Dining Out in Tucson
Arizona Restaurant Week: September 18-26
By Barry Infuso — Photography by Thomas Veneklasen
This September, experience some of Tucson’s finest eateries for a fraction of the usual price. Throughout the city, a diverse group of dining establishments participate in "Restaurant Week" Sept. 18 – 26, offering a three-course dinner for prices ranging from $19 to $29, with a few including wine with your meal. Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to test out a place that you’ve been meaning to try or visit one of your favorites. For a complete list of those participating, and their menus visit www.arizonarestaurantweek.com. Remember that you can make reservations, and some places sell out quickly, so don’t wait! Prices do not include tax and tip.
Tavolino Ristorante Italiano — 2890 E. Skyline Drive — 531-1913 — www.tavolinoristorante.com
Chef/owner Massimo Tenino has struck a culinary chord with food lovers. Tenino transformed the space formerly occupied by VinTabla into one of the new generations of eateries around town, reflecting the eclectic taste and style of Tucson’s young urban professionals. The décor features clean lines, a black-and-white color scheme and comfortable seating. But the focus at Tavolino is on the food. Tenino blends traditional cooking techniques with contemporary Italian cuisine. For Restaurant Week, Tavolino will offer a choice of an antipasti, entrée and dessert. In addition, you can select a glass of white or red wine from his family’s vineyard in Italy.
Restaurant Week Dinner Price: $29 per person
Antipasti Choices:
Bruschetta di Melanzane — bruschetta with oven-roasted eggplant, organic local tomatoes with asiago cheese.
Burrata e Prosciutto — burrata mozzarella with fresh tomatoes, Parma prosciutto and fresh basil.
Peperone Ripieno di Tonno — roasted bell pepper filled with Sicilian tuna, served with mixed baby greens, kalamata olives, roasted walnuts and dried cranberries.
Wine Pairing — Arneis, Vigne di Hortensia, Pietro Rinaldi, Piemonte 2008.
Entrée Selections:
Lasagna della Casa — homemade lasagna served on a bed of San Marzano tomato sauce. San Marzano tomatoes are considered by many to be the finest grown in Italy, due to the region’s rich volcanic soil.
Pollo Arrosto — half chicken slowly roasted on a wood-burning rotisserie, served with roasted potatoes and spinach.
Pappardelle al Pesto — fresh pappardelle pasta with pesto, green beans and pecorino cheese.
Cernia all’Acqua Pazza — fresh cabrilla from the Gulf of Mexico, prepared with white wine, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers and red pepper flakes.
Wine Pairing — Barbera Castelvero, Piemonte 2008
Desserts:
Tiramisu, prepared from a family recipe, made with ladyfingers, coffee and mascarpone.
Gelati Misti — a selection of house gelato and sorbetto.
Zabaglione con Frutti di Bosco — zabaglione mousse served with seasonal berries and cookies
Acacia at St. Philips — 4340 N. Campbell Ave. — 232-0101 — www.acaciatucson.com
Chef Albert Hall of Acacia will offer an amazing array of appetizers, entrées and desserts, coupled with excellent service and a relaxed, yet elegant ambiance.
Restaurant Week Dinner Price: $29 per person
Appetizer Choices:
Roasted tomato and fresh basil soup
Salad of organic field greens
Hummus with pickled vegetables and warm pita bread
Salad of baby spinach with warm pancetta dressing
Goat cheese and fig tart
Entrée Selections:
Guaymas prawns with linguini and vegetables
Pollo a la Brasa (grilled Peruvian-style chicken)
Applewood smoked pork chop
Wood-grilled top sirloin steak
Bronzed organic Scottish salmon
Desserts:
Strawberry lime crumble
Crème brûlée
Trio of sorbets
Chocolate raspberry torte
Chocolate peanut butter crunch
Jonathan’s Cork — 6320 E. Tanque Verde Road — 296-1631 — www.jonathanscork.com
The Cork became a popular neighborhood eatery when it first opened 44 years ago. Jonathan Landeen has been at the helm for the past 16 years, staying true to the restaurant’s original premise — “Good food, good service, and a good time.” “The only thing I do,” he says, “is tweak the menu here and there to keep the flavors current and take care of the dietary changes of our customers.” The décor is warm and inviting with brick and wood, providing a nostalgic glimpse at how restaurants used to look.
Restaurant Week Dinner Price: $29 per person
Appetizer Choices:
Chopped romaine house salad
Soup of the day
Sautéed mushrooms
Entrée Selections:
Sea bass al Horno, filled with a mélange of julienned carrots, green onions, and zucchini, baked, then finished with a lemon-lime butter sauce. Accompanied by red quinoa and house vegetables
Jonathan’s barbecued baby back ribs, served with a choice of garlic mashed potatoes or a blend of Red Himalayan and brown rice along with house vegetables
Petit filet mignon with Bordelaise sauce along with a choice of garlic mashed potatoes or red Himalayan and brown rice with house vegetables
Desserts:
Pots de Crème
Cheesecake
Double fudge brownie
Blanco Tacos + Tequila (at La Encantada) — 2905 E. Skyline Drive — 232-1007
Blanco Tacos + Tequila serves Sonoran-style cuisine with a contemporary twist. In addition to good food, Blanco provides diners with a great view of the city in a comfortable, modern setting.
Restaurant Week Dinner Price: $29 per person
Starter Choices:
Big eye tuna with avocado, pineapple, jalapeño and lime
Crab and shrimp ceviche with cucumber, avocado and radish salad
Blanco chopped salad with achiote chicken, seasonal fruit and pepitas
Three-cheese quesadilla prepared with Oaxaca, asadero, Manchego, pico de gallo and crema fresca.
