supposed to be so soft and tender that it gives way with almost no pressure at all? Is the meat fat supposed to spread across the deli roll like soft butter? Is it normal to eat an entire barbecue sandwich and already be pondering another, even though doing so would be the definition of gluttony?

The truck serves smoked brisket, pork, chicken and baby-back ribs, among other things. There are several kinds of homemade sauce to choose from and prices range from $6 to around $20 or so.

Mikles says he's relocating soon to a spot in front of Putney's at 6090 N. Oracle Road. If you like smoked meat, you'll want to head up there. Call 975-6910 for more information.

The Tucson Culinary Festival isn't until October, but tickets are available now. The festival is taking place at new venues this year, which should freshen things up a bit.

The festival is broken into three events: The World Margarita Championship, the Reserve Tasting and the Grand Tasting. The margarita championship takes place in the courtyard of the Tucson Museum of Art this year, and the tastings take place at Casino del Sol. More information and tickets are available over here.

I'm not much for food festivals, but I attended these events last year and had a very good time. The tickets can seem a bit pricey, but don't forget that they include tastes of food by dozens upon dozens of restaurants, plus a bevy of wine samplings. I only made it to about half of the booths last year and left bewildered by the sheer magnitude of what was available.

Check out this tapas menu at the new Tapas Fusion restaurant at 2970 N. Campbell Ave. The lunch menu is no slouch, either.

Plenty of Spanish, Peruvian and other flavors to keep things interesting, and although we haven't seen the portions, the prices seem pretty fair.

Call 647-2418 for reservations or more information.

People who know a lot more about coffee than I do say the newish Exo Roast Co. has the best espresso in town. That's no small distinction, either, being that we have a number of excellent coffee roasters across the city.

The roaster and coffee shop, located at 403 N. Sixth Ave., imports green coffee from around the world and roasts it in small batches. Many people have called this business model the "third-wave" of American coffee. I think Folgers was the first wave and Starbucks was the second.

In any event, local coffee nuts are raving about what Exo Roast Co. is cranking out. It's located in the same historic building that will soon house Tap + Bottle, too, so you'll soon be able to conveniently shop for liquor and caffeine while supporting local merchants.

The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance's annual Salsa/Tequila Challenge takes place this Saturday, Aug. 25, at La Encantada.

The Salsa Culinary Challenge starts at 5 p.m., and nearly 20 restaurants have signed up. Tickets are $20, which includes massive samplings and performances by Ballet Folklorico La Paloma and Tesoro. Beer costs extra, but will be available.

The Tequila Challenge starts at 6 p.m. Tons of local restaurants—from newcomers like Elliott's on Congress to old dogs like Acacia—will try to wow the crowd with the delicious and unique tequila cocktails they conjure up. Tickets are $70, which include samples of the cocktails and paired small plates by the participating restaurants; tastings of various tequilas; live music; and the salsa-tasting event.

Sounds like a blast, and, hey, all the money made goes to SAACA and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. Find more information and tickets over yonder.

Yet another Tucson restaurant institution is closing, folks.

This time, it's Jack's Original Barbecue, originally owned and operated under Jack and Laura Banks from 1950 to 1992, when Jack retired and sold the business.

The current owners, Greg and Steve Baccardo, along with their father, Larry, purchased the restaurant a few years later from its second owner, and have run it since.

Now, after a long drought in sales, the restaurant is closing its doors.

"That's what happens when you go through a five-year recession ... you can only keep up with it for so long," Greg Baccardo said. "We want to be able to pay everybody back, not go bankrupt and shut down the right way.

"We don't want the business to close. I'd rather give somebody the business if they bought the building for whatever it appraises for."

The restaurant was originally slated to shut its doors at the beginning of the summer, Baccardo said. Then the Arizona Daily Star caught wind of their plans and published a story about the then-imminent closure. "[The Star] came out with the article, and everyboudy started pouring in. I said, 'Hey, we'll ride it as long as we can' ... then slowly but surely, it just tailed off again 'til, you know, nothing."

The restaurant is packed one last time, with diners streaming in to say farewell. "Everyone's telling stories of 'when I was a kid,'" Baccardo said. "My father brought me here when I was a kid, before we bought it. It was a big part of my family, a part of my history."

Jack's Original Barbecue, located at 5250 E. 22nd St., plans on keeping regular business hours today, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., for as long as they still have food to serve.