Tucson is humble. In my story for FineDiningLovers.com last year I called out its culinary highlights, from the genius of its indigenous peoples who were (and are) able to grow foods in the desert to the burgeoning fine dining scene that doesn’t know how good it is.
It doesn’t know how good that char-grilled octopus with smoky salsa macha sauce (pictured above) at Tito & Pep is.
It doesn’t think that the ceviche at Villa Peru being tender and perfectly marinated is a big deal. It is. I wish more restaurants would get that right. the fact that this one is in a desert is worth an extra jump for joy.
And it doesn’t think that the fact that Reforma has an incredible quality and selection of Tequila, Mezcal and Bacanora (Sonoran Mezcal) available is exciting. I’m excited, already! Throw in some stellar guacamole, fried-to-order tortilla chips (in a gluten free fryer, at that) and a southwestern chicken leg dinner and it’s an amazing deal. Especially on the day – I think it’s Thursday? – when all Tequilas and Mezcals are 50% off.
REFORMA COCINA CANTINA
But the most interesting thing about Tucson dining to me is the inconsistency. I feel as though the city is teething. Some dishes are phenomenal. But even at my favourite restaurant, Tito & Pep, the overall experience can come with a couple of frown-inducing plates.
TITO & PEP
I don’t even care about the room being a boomy box with the kind of lack of ambiance that would make Zébulon Perron cry. Or that dishes were served out of order. (Try getting any flavour out of a kampachi aguachile that’s more agua than chile after eating a spicy, smoky salsa macha is like asking a smoker to pick out the subtle differences between San Pellegrino and Perrier.)
But food snobs lovers like me can ignore all that. I’m there for the food. Specifically, that grilled octopus. And anything cooked on the grill. Like the striped bass:
And these grilled lamb chops with pistachio and tomatillo salsa and charred zucchini and green onions. My dad wasn’t so into those whole green onions, that look like wilted grass, but the smoky, onion flavour is great with the meat, and imagine trying to grill sliced green onion. I guess they could slice it after grilling.
Those grilled green onions did double duty in my dad’s NY strip. He picked out the offending greens and cilantro, which he hates. (Sometimes I don’t know why he agreed to move to Tucson for the winter. Then I look out my Canadian window at the snow.)
But this citrus salad, below, was boring. Maybe it was our gluten intolerant fault because we couldn’t have the torn croutons, but the onions, peppers and orange supremes in a red wine vinaigrette made me shrug.
As did the grilled trout, which might be the restaurant’s most written about dish (are scared to order octopus?). It was very bland, like trout often is. The wilted swiss chard was tasty, but just a whole lot of greens. The lemon was grilled, but it was just lemon. The fried garlic – just fried garlic. And the guajillo chile sauce was just oil and a little orange colour from something that might have once been a chile.
The vegan pozole didn’t look pretty either, but at least it was comforting and more interesting texturally. With root vegetables and miso and savoury giant corn (hominy) plus freshly shredded red cabbage, mandolined radish slices and thick slices of avocado, all it needed was a squeeze of the accompanying lime to make it into a perfect small meal on its own. Pozole purists might get up in arms about it being vegan pozole, especially the fact that there’s miso in there, but how do you add umami without pork? Miso is one way.
Another disappointment was the shrimp and masa dumplings, which were dense and gritty. Really, gritty would be fine if these were lighter, but I felt like I was eating a bunch of glue. The shrimp were nice, but the seafood broth was simple, and there was nothing exciting in this dish.
The kale salad was better than the green salad above, thanks to peeled grapes (so much work for the kitchen, like those surpremed oranges!) and a sweet and smoky date vinaigrette.
But after all my complaining, I still love this restaurant. Just look at the prices! Food doesn’t need to be the best thing I’ve ever eaten at these prices. I’ll just skip the trout and shrimp, make the posole and green salad at home and quit my belly-aching. I’ll also skip the wine, which is awful. All mass-produced junk. Why no restaurant in town just buys all their wine from Time Market, I don’t understand. It’s not even that expensive. It’s a million times better. And I don’t get a headache.
You’re better off with cocktails here. Or my preference, ginger beer. Though I’m usually a sucker for anything with Chartreuse, just ask our server at Obon Tucson, which makes a decent tuna poke bowl. Stay away from the unsustainable sushi and salmon in general, though, if you care about the oceans. It’s a desert, but…
DOWNTOWN KITCHEN & COCKTAILS
There is one place that’s a bit more consistent, though. Downtown Kitchen & Cocktail. The best dish I’ve had there is the cornmeal-crusted calamari salad with mango, candied ginger, Spanish peanuts, watercress and green chile vinaigrette. It’s gluten free and dairy free (everything on the menu is marked gluten free, dairy free, nut free and vegetarian when it is, which I also love).
My only complaint is that besides these two dishes, I’ve had a lot of good food and not so much great food. A lot of people call this Tucson’s best restaurant, and I love that the chef uses more heirloom ingredients than most, but a duck confit leg with roasted grapes, watermelon radishes, brussels sprouts and local greens, but it’s a small plate of bistro fare. You’ll need to order cilantro rice with pomegranate seeds on the side to fill up, which pushes the price up along with it.
And the wine list is just as disappointing as Tito & Pep. Stick to cocktails or non-alcoholic cocktails, some of which which are discounted during happy hour.
So the conclusion I’ve come to is that you need to know what to order at all these places. Order poorly, and you’ll be confused why people think food in Tucson is so good. Order well and you’ll be confused why people think Tucson doesn’t have any fine dining.
VILLA PERU
Remember that ceviche I said was great at Villa Peru? Well, the sashimi slices in the tiradito were ragged instead of the proper Japanese cut. The carapulcra stew above was bland (that’s a pork stew with peanuts, hot peppers, cinnamon and cloves that has no business being bland), and my fish in spicy chile sauce was just a nicely grilled skinless fish (what a waste of grilling skill) with probably pre-frozen slices of calamari and a couple clams in an orange, oily, chile-ish sauce. And don’t get my started on the Argentinian wine. Apparently you’re just supposed to come here for the ceviche and the grilled chicken. And if they hadn’t been out of grilled chicken (come at lunch!, the server said), maybe I would have been more impressed. But this was more like aspirational fine dining – pretty wine glasses and linen napkins but fairly casual, homemade food.
Still, it’s coming. There’s nothing wrong with casual food with aspirations. It keeps prices lower, it keeps seats filled. Does it allow for culinary genius to bloom, though? Does it allow restaurants to charge enough to source more local, high quality ingredients? Does it create an inspiring restaurant experience for the diner?
Maybe not, but I’ll keep exploring. Tucson’s dining scene will only get better.
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