It’s election season at a local restaurant.
Postino WineCafe is putting a twist on the divisive national election asking diners to choose the best of four new bruschetta. The winner will be announced in September.
Of course, to make a good choice, voters must do their research at Tucson’s Postino WineCafe, 2500 E. Grant Road.
The battles have several levels:
• Battle One: July 1 to July 31: berry mascarpone vs. French onion.
• Battle Two: Aug. 1 to Aug. 31: Philly cheesesteak vs Buffalo cauliflower.
• Battle Three: Sept. 1 to Sept. 15: Championship, winners of battles one and two.
The champion will be announced on @postinowinecafe social media on Sept. 16.
All the bruschetta comes on a choice of focaccia or ciabatta.
The competition is the brainchild of Chef Carlos Buscaglia, the culinary standards manager, and CEO Lauren Bailey and began with a callout to Postino’s chefs to create a new flavor of bruschetta. The winner claims a permanent place on the restaurant’s menu, which is a mighty prize considering there are 25 Postinos, eight of which are in Arizona. The business is headquartered in Phoenix, where it was founded.
The competition is not just a fun way to inspire the restaurant chain’s staff but a way to involve their customers as well.
“At Postino, we’re always looking at what would inspire us to choose Postino for lunch or dinner today,” Buscaglia said. “The first goal is being able to highlight our menu variety and our iconic bruschetta boards that everyone knows and loves in a new, unique way; and the second goal is to further connect with our guests on a deeper level by involving them in the new menu item selection process. It was really important to us that our guests have a voice in the Postino community that we’ve built alongside them.”
The hardest part for Buscaglia was choosing which four would compete.
“We had dozens of bruschetta recipe submissions come through,” he said. “It was a challenge to narrow it down to just four but we’re so proud of all our chefs for showcasing their creativity and getting excited about this.”
To vote, text BATTLE to 602-637-1510.
Postino WineCafe
2500 E. Grant Road, Tucson
520-342-0098, postinowinecafe.com
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
