Sonoran Restaurant Week Pairings

We’re right smack dab in the middle of Sonoran Restaurant Week, when around 100 (!) restaurants in Tucson and surrounding cities offer special prix fixe menus for $25, $35, or $45 (plus tax and tip). The price often includes several courses that would regularly cost more.

breakfast food — Breakfast at Maynard’s.

The idea is to encourage diners to try restaurants they haven’t been to, as well as revisiting old favorites. You many need to ask for the Sonoran Restaurant Week menu if you’re at a participating place and don’t see one. Find participating restaurants and menus on TucsonFoodie.com.

View of Tucson — View of the city from inside the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson.

I’ve paired 7 of these Tucson restaurants with something fun to do (relatively) nearby that complements them.

state park picnic tables — Phillip and Quijote scope out a picnic area at Catalina State Park.

Tucson Tamale (on Oracle) + Catalina State park

Pick up Tucson Tamale’s picnic-ready Sonoran Week Fiesta Box from their Oracle Road location and head to Catalina State Park – only 10-15 minutes away! Throw in some water bottles and you’re ready to go!

Restaurant Prix Fixe: $35 (feeds 4)

Park Fee: $7 per vehicle

On the Menu

Tucson Tamale:

Sonoran Week Fiesta Box includes…

8 tamales (they have meat, vegetarian, and vegan options)
2 sides (choose from salads, rice dishes, beans, Mexican slaw, etc.)
salsa and chips
4 cookies
serving ware

Catalina:

Trails
Wildlife watching
Sep. 15, 7pm: Guided night hike

Hours

Tucson Tamale: Monday – Saturday 10am-7pm / Sunday 11am-5pm

Catalina: 5am- 10pm daily / Visitor center and park store 8am-5pm

Locations

Tucson Tamale: 7286 N. Oracle Rd.

Catalina: 11570 N. Oracle Rd.

Art assemblages from found objects. — A few pieces from the outdoor portion of the Sonoran Quipu exhibition.

Coronet Restaurant + Museum Of Contemporary Art Tucson (MOCA)

After perusing contemporary art in the former fire station turned airy art gallery that is Tucson’s MOCA, you can stroll on over to the Coronet for dinner. While the Coronet’s decor is classic and the building itself was built in the 1860s, the menu features contemporary faire.

Restaurant Prix Fixe: $45

Museum Admission: $7

On the menu

Coronet: Southwest greens with roasted root vegetables, wild boar bucatini, chocolate truffle.

MOCA: Sonoran Quipu, an assortment of locally-found materials tied together in a site-specific installation, is on exhibit in the Great Hall until October 1.

Hours

Coronet: Thursday – Monday 5–9pm

MOCA: Thursday – Saturday 11am-6pm / Sunday: 11am-4pm

Locations

Coronet: 198 W. Cushing St.

MOCA: 265 S. Church Ave.

plants at botanic gardens — Vegetable garden planters at Tucson Botanical Gardens.

Feast + Tucson Botanical Gardens

Feast is located just south of the Garden District. Full of vegetables, fruit, and herbs, their restaurant week menu should pair perfectly with a day in the garden!

Restaurant Prix Fixe: $45

Garden Admission: $15, advance purchase recommended (or free with a Culture Pass)

On the menu

Feast: Choose from several options for each of 3 courses.

1st course choices (abbreviated): cauliflower en mole, chestnut risotto, or truffled meatballs.
2nd: heirloom tomatoes, roast chicken, hanger steak, or udon noodles with pork.
3rd: orange-anise cake, plum parfait, or pandan sweet rice cake.

Tucson Botanical: Art exhibitions at the Gardens this week include All at Once, Enchanted Garden, La Calavera Catrina, and Power to the Flower.

Hours

Feast: Tuesday – Saturday 11am-8pm

Tucson Botanical: daily 8:30am–4:30pm

Locations

Feast: 3719 E. Speedway Blvd.

Tucson Botanical: 2150 N. Alvernon Way

Playground Bar and Lounge + Proper Shops

Just across the street from each other at Congress and 5th Avenue, Playground Bar + Lounge is also a restaurant and Proper Shops is a collective of local merchants and artists that also has a bar inside!

