Text and photos by Mary L. Peachin
February, 2016 Vol. 20, No. 5
Gathering at Augustín Kitchen, Chef de Cuisine Brandon Dillon, described the various “smears” served in small canning jars: roasted jam and whipped pork belly with yam, Swiss chard goat cheese, raw walnut with local honey and fig, smoked salmon with capers, and homemade Arizona burrata.
Riding Tucson’s new modern street car, we crossed Congress passing the life-size sculpture of Pancho Villa seated on a bucking horse. Further down Church Avenue, Pima County Courthouse colorful mosaic Moroccan-style dome topping a Spanish Colonial, designed by architect Lew Place, landscapes the horizon.
We would the visit a replica of the Presidio, the large scale red David Black sculpture, Sonora, and view the entry of the former Pioneer Hotel where a 1970 fire tragically killing twenty nine people.
Heading east along Congress, we stopped at the art-deco Fox Theatre. Built in 1930, the Fox was home to Saturday’s Mickey Mouse Club. In recent years, the theatre has been renovated and hosts many live performances.
Along the way, Caffé Milano’s Chef Fulvia “La Fufi” Steffenone served us a plate of fusilli al sorrentina.
Further east on Congress, Elliott’s serves twenty flavors of house infused vodka. We enjoyed duck sliders served with jicama slaw. Retail store Tucson Olive Central offers an extra virgin olive oil and balsamic tasting experience along with the opportunity to purchase a variety of seasonings and salt.
Proper as it should be Restaurant serves a variety of “bites” or tapas. A salad of mixed greens featured macerated strawberries and goat cheese sprinkled with local (Peoria) honey vinaigrette accompanied confit chicken terrine and spicy pork and homemade parmesan lavosh.
The Congress Hotel is best known as the place where John Dillinger was captured. On January 22, 1934 fire broke out. The Dillinger gang, “laying low” at the hotel, urgently offered a generous tip to two firemen to retrieve their luggage. The heavy bags revealed guns and almost $24,000 in cash. Following a five hour stakeout, John Dillinger was captured at a home on North Second Avenue. Tucson changed in 1880 when the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived from Yuma.
Today, the former rail station is the center of one of Tucson’s hotspots. Maynard’s Kitchen, named for both artist Maynard Dixon and respected Southern Pacific engineer Maynard Flood, is now a popular contemporary market along with Maynard’s Market.
Our Taste of Tucson journey had taken us through the culture and history of Tucson, introduced us to the modern streetcar, and had filled our tummies with new and creative cuisine. It’s a new downtown vastly different from our origins.
Taste of Tucson Downtown Culinary & Cultural Tours, www.tasteoftucsondowntown.com
Taste of Tucson downtown@gmail.com