Adam, are you back in town?
You seem to mention every place downtown but ELLIOTT's on Congress...
There's a lot of 'trendy' new places downtown and a few stale old haunts. I'm not sure if this over-saturation of restaurants is the answer or a 'boom'. There seems to be a great deal of ambition and money thrown around...that's for sure! Too much too soon might end up with a lot of empty tables and lost possibility due to under planning and lack of direction or talent. Some of these new places have some real character. Others are just opening doors to get in on a perceived trend. With all the flashy new places driving up prices and creating long lines for so much of the same mediocrity, there's something to be said for vibe and not flash or names. Elliott's has established itself (through a great deal of downtown setbacks) as a place that seems to have always been there like an old friend despite being open a year. The scene there is very inviting and relaxed with great food and music during the week. The Congress Restaurant Renaissance has some things going on West of 6th ave too...
Weil. Yawn. Kingsolver. Yaaaaaawnnnn. Nabhan? Potential. Sounds sort of like a Better Homes and Gardens for the local food movement at this point. I smell stagnation and boredom and yuppie horseshit. Will there be coupons for signature Weil facial cream?
I read your postings weekly. I get so excited when new restaurants are opening in central tucson. ... Bianco is beyond exciting... I still can't believe it ( Im from phoenix grew up on bianco). That being said ... Tucson sure does have a lot of pizza joints. I feel like every time I see a new place opening up, it is pizza! If we are bringing phx to tucson what we really need is green vegetarian.. someone talk to damon!!!!
C'mon, Doug. We generally don't let anyone use our comment section for advertising their commercial product. Your connection to the paper (which I appreciate) is no exception. I hope the best for EBA, but you could always buy an ad, no?
Hey! I had a post about Edible Baja Arizona and it was deleted. That's rather petty, Dan! I have a suggestion: How about a feature story about our new magazine (an inherently good idea, not to mention the fact that your very job is the result of the efforts of yours truly)? That would be great! Barbara Kingsolver writes us a sweet valentine and Andy Weil talks about the value of local foods, Gary Paul Nabhan on our region as an exemplar for agriculture in a world impacted by climate change, et alia. Thanks!!
Jamie's sold her truck and it is moving to Montana
Casa Vicente has been serving amazing Spanish cuisine since 2005 and has been packing people in for tapas, wine and flamenco ever since.
So great to see downtown Tucson blossoming! My friends and I enjoy going downtown to all the new restaurants and watering holes. I am disappointed you didn't mention Elliott's On Congress!! It is one of my favorite places. They have great vodka infused drinks and a good menu. You missed a few others in your words of praise, too. Perhaps you can fill people in on some of the other great places to patronize downtown.
I won't wait more than 20 minutes at ANY eating establishment in Tucson. We have enough restaurants, tables and seats to go accommodate the eating public.
No, thank you. You also made a good point, some local places are absolutely pathetic. Re-heat factory for Kirkland brands, at best.
Something about missing 1's... Aussie Cantina is going in at 1118 E. 6th where Rhino Pub/Belushe's/Knock Out's was.
A couple of notes from the writer
One, Toby Keith really doesn't own the place. He lends his name for some fee but this is not his place.
Two, Dan said: Ninety- nine percent of the places we review are local. But often when we review the local mom and pop places, people give us grief for it. People love to bitch.
Three, I love local places but to make such a general description is a bit misleading. Many rely on pre made ingredients, many have no concept of fresh and any number of them don't really care. I ate at a local joint just the other day that claims to use quality stuff and have passion but what we had didn't come close to good. We had to go to another restaurant after because the food was so bad.
Four, Chains generally suck from top to bottom, but that's why Toby Keith's was so surprising. I liked the food! So sue me.
Finally, thank you BurnieMack for all the love.
How can we chill? The Tucson Summer is among us!
Well, you two will love next week's review then, although I think the cover story might make up for it.
However, with the run of new local places opening up, I don't think we'll likely have a chain place reviewed for the run of 2013. It's not that I don't get the complaint, just that a) I don't really need to be told what a "serious alt-weekly" does or doesn't do and b) we deserve credit for our body of work. YOU GET THIS STUFF FOR FREE. CHILL OUT SOME PEOPLE.
Wow swordfish laid the smack down with that comment, Bravo!
I LOVE Rita, and yet I agree with the criticism that she received for reviewing this yokel shit show.
And Dan, I also enjoy your writings, but Coit is right, there is no need for this crap EVER. Not even 2 weeks out of the year.
Re: “Soggy, Sweet and Slow”
The only reason this place still exists is the fact that there are so few restaurants at all in this area of West Tucson. Service is marginal, owner could care less, portions small. Just nothing at all about tis place to recommend!