Best Of Tucson®

Best Total Revamping of a Greasy Spoon

Mother Hubbard's Café

The new eye-popping paint job at Mother Hubbard's Café has officially erased most signs that the restaurant spent decades as one of Tucson's classic greasy spoons. But those freshly painted walls are only the most-recent upgrade that Kelzi Bartholomaei has made since she bought the eatery in 2010 and started writing a whole new chapter for the ages-old restaurant. Once known chiefly for the $1.99 breakfast special—which is still available early in the morning—these days, it's all about homemade sausages, dishes loaded with Hatch chiles, and daily specials unlike anything Tucson has ever seen. Check out the chalkboard on the back wall for a list of things made from scratch that day, and don't forget to have a cup of the coffee that local micro-roastery Café Aqui custom-roasts for the place.