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 Terra Nova Takes Over Where Good Earth Ends. By Rebecca Cook WHEN THE GOOD Earth closed last December, its loyal fans shed more than a few tears. During its 18 years, they had come to think of the eastside restaurant as a cozy home away from home. Particularly disconcerting was the cause for the abrupt cessation in service, reportedly a battle over the right to use the restaurant's trademark name. Without question, the name belonged to the owners of the Good Earth Corp. of Santa Cruz, Calif., and they had absolutely no qualms about divesting local franchise licensee Norm Land.
It was with mixed feelings, then, that I watched a new restaurant and bakery materialize out of the ashes in the same location where I'd previously enjoyed all those luscious fruit shakes. But wait a minute here. This place was called Terra Nova, from the Latin for "New Earth." Good Earth, New Earth...gee, do you think it could be...? Well, sure enough, it turns out that Terra Nova is really only pseudo-new. Furthermore, former franchise booster Land is once again at the helm of yet another good food establishment. What's different this time around? First off, since much of the controversy swirled around the revocation of the right to use the franchise name and its signature dishes, Land was prohibited from using any of the same recipes in his latest endeavor. In the three-month interval before the restaurant re-opened, Land hired a chef and recipe consultant to evaluate the menu and various dishes and help develop new items that would be similar enough to satisfy the legions of Good Earth fans, while different enough to avoid any apparent duplication of industry-owned recipes. The result is a menu slightly but significantly altered from the Good Earth selections of the past. Now you'll spot items such as pork linguini and broiled top sirloin as well as a vegetarian offering of marinated and roasted vegetables strewn gracefully over focaccia.
Although proud of his latest accomplishment, Land cautions that it's still evolving, and some recipes are still being tinkered with to improve their overall flavor. In addition, he anticipates some further modification of the present menu. "What's here will remain," Land says, "but we may add a whole lot more." Breakfast and lunch are still popular meal options for the resurrected restaurant. Various egg offerings, as well as pancakes, French toast and granola are featured, and for the less nutritionally inclined, there's the possibility of an enormous, whole-grain cinnamon bun. One Sunday brunch we sampled the desert double ($4.95)--whole-grain French toast served with two eggs--and the fresh spinach omelet ($4.95) made with mushrooms and Swiss cheese. We found the French toast tasty, but the omelet was a little flat, literally. Rather than light and fluffy it was dense and meager and needed a whole lot more cheese, spinach and mushrooms folded inside. Only the accompanying sherry cream sauce rescued the dish from the utterly mundane. Soups, sandwiches and salads pepper the menu and make attractive lunch or light dinner choices. The tortilla soup ($3.65) is a thick and delicious mix of chicken, tortillas and various vegetables, although I bemoaned the absence of tomatoes, a personal passion. The chicken pecan salad ($6.25) consisted of a mayonnaised mixture of the above ingredients served over a large and varied bed of lettuce, carrots, red cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and alfalfa sprouts. The consensus was that the salad itself may have been a little bland, but the freshness of the vegetables enticed you to continue eating until the bowl was empty. Dinner is an affordable and semi-elegant affair, with the Terra Nova patrons ranging from the elderly to teens out on a first date. An order of the broiled fresh salmon ($10.45), served with soup or salad and a brown and wild rice pilaf, was surprisingly good and fresh, especially when topped with a gentle dill dijonaise sauce. Vegetarian-style enchiladas ($6.45), made with spinach and mushrooms, cheese, onions, blue corn tortillas and a rich red chile sauce, was served in a ramekin and resembled a homey casserole rather than the more familiar rolled enchiladas. Perhaps not what you'd find on South Fourth Avenue, but delicious nonetheless. Desserts have been given conscientious consideration on Terra Nova's menu, with the chocolate creme brulee ($3.95) and tequila Key lime pie in a graham cracker crust ($3.95) the hands-down favorites of a lengthy list.
So dry those tears, Good Earth fans. Terra Nova is here to save
the day. Or, at least to serve you a yogurt fruit shake and a
nice cup of cinnamon-spice tea. Some things never change.
Photo by Desirée A. Rios Terra Nova Restaurant & Bakery. 6366 E. Broadway. 790-7700. Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Beer and wine. V, MC, AMEX, checks. Menu items: $2.65-$10.95. Chow Scan is The Weekly's selective guide to Tucson restaurants. Send comments and updates to Chow, P.O. Box 2429, Tucson, AZ 85702; or use our e-mail address, tucsonweekly@tucsonweekly.com. These listings have no connection with Weekly advertisers. |
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The fact that 100 people were tossed out on the street looking
for work right after the holidays apparently didn't jostle the
parent company's collective conscience much, even considering
that it appears there was ample opportunity for the dispute to
have been resolved amicably in everyone's best interest.
People who fondly remember all the old dishes may be somewhat
disappointed at first glance to find their particular favorite
missing or modified, but rest assured the same natural goodness,
attentiveness, quality and taste have gone into this new menu.
Most will easily find something to please the palate at a moderate
price.