Restaurant Prix Fixe: $25 per person

On the menu

Playground: Choose from 3 starters and 3 entrees.

Proper:

Current merchants include Reap + Sow eco-boutique, Willows Bazaar clothing, Tucson Gallery, and several others!
Sept. 15, 6-8pm: Meet local artist Andrea Rodriguez in the Tucson Gallery.

Hours

Playground (restaurant hours): Fri 4-10pm / Sat 12-10pm / Sun 10am-8pm

Proper: Thr 3-8pm / Fri 3-9pm / Sat 11am-9pm / Sun 11am-5pm

Locations

Playground: 278 E. Congress St.

Proper: 300 E. Congress St.

Tuxon Hotel Pool Bar + Tuxon Hotel Pool

You don’t have to be staying at the Tuxon to relax poolside there. Anyone can enjoy food and drinks at the Tuxon’s poolside bar. You can even purchase a pool pass and jump in!

Restaurant Prix Fixe: $25

Pool Passes:

Day Pass $45
Cabana Rental (4 day passes, shaded cabana with daybed seating, complimentary bottled water) $75 Mon-Thr / $150 Fri-Sun

On the Menu

Sonoran cheese crisp, enchiladas, barrio beans, mezcal mule.

Hours

Bar: Lunch 11am-3pm / Happy Hour 3-6pm daily

Pool: daily 1-10pm

Location

960 S. Freeway

Flora’s Market Run + The Loft Cinema

Flora’s restaurant week menu might be the best deal I’ve seen so far! Once you finish dessert, it’s just a 4-minute drive to The Loft. Sounds like an ideal dinner-and-a-movie date to me!

Restaurant Prix Fixe: $45 (for two people to share)

Cinema Tickets: $10.50 (regular adult admission)

On the Menu

Flora’s: Southwest salad, elote pizza, chai choco taco sundae

Loft: Special screenings this week include…

Sep. 13, 7:30pm: The French Dispatch (The Films of Wes Anderson: Part Two) – regular admission
Sep. 14, 11am: Rebel Without a Cause (Hollywood Classics Series) – regular admission
Sep. 14, 7:30pm: The Big Lebowski 25th Anniversary Movie Party! – $12
Sep. 16, 2pm: ¡Agua es Vida! A Celebration of Water in the Desert (Short Film Showcase) – regular admission

Hours

Flora’s: Mon-Thr 7am-8pm / Fri-Sat 7am-9pm / Sun 7am-6pm

Loft: See screening times.

Location

Flora’s: 2513 E. 6th St.

Loft: 3233 E. Speedway Blvd.

flower gardens — Entrance to Tohono Chul.

Wildflower American Cuisine + Tohono Chul

How you can check out Tohono Chul desert gardens and gallery, but avoid being out in the hottest part of the day:

start early
explore the gardens first
as it heats up, move inside to the galleries
browse the shops on your way out
cool off with a late lunch at Wildflower.

Or, if you’re still at Tohono Chul at closing time, you can head to Wildflower for dinner.

Restaurant Prix Fixe: $45 per person.

Garden + Gallery Admission: $15 (or free with a Culture Pass)

On the menu

Wildflower: 3-course meal (starter, entree, dessert) + glass of wine

Tohono Chul:

Walk in the Gardens tour daily at 10am.
The exhibit in the Main Gallery is Día de los Muertos (now through November 5).

Hours

Wildflower: daily 11am-9pm

Tohono Chul: daily 8am-5pm

Locations

Wildflower: 7037 N. Oracle Rd.

Tohono Chul: 7366 N. Paseo del Norte

coffee and a pastry — Coffee at Flora’s Market Run.

February 5, 2021February 5, 2021

Bulletin Board: Loved and Loft

A mishmash of news about upcoming films, food, and free classes!

Loft Cinema mural — Jessica Gonzales paints a mural outside The Loft Cinema.

Goodies

I’ve been posting this kind of good stuff as part of the Happenings List, but a few things popped up that I wanted to share with you sooner!

