The new tea shop The Scented Leaf is open in the spot formerly occupied by Red Velvet Cupcakery at 943 E. University Blvd., Suite 165, near the corner of Park and University.

The place is owned by the people who ran the nearby Scented Leaf Fine Tea and Fragrances, which they closed earlier this year to undertake this new venture. Their former business was all about perfume and tea. This new place is more of a tea house that serves high-quality tea both by the cup and in bulk.

From The Scented Leaf Facebook page:

While enjoying a casual sightseeing walk we were drawn to a small shop by a wonderful aroma. We were unaware at the time that the assortment of bushels on display were filled with loose tea.

The shop owner explained how tea begins in this loose form, but through commercialization, it ends up being finely chopped and mangled into tiny leaves, often called 'fannings' or tea dust. This fanning is what most of us know to be the tea that we consume. Sadly, this process destroys many of the essential oils that make tea a healthy, subtle, tasty drink.

We became passionate about sharing loose tea - tea with great tastes and nutrients - the way tea was meant to be enjoyed.

There's a small selection of croissants, pies and soups available right now, but when college is back in session the owners plan to add a bunch of baked pasta, sandwiches and other items to the menu.

Call 624-2930 for more information.

There are precious few details about the new shake shop expected to open Downtown this October, but here's what I've got so far. It's being opened by Kade Mislinski, the owner of bar and lounge Playground and the nearby HUB Restaurant and Ice Creamery and is expected to open on Saturday, Oct. 13.

This is exciting because shakes are made with ice cream and the ice cream served at HUB is interesting, delicious and ever-changing. Mislinski also tends to come up with unique restaurant concepts - a skill he honed to a fine point during a long stint working for famed restaurateur Sam Fox - so it's always fun to see what he's going to come up with next.

We should be getting some more details later this week. We'll keep you posted.

As a preview of his forthcoming Comedy Central show Kroll Show, comedian Nick Kroll put together an interesting take on the Chick-fil-A drama of late. Meanwhile, this weekend, I'm going to work on my own fried chicken sandwich recipe.

The monthly community dinners that Buddhist temple Wat Buddhametta puts on are getting quite popular. The people who organize the event tell us last month's attendance was up somewhere around 50 percent from previous months. Looks like word is starting to spread about the curry-heavy smorgasbord, which I think boasts some of the best Thai food in town.

It happens again at 6 p.m. this Saturday, July 21. From a description of the event:

The very best Thai cooks are preparing a wonderful buffet of Thai food including pad thai, egg rolls, vegetables, a variety of curries, Thai dessert and more delights. Bring the whole family and your friends. The buffet starts at 6 p.m. and will be open until 8 p.m. We are asking for a small donation of $10 per person, children under 10 eat free. This fundraiser will help to support the temple to offer all classes free of charge to the community. All are welcome and I hope to see you at Wat Buddhametta.

The temple is located at 1133 S. Swan Road. You can call 745-4624 for more info.

The Fix is a new restaurant that's going in at Main Gate Square The theme? Macaroni-and-cheese, and lots of it.

There will be Alfredo mac-and-cheese, jalapeno-popper mac-and-cheese and a taco version. Varieties with bacon, bratwurst, various vegetables and other things will also be available.

Also on the menu: Sandwiches - including one that is basically a big scoop of homemade mac-and-cheese between two pieces of bread - salads, appetizers, beer and dessert.

The restaurant is going in where Sultan Palace used to be. The sign on the door says the grand opening is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 14.

A personal anecdote: the other day, a friend and I were talking about Chick-fil-A. He's a progressive, ethically concerned guy and went there with his family for Dress Like a Cow Day or whatever its called. He called a friend of his to invite him, who refused to go because of the company's anti-gay stance. I really love their sandwiches, so we were talking about the line of how much stuff we don't like we should put up with from giant corporations, and I said that I thought Chick-fil-A was more pro-family values than decidedly anti-equality. Turns out, the company's president Dan Cathy heard my mild defense and wanted to set the record straight in the Baptist Press:

He started off making some sense:

"We don't claim to be a Christian business," Cathy said in a recent visit to North Carolina...

"In that spirit ... [Christianity] is about a personal relationship. Companies are not lost or saved, but certainly individuals are," Cathy added.

Hey, Christians are allowed to own businesses, right? I'm a Christian, I just would prefer companies just stick to selling delicious sandwiches and not get all creepy and hateful.

Of course, Cathy didn't stop there:

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Sigh. How's the chicken sandwich at Church's? Anyone know if they'll put a pickle on it?

The response to us reporting that beloved local pizza joint Zachary's is closing has been enormous. Employees say the place has been flooded with customers since we broke the news and the Arizona Daily Star published their own story yesterday, so brace yourselves for some serious business Zachary's workers.

Of all the comments and e-mails the story inspired, this one posted recently by Phoenix resident Tracy Gallagher Benjamin takes the cake:

We named our first born after Zachary's Pizza. He is now 13 years old. We love the pizza : Double Whammy with Garlic and Pepperoni and love the beer selection! We haven't been in years! We live in Phoenix now but will try to make it back before they close. So sad. Z's PIzza: you'll be missed!!

Enough said. Oh, and if you are planning on going down there before Zack's closes at the end of the month, they're only taking cash.

There's a note on the Tucson Mall website indicating that it will soon be welcoming a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill location. Here's a bit of description from the restaurant chain's website:

Frank Capri’s I Love This Bar & Grill, which is themed after Toby Keith’s hit song, is a restaurant every fan will love. Inspired by country star Toby Keith, it has quickly won over the hearts of diners all over the country, including Mesa Arizona, Minneapolis Minnesota, Rancho Cucamonga California, and Denver. More and more franchises of this restaurant are opening up, too.

Of course, these restaurants are named after Keith’s hit single from 2003, but you definitely will love this bar. The bars themselves in these locations are in the shape of giant guitars, creating a unique country music atmosphere that visitors will love. To complete the southern atmosphere at the bar, there are plenty of specialty cocktails to choose from, featuring everyone’s down-home favorites like Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort.

Anyone who loves country music will feel right home at these restaurants. The atmosphere is over-the-top country — in a good way. There are cowgirl servers and country music videos playing on every television screen. Several nights a week the bar hosts live country bands which make for a great night out — and when they don’t, there is a country DJ to play your favorite tunes.

Bing's Boba Tea at 2040 W. Orange Grove Road is throwing a summer celebration this Saturday with samples of boba tea, real tea and a chance to play Go, a board game that originated in ancient China.

What? You haven't been to Bing's Boba Tea yet? The little store next to Lee Lee Oriental Supermart serves what I think might be the largest selection of boba-related drinks in town, and the people who run it are super nice. They even have cool things like candy and coffee-jelly to add to your otherwise tapioca-pearl-laden beverages.

If you're on Facebook you can pop over here for more information. If not, just show up between 3 and 8 p.m., Saturday, July 21. Admission is free.

(As a side note to Tucson's boba-tea-producing community: Has anyone added a drink called the Boba Fett to their menu yet? The nerd appeal of such a product boggles the mind. That is all.)

Just think how wimpy this triple-digit heat will be after you take on Brushfire BBQ Co.'s Inferno Hot Wing Challenge. Being lit on fire from the inside is much more horrific than being slowly baked to death by wet monsoon heat, and if you can complete it you get a special bib that allows you to jump to the front of the line at the restaurant every time you wear it.

Be warned: You have to eat six hot wings basted in hell itself and then sit there for 20 minutes without taking a drink. Only a handful of people have completed it. You could be the next.

Go forth and suffer. There's more on the restaurant here.