Tuscon’s lifeblood is still the surrounding Sonoran desert. More than 5000 years ago, the Tohono O’odham nation cultivated crops on the fertile floodplain and planted today’s rich culinary traditions.Roll out the barrels – Los Milics winery near Tucson, Arizona.Credit: Tim BondSeed collectors, bakers, chefs, gardeners, and winemakers helped Tucson receive the UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation in 2015, highlighting its culinary distinctiveness.The sprawling city boasts the “best 23 miles of Mexican food” in the country, so I begin at the source.Mission Garden’s Kendall Kroesen proudly tells me the living museum’s volunteers preserve (and sometimes resurrect) the agricultural history of one…

When the Texas Tech fans come to Arizona Stadium on Oct. 5 to cheer on their Red Raiders against the Arizona Wildcats in the first Big 12 Conference football game at Arizona Stadium, they will get a true taste of Tucson.We’re not talking about what Noah Fifita and company will dish up on the field.We’re talking about the Sweet Ride Nachos — crunchy, chewy, cinnamony churros in a bed of crispy fried wontons sitting on a pillow of fresh whipped cream and chocolate syrup — from Sir Veza’s.Or the Tucson restaurant’s tamale bowl — a tamale sitting on a bed of…

Highest-rated fine dining restaurants in Tucson by diners Fine dining in the U.S. isn’t what it used to be. Many customers are no longer interested in classic white tablecloths and 16-ounce New York strips; instead, it’s about cutting-edge culinary experiences. Although steakhouses have defined fine dining in America since the 19th century, that started to change in the mid-1990s. Elite chefs like Thomas Keller at the French Laundry unearthed a whole different kind of tasting experience (with 40 courses), and a new age of fine dining was born. Soon, prix fixe meals—a French style of serving with a set menu—became…

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucson’s record-breaking heat this week has left food truck owners sweating, and hungry for any business they can get.Starting up a food truck business for the first time is hard work, especially during a Tucson summer.That’s what Ivan Martinez is doing, opening Mr. Bulgogi near Broadway and Rosemont last week.“I’m learning as I go,” Martinez said, noting that it took him a full year to become licensed to run the food truck.The U.S. Army vet fell in love with bulgogi when he was stationed in Korea. He loved the marinated meat so much, he’s now making…

When the Texas Tech fans come to Arizona Stadium on Oct. 5 to cheer on their Red Raiders against the Arizona Wildcats in the first Big 12 Conference football game at Arizona Stadium, they will get a true taste of Tucson.We’re not talking about what Noah Fifita and company will dish up on the field.We’re talking about the Sweet Ride Nachos — crunchy, chewy, cinnamony churros in a bed of crispy fried wontons sitting on a pillow of fresh whipped cream and chocolate syrup — from Sir Veza’s.Or the Tucson restaurant’s tamale bowl — a tamale sitting on a bed of…

By Loni Nannini Special to the Arizona Daily Star It’s almost September but the heat is on for Southern Arizona families who experience food insecurity. “We continue to see really high demand and an increase in the amount of people going to our Food Banks. It is most evident on Thursdays in Tucson when we extended our hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at our location at 3003 S. Club Rd. and found that we can serve as many people as we used to serve on the busiest day of the year — about 1,000 families,” said Norma Cable, a…

Highest-rated seafood restaurants in Tucson by diners Whether you’ve waited in line for soft-shell crabs in the Chesapeake Bay or savored sushi in New York City, you know there’s something special about finding the right spot to enjoy seafood. From ceviche to grilled salmon and towers of shellfish, the top-rated seafood restaurants in the United States serve up mouthwatering dishes across diverse cuisines like Japanese, Latin American, and Mediterranean to suit every palate. Of course, certain areas of the country are known for particular delicacies. California’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean, for example, makes it one of the best states…

The AZ Good Food Forum + Expo, presented by Local First Arizona, is coming up on Tuesday, August 27 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the El Conquistador Hilton Resort. This year’s event is themed “Building Arizona’s Resilient Food Future,” and it’s a convergence of minds and expertise dedicated to strengthening Arizona’s local food system. AZ Good Food Forum + Expo (Photo courtesy of Local First Arizona) The Forum will offer a lively discussion among Arizona food thought leaders across a dozen panels, such as desert-adapted diets, practical advice for growers, and a dedicated forum track highlighting the invaluable…

Attention all Tucson-based food artisans, purveyors, growers, and entrepreneurs! Local First Arizona and the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) are inviting businesses to participate as vendors in their upcoming event, The Good Food Forum + Expo. This is the first time the event is being hosted in Tucson. The big event will be held at the El Conquistador Hilton Resort on Tuesday, August 27 from 9 a.m. – 4 a.m. Designed to strengthen local food systems by helping artisans and growers become more sustainable from both a financial and environmental perspective, this year’s event is expected to be one of the…

In all his years in Tucson’s restaurant scene, Tyler Fenton had never had an out-of-town guest say that Tucson’s cuisine was the reason for their visit.But two years ago, when he opened his innovative upscale restaurant Bata at 35 E. Toole Ave. in downtown’s historic Warehouse District, a table of Midwest diners said just that.“They had read that we were a cool food town … and that was the sole reason they came to Tucson,” said the Bata chef-owner, whose family also has Reilly Craft Pizza & Drink at 101 E. Pennington St. downtown. “That was definitely really cool to…