1. Love you.

MyIntent has created a 14-day series of journal prompts and challenges around the topic of Self-Love – specifically how you can cultivate a positive and healthy relationship with yourself.

2. Drink to this.

Next up in the Agave Renaissance series of free lectures and tastings (held monthly via Zoom): Tumamoc Agave with Suzy and Paul Fish on 2/10 + Sonoran Local Agave Spirits with Jesús Garcia on 2/11. (We met all three of them at past Agave Heritage Week events!)

3. “Buy out the 8 o’clock show… Let’s all go to the movies!”

For the month of February, you can rent out The Loft Cinema in Tucson for $150! The rental includes…

Up to two hours in-screen for 2-4 people.
1 complementary glass of sparkling wine (or nonalcholic drink) + 1 medium popcorn for all attendees.

4. What’s Up, Docs?

Watch 15 short documentaries created by students at the UA School of Theatre, Film + Television free on The Loft Cinema’s YouTube channel!

Hot Off the Press Releases

1. Walkers Lasso The Rocks

Apple TV would like you to know that they have received four Golden Globe nominations for Apple Originals programming. I haven’t seen any of the items on this list (I think you need an Apple TV+ subscription), but sounds like they may be good, so let me know if you have!

Wolfwalkers (Best Motion Picture, Animated): A young apprentice hunter journeys to Ireland with her father intending to wipe out the last wolf pack – until she befriends a member of a mysterious tribe rumored to have the ability to transform into wolves by night. Directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart.
“Ted Lasso” (Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy + Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy Series, Jason Sudeikis): a comedy about a college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer. Starring Jason Sudeikis.
On The Rocks (Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In Any Motion Picture, Bill Murray): a generation-clash comedy about a young New York mother faced with sudden doubts about her marriage, who teams up with her larger-than-life playboy father to tail her husband. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Bill Murray, Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans.

2. Independents Cinema

Members of real-life band The Sweet Remains are starring in an upcoming musical comedy/drama. The Independents is about three solo artists who reluctantly join forces and journey across America for one last shot at musical glory. It will premiere February 26 to view on demand via Laemmle Theatres and Angelika Cinemas.

Tucson Chews On…

Food news in the Old Pueblo.

The Red Light Lounge (inside The Downtown Clifton hotel) is now open for lunch to go! Hours are Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm. (They’ll continue serving dinner and drinks daily from 5-10pm.)
Decibel Coffee Works has started serving food. The kitchen is open daily, 7am-2pm with a limited, soon-to-be expanded menu.

May 11, 2017May 11, 2017

30+ Ways to Travel Without Leaving Town

Sometimes you need to stay close to home. Maybe family or work responsibilities are keeping you grounded. Maybe it’s health or money issues.

There are still ways to see new things, experience other cultures, feel transported.

Norton Simon cafe

Recently, National Geographic featured a “travel photographer” who finds and composes interesting shots within Google Street View.

Navigating through the Street View of an area does give you a better sense of a place. So we’ll start there.

world-map-2

1. Use Google Street View to explore an area you’d like to visit or re-visit somewhere you’ve gone in the past.

Flamenco

2. Go to a local cultural center, performance, or festival.

3. Be a tourist in your own town.

See the cheesy stuff you’d normally skip and take photos.
Pick out postcards.
Visit the tourist information office or visitor bureau and find out what visitors are seeing or doing that you might’ve overlooked.

fremont-postcards-front

4. Watch some foreign films.

5. Try out any travel apps you’re interested in. See how well they work while you’re still at home.

papago-park-lake

6. Have you visited all the parks in your area?

travelexpo-dtphx

7. Take a different route home.

Skip the freeway.
Walk or ride your bike.
Try public transit or take a different line.
If you’re in Phoenix, have you ridden the light rail yet? End to end?

8. Get lost in a library.

cartel-mocha-art

9. Try a new restaurant, coffee shop, or bar.

10. Watch movies about travel.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty comes to mind.
So does Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong, which I reviewed last year and is now on Netflix.
Phillip reminded me of The Motorcycle Diaries. So good. Definitely feels like you’ve been on a long journey through South America by the end.

