Consolidated "Tucson Restaurants" thread
 

Any recommendations for good restaurants appreciated! Diverse tastes, so anything is good; local flavour would also be nice!

have a friend in Tucson that sadly I have never visited http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...orum/frown.gif, he always comes up to Phoenix or the Grand Canyon when I am in the state.

He recommends the following:

The Dish, Feast!, Café Poca Cosa, El Charro, Vivace, Mi Nidito.

El Charro claims to have invented the chimichanga.

Lunch (as w/most places in the world) is ½ the price of dinners. Café Poca Cosa would be a good example of where to head for lunch.

Stay away from Casa Molina, overated. The seafood in Tuscon leaves much to be desired as one can imagine. So stick w/what would make sense: SW cuisine, Mexican, Beef.

For a to-do, check out the Sonora Desert Museum’s Summer Saturday Nights. Supposed to be neat.

Tucson dining suggestions
 

Looking for some, please advise if you have any.

Well, seeing as Tucson is the best place in the U.S. to find Mexican food, I have a few suggestions: El Charros, El Minuto, Macayos, Papagayos, Casa Molina...

Anything in particular you're looking for?

thanks for the Mex suggestions. as for anything in particular, many times there are dishes or items used that are a specialty of the local area/region. In this age of TGI Fridays and sameness, I really enjoy partakeing of something uniquely local

Hmm, other local places I can think of off the top of my head are: Cafe Terra Cotta and Janos.

I'll second Cafe Terra Cotta. Wildflower is pretty good too. But probably the best little restaurant in Tucson is The Dish Bistro, which has only a handful of tables and is tucked behind the RumRunner Wine and Cheese Shop downtown. You need reservations because there are so few tables.

Cafe Terra Cotta
 

We ate at Terra Cotta last night. It's a decent place. Make sure you call ahead for reservations...

Two more recommendations from our trip this weekend: Blue Willow for breakfast and Pastiche for dinner. Both are on Campbell.

Cafe Poca Cosa downtown is an excellent place to eat, and for a traditional Sonoran hot dog, I'd suggest El Guero Canelo on 12th.

what is a Sonoran hot dog?

I never did thank you for this suggestion, it was terrific. Staff was so friendly and food was delicious.^^

Of course I read about this after we were there but Gourmet magazine listed the restaurant Pico de Gallo as a great breakfast spot taqueria where fillings for homemade tortillas range from barbacoa to skate. Located at 2618 S 6th Ave in South Tucson, phone 520.623.8775

The Hilton forum has a thread recommending one of the (very authentic) Mexican restaurants in Tucson, especially the guacamole prepared at your table.

Guadalajara Grill, on Prince at Campbell

Other recommendations:

Cafe Poca Cosa is fantastic and unique

Janos also has unique food, but I think it suffers from the "one ingredient too many" syndrome. J Bar has slightly lower prices.

Brunch at Tohono Chul park

Beyond Bread for great sandwiches

Blue Willow is fun but the service is uniformly terrible

Terra Cotta (they dropped the "Cafe") is good but not spectacular

Everyone is raving about Blanco at La Encatada

Casa Feliz (multiple locations) has great chicken

The Sonoran hot dog, found in Tucson, Metro Phoenix, and in neighboring Sonora, Mexico, is a hot dog grilled over an open flame or on a griddle, wrapped in Mesquite-smoked bacon, topped with freshly-chopped tomatoes, onions, shredded yellow or cotijo cheese, tomatillo salsa or red chile sauce, pinto beans, mayonnaise, ketchup and/or mustard, and served on a bolillo roll. Often served with a fresh-roasted chile.