I was an invited guest to the pre-opening of Zinburger, a Fox Restaurant Concepts place that I predict will be another winner. Sam Fox consistently knows how to satisfy Tucson’s dining public.
I wrote about Zinburger in my Noshing column this week, but that was before I ate there.
The dark merlot hue of Bistro Zin is long gone, and the new decor is light woods and big pictures of cows in meadows. Someone used a whimsical wand for the interior design. Then the woman’s restroom is a hoot. When you sit down on the toilet (sorry for being so graphic), something funny is looking down at you. You’ll have to experience this firsthand.
My friend Marianne Bernsen and I shared the Zinburger, which was awesome. Marianne didn’t like the veggie burger as much as I did; she wanted it to be more crispy. The burgers are juicy, just like they should be. You can even order them with a fried egg on top. The sweet potato fries were crispy, but the fried zucchini fries rocked the house.
And the desserts–oy vey–a gourmet soda fountain experience. But maybe I’ll stick to a robust zin instead.
One problem: Zinburger is LOUD. Everyone at my table was speaking very loudly. Sitting outside on the heated patio would be more conducive to conversation. You can sit at the bar and watch wide screen TVs.
Zinburger should be crowded next week when it opens. Enjoy!
This article appears in Dec 13-19, 2007.
What do you think of the fact the multi-state company which owns Maloney’s recently changed the Arizona Ale House to this new My Big Fat Greek Restaurant idea ?
And, what the heck are they doing making a Maloney’s in Scottsdale, among other places ? What’s a Maloney’s doing in the Whale’s Vagina! That’s what I want to know.
Seems like they have a bunch of cash to throw around.
It’s like some reverse version of the Auld Dubliner and Fox & Hound chains arriving here, only in this case it’s old-time Tucson stuff getting whored out elsewhere.
I’m less inclined to spend my money at Maloney’s if they’re going to behave like a chain. Lots of local places to support instead.
I went completely off point. Your thoughts on that Greek restaurant?
KZ, I whole-heartedly agree! The food was awesome and I like the clever wine list. Small, eclectic and reasonably priced. It was noisy though. The servers had a hard time communicating. But I think this is going to be a winner! Can’t wait to go back for a real lunch or dinner. Prices seem to be fair although there will be those who think $10-$12 is high for a burger.
It’s Greek to me. To the person above who goes on about Maloney’s — I haven’t tried the Big Fat Greek Restaurant yet. I don’t feel badly about Arizona Ale House going away because they had OTB (off track betting) which supports the local greyhound racing industry. My Big Fat Greek Restaurant is supposed to be a small AZ chain. If you like Greek food, there’s a newish Greek place called Opa! on Campbell next to Lovin’ Spoonful and Sauce. I peeked in there and it looks inviting. It’s locally owned. I tend to go to the same places but maybe I’ll try that soon.
The local PR community sure has local food writers right in the palm of their hands. Every eatery opening, closing, moving, rumor of opening, closing, moving gets ink. And the businesses don’t have to spend a dime to advertise. Used to be the papers would wait til the place was open a year before reviewing. Times have changed.
The world of media has changed too — life moves fast. As Alan Mullaly stated, change or die. Change or die.
Thanks for your comment, Scarlett, but I need to clarify. This post is merely meant to be a sort of Web-only sneak preview of a new restaurant. For full reviews of restaurants, Weekly policy is that the place must be open for three months. That’s not changing as long as I have anything to do with it. If you want to get on publications for prematurely reviewing restaurants, I suggest you look at the dailies.
That was mostly what I was referring to, Mr. Editor! The rules on South Park Avenue have changed considerably over the years, as the product softens…
Gotchya. Thanks, Scarlett.
Maybe if the Fox restaurants weren’t ALL so LOUD, the 17-year-old fashionista servers wouldn’t screw up my order, or the order of my dining partner, every single time we dine in one.
It’s happened twice recently at Sauce, and twice at Blanco. In fact, at Blanco last night we received an incorrect enchilda dish, then the server apparently didn’t hear us ask for boxes, and when we finally did get boxes, he didn’t hear us tell him we didn’t want them bagged.
I’ll be doing a lot of dining out in the next few weeks with family and friends, but because I want to actually speak to them, I think we’ll be skipping all the Fox restaurants.