Backyard

11. Set up a tent in your backyard or inside the house.

12. Sign up to host an international student.

p-drive

13. Go to another part of town and explore a neighborhood that’s usually not on your radar.

14. Get out photos and relive memories. Put them in albums or scrapbooks if you haven’t already.

Norton Simon museum

15. Visit a museum. Find out when they have voluntary admission days or other special events.

Pressed wildflowers.

16. Read a book set in a place you’d like to visit or that takes you on a journey. A few ideas:

Cheryl Strayed’s Wild.
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson.
Riders of the Purple Sage, the Zane Grey novel that we recently saw an opera based on, really puts you inside the canyons and valleys of its setting.
Phillip loved Mitchner’s Iberia and said it made him feel like he’s been to Spain.

Mesa community garden

17. Ask friends for their favorite spots around town (to do, see, eat etc.) and try out their recommendations.

18. Wander around an international market. Buy something you’ve never seen before.

Patio

19. Bring a little of the places you love to visit into your regular life. Splurge on extra soft towels or have coffee on your patio.

20. Buy music from a place you’d like to travel. (Or borrow it – Phillip has found some great stuff at our local library.)

21. Make a friend from another country.

Volunteer with an international students’ group.
Adopt a refugee family.

22. Explore the stars at a local planetarium or with a regular telescope.

23. Have you seen all the public art on display where you live?

Bag at sunset

24. Test out your travel gear. Make sure everything works, is comfortable to wear, etc. My dad used to fill his pack with encyclopedias and walk around the block to get ready for future backpacking trips.

25. Take photos of places or things you see every day. Use it as an opportunity to really look at what’s around you and maybe see it in a new light.

26. Watch travel shows or documentaries.

The Aerial America series puts commentary with footage of various U.S. locations from the air. It’s very relaxing to watch.
Our Podcast from Italy friends just started a Vlog from Italy with great 5-minute videos (on YouTube).
While we were in Tucson, we went to a screening of the indie documentary Given, which I recommend. It’s at film festivals the next few months and is available on iTunes.

Processed with VSCOcam with g3 preset

27. Book a staycation at nearby hotel or resort. They probably offer discounted rates in the off-season.

28. Switch things up in your house.

Have dinner outside or spread out a blanket and “picnic” on the living room floor.
Build a fort.
Rearrange the furniture.

Riverside, CA

29. Go for a drive and see where you end up.

Tacos from Tacos Atoyac in Phoenix

30. Eat food from another culture. Go to a restaurant or try making it yourself with the help of a friend, cookbook, or a food blog….

Eat.Wander.Repeat shares recipes for Anglo Indian, Goan, and Manglorean Indian food.
Lovely Life makes the most beautiful Swedish pastries.
Putri Chaerul’s Snapguides include recipes and tips for making traditional Indonesian dishes.

31. Find the nearest places to camp.

Setting up camp at Lakeside

32. Learn another language. There are apps, podcasts, and resources at many libraries to help you with this.

MindSnacks has several free language learning apps. Their Learn Chinese app was great when I was attempting to do that, and the games were really fun.
There are lots of language learning podcasts if you just search on iTunes. I’ve been working on italiano on and off with Learn Italian from Italianpod101.com.

33. Plan your next trip or in-town adventure.

May 3, 2017June 22, 2021

Maynards Market + Kitchen Garden

Cities + Railroads

The history of many western U.S. cities is tied to the railroads. Their stories run parallel, like two lengths of track. Sometimes railroad stops were built for cities and sometimes cities were built for railroad stops.

Tucson is an example of the former. By the time its depot was built in 1909, Tucson was the Southwest’s big city.

The Arizona Good Roads book described it this way in 1913:

“Tucson is the metropolis of Arizona and New Mexico, and has a population according to the United States Census of 1910 of over 2000 more than any other city in either state. […] The modern Tucson is a growing city of some 22,000 inhabitants. Her rapid growth in the last few years may be attributed to her advantageous position as a distributing point for Southern Arizona and northern Mexico, and to the rich mining, agricultural and grazing country surrounding the city…”

Trains kept bringing passengers, and Tucson kept growing, buildings sprouting up throughout the downtown.