Taquitos made with guacamole “Blanco Style,” avocado, roasted chile, Cotija cheese, finished with sea salt.
Queso fundido served with chorizo sausage, caramelized peppers, along with warm flour tortillas.
Nachos con Queso Blanco, prepared with avocado, crema fresca, black beans and pico de gallo.
Entrée Selections:
Carnitas tacos with braised pork, pico de gallo, crema fresca
Chicken tacos with roasted chicken, caramelized peppers, crema fresca
Grilled fish tacos along with fresh avocado and pico de gallo
Machaca beef tacos with braised short rib, green peppers and onions
Carne asada tacos made from grilled steak, with Cotija cheese and lime
Camarones tacos with chipotle shrimp, avocado and tomato
Roasted vegetable tacos with portabello mushrooms, sweet peppers and squash
Ground Beef Tacos served with ground beef, crema fresca, queso blanco and pico de gallo
Seared ahi tacos with cucumber, avocado and mango
Red chile chicken enchiladas with marinated chicken, green onions and asadero
Beef enchiladas with braised short rib, queso blanco and ancho chile
Traditional cheese enchiladas with grilled onion and creamy ancho sauce
Green chile pork enchiladas with poblano pepper and tomatillo
Desserts:
Scoop of vanilla bean ice cream
Tres leches cake
Brown sugar caramel flan
Abuelita Angelina’s rich chocolate cake
The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain — Turquesa Latin Grill — 15000 N. Secret Springs Drive, Marana — 572-3000
This is a great opportunity to visit the newest jewel in the crown of Southern Arizona’s impressive resorts. The Ritz Carlton, Dove Mountain is serving a scrumptious lunch poolside at the Turquesa Latin Grill. After lunch, be sure to allow yourself enough time to enjoy a leisurely walk as you tour the resort’s beautiful grounds.
Restaurant Week Lunch Price: $29 per person
Appetizer Choices:
Campechana (Mexican Seafood Salad) — shrimp, crab, avocado, chili cocktail sauce
Turquesa Greens — local greens, teardrop tomatoes, grilled corn, poblano peppers, tortilla strips with a margarita vinaigrette
Trio of ceviche — South American, Mexican, Caribbean inspirations
Entrée Selections:
La torta — garlic-chipotle shaved beef, onions, green chiles, pinto beans, cheddar purée, pico de gallo, guacamole, telera bread
Tacos pescado — grilled mahi mahi, pineapple slaw, asadero cheese, fire-roasted salsa, chipotle mayonnaise
Pulled chicken enchiladas — diablo sauce, Mexican cheese, Puerto Rican beans, avocado salad
Tucson flat bread — yellow tomato sauce, shredded chicken, Mexican cheeses, diablo sauce, pico de gallo
Desserts:
Aztec flambé — Mesquite tortilla, caramelized bananas, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream
Tembleque — coconut custard, fruit salsa, guava port wine jelly
Mama Louisa’s Italian Restaurant — 2041 S. Craycroft Road — 790-4702
Mama Louisa’s has been serving up delicious home-style Italian food since 1956. The Elefante family purchased the restaurant in 1973. After Joe Elefante Jr. passed away in 1999, his wife Suzanne along with their children Michael and Stacy and her sister Theresa have continued with the family tradition. The Restaurant Week menu includes an array of traditional Italian favorites, all-you-can-eat soup and salad bar, homemade spumoni or cannoli dessert and a glass of house wine or a non-alcoholic beverage.
Restaurant Week Dinner Price: $19 per person
Appetizer Choices:
All-you-can-eat soup and salad bar
Entrée Selections:
Joe’s Special homemade linguini topped with hot pepper seeds, fresh garlic, melted cheese and homemade sauce
Chicken piccatta — boneless pieces of chicken breast sautéed in butter and lemon with capers, served with a side of rigatoni and homemade red sauce
Eggplant Parmigiana — fresh eggplant, sliced, breaded, fried and layered with cheese and tomato sauce, served with a side of homemade linguini
Beverage — choice of non-alcoholic beverage or a glass of house white or red wine
Desserts:
House-made spumoni
Cannoli
Eateries participating in Arizona Restaurant Week:
Acacia at St. Philips
Amarsi Ristorante
Azul Restaurant & Lounge
Bellissimo
Blanco Tacos + Tequila
Bluefin Seafood Bistro
Cup Café
Delectables Restaurant & Catering
Doubletree Hotel — Cactus Rose
Fire and Spice
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill
Fleming's
Flying V Bar & Grill
GOLD
The Grill @ Hacienda Del Sol
Jonathan’s Cork
JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa — Primo, Signature Grill and Catalina Barbeque Co. & Sports Bar
Kingfisher Bar & Grill
Lodge on the Desert
Mama Louisa’s Italian Restaurant
Maynard’s Market & Kitchen
McGraw's Cantina
The Melting Pot
Miguel's Restaurant
Montana Avenue
NoRTH
OM: Modern Asian Kitchen
Omni Tucson National Golf Resort and Spa — Bob’s Steak & Chop House
Pastiche Modern Eatery
The Ritz Carlton, Dove Mountain — Turquesa Latin Grill
Saffron
Sullivans Steakhouse
Tavolino Ristorante Italiano
Tequila Factory
Wildflower
Zin Burger
Zona 78 on River Road
Zona 78 on Tanque Verde Road
