'Vegetable Forward' Restaurant Coming
A new restaurant is slated to open this fall at 330 E. Seventh St. According to its Facebook page, the Ascension Café will be "a vegetable forward, plant-based, seed-to-table, community supported restaurant" that will feature fresh produce from Avalon Organic Gardens & EcoVillage in Tumacacori. The café aims to use as many local ingredients as possible to help support local farmers and producers. Rani Olson is the acting executive chef and manager.
Boosts to Downtown Booze Scene
Good Oak Bar, the second part of Derrick Widmark's plan for downtown dining and drinking, is set to open Sept. 1 at 316 E. Congress St. In an effort to bring the feel of an East Coast tavern to downtown, it will be more dark and intimate that Widmark's other downtown restaurant, next-door-neighbor Diablo Burger. Good Oak will serve only Arizona beers and wines, and beer will be available to go in growlers.
Tap and Bottle opened this week at 403 N. Sixth Ave. After a year filled with delays, the project by Scott and Rebecca Safford has finally come to fruition. The Saffords say they are aiming for a place "for people passionate about beer and wine, but with a neighborhood feel to it." For more info, go to thetapandbottle.com or facebook.com/thetapandbottle.
New Place on Fourth
Hudson Kitchen and Drinks is a step closer to opening at one end of the building occupied by Maloney's on Fourth and The Wreck, at Fourth Avenue and Eighth Street. The City Council has approved the establishment's all-important liquor license. There's no word yet of an opening date for Hudson, which will be brought to you by the folks behind Umi Star.
Tucson Chefs Honored
Two local chefs are featured in the 2013 edition of Best Chefs America. James Beard Award-winner Janos Wilder of Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails and Addam Buzzalini, the chef in charge at Maynards Market and Kitchen, made the cut. To see a complete list of selectees from around Arizona and the rest of the U.S, go to www.bestchefsamerica.com.