By 1919, what you’d see as you exited the depot was Hotel Congress, one of the earliest Arizona hotels that’s still in operation. You can still stay there (we did!) and hear the train from your room.

As time passed, people continued arriving in Tucson but more came by car. The trains carried fewer passengers and more freight. Since freight doesn’t need a train station, part of the building was converted into restaurant space.

Market + Kitchen

In 2008, the owners of Hotel Congress opened Maynards Market + Kitchen inside the station building.

The Market part of that equation is open all day with lots of patio seating and a take-out counter for items like coffee, sandwiches, and baked goods. They also sell wine and local gourmet food products. (If you’re from the Phoenix area, think Liberty Market or La Grande Orange, and you’re on the right track.)

Next to it is the Kitchen, a sit-down restaurant open only for dinner, happy hour, and Sunday brunch. It is unfussy and elegant with salvaged train and rail parts repurposed seamlessly into the decor as subtle nods to the building’s history.

Brunch goes until 2pm, which is nice, especially since Hotel Congress is popping until the wee hours of the morning. Non-morning-person-ness aside, it gave us time to check out of the hotel and catch a film screening. (The Arizona International Film Festival happened to be going on that weeekend, as well.)

From our table, we could see the window-level garden planted just outside and watch little white butterflies dance around the flowers.

I ordered the braised greens/lump crab/crème fraîche omelet – and enjoyed every bite. To really taste the flavors of the garden, I also had the (very, very lightly) dressed greens. Oh, and a delicious coffee from neighboring Caffe Luce Coffee Roasting Co.

Phillip ordered a macchiato (which he liked), baked eggs (which were good but not what he expected) and bacon (which was crazy crispy).

The signature baked egg dish from sister restaurant Cup Cafe comes in a small cast iron skillet. Perhaps because the menu said “broiled,” Phillip thought they’d be more like fried eggs, but they are cooked solid all the way through. The eggs, spinach, mushrooms, and leeks are buried under a layer of cream, wine, and gruyère. He was surprised by it but liked it and said the flavors blended well.

As for the bacon, I don’t know if they always cook it to that level of crispness, but Phillip regretted not specifying how he liked it and ended up just crumbling it on top of his eggs.

Both of our dishes came with downright addictive breakfast potatoes, fruit, housemade English muffins, and this incredible orange-rhubarb jam.

Garden + Grove

The garden out the window is where Maynards Kitchen sources herbs, seasonal vegetables, edible flowers, and citrus. It’s hard to get more locally grown than that!

Chef Brian Smith was kind enough to take us out to the garden and point out the citrus trees, cornstalks, three varieties of heirloom tomatoes, and colorful, diamond-shaped plantings of lettuces, kale, violas, nasturtiums, pansies, parsley, chives, basil, peppers, and probably other herbs and greens I’m forgetting.

The garden is new, planted in an unused plot of ground earlier this year. And they are still experimenting, finding what works best where they are, incorporating what’s in season into their dishes in new ways. (Orange blossom dressing, anyone?)

Like Tucson, the garden is flourishing, and whether you get there by road or by rail, Maynards Market + Kitchen is worth a stop.

Next Agave Heritage Festival events in Downtown Tucson:

May 4, 6pm: Tucson City of Gastronomy Seminar at Maynards Market & Kitchen Drawing Room. $15
May 4, 7pm: Mezcal and Chocolate Pairing Seminar at Maynards Market & Kitchen Drawing Room. $15
May 4, 7pm: Mezcrawl at participating bars in Downtown Tucson. $25-40

We were guests of Hotel Congress and Maynards Market + Kitchen.

April 3, 2017May 23, 2023

Banh Mi

When we moved, we found ourselves near a place with great banh mi, which are Vietnamese sandwiches on French bread with these marinated vegetables and thinly sliced meats. It’s a beautiful blending of cultures.

My brother Ian says the many banh mi places in Seattle all seem to charge exactly $3.98 for a sandwich. As with many things, they’re even cheaper here in Phoenix. It’s a lotta deliciousness for your buck.

Have you tried banh mi? Do you have a favorite spot near you?