Before I go into detail about my experience at Acacia, here’s the tasting menu we were presented with along with the regular dinner menu:

Course One

Heirloom tomato a la plancha, fresh mozzarella, basil, roasted tomato vinaigrette. Paired with 2009 Torre di Luna Pinot Grigio

Bacon wrapped Guaymas prawn, served on lobster and mascarpone polenta with vanilla essence. Paired with La Folette Sangiacomo Vineyard Chardonnay.

Classic Steak Tartare over baby arugula tossed with hazelnut oil on grilled garlic crostini with Wine Guerilla Zinfandel

Course Two

Hamachi, carmelized cauliflower beurre noisette, red beet foam with Wachau Federspiel Terrasen Gruner Veltliner

Braised Pork Belly, maple glazed white bean ragout, grilled apple chutney with A to Z Pinot Noir

Marinated Loin of Lamb, roasted garlic rostie potato, bearnaise foam, pea tendrils with Creta Roble Tempranillo

Course Three

Melon Panna Cotta, blackberry puree, candied lemon rind with Paolo Saracco Moscato d’ Asti

White chocolate PB&J petit four

Butterscotch and milk chocolate bread pudding, toasted coconut with Porto Pocas 10 year tawny.

Amazing, right? And, I know it sounds like a lot of food. But, it’s not really. Each course comes on one plate with all three items and they’re much smaller portions. Naturally, I was excited for this. As we sat down and looked over the tasting menu, the maitre’d commented that the tasting menu was amazing, especially the pork belly. And I’m a sucker for pork belly.

I have high expectations for something like this. For one, it’s Acacia. Albert Hall, owner and chef, is highly regarded and the winner of Tucson’s Iron Chef competition numerous times. Two, the menu sounds amazing, does it not?

The heirloom tomato lacked any sort of rounded flavor. It was a little over-drizzled with olive oil and the only real flavor I sensed was the mozzarella. The bacon wrapped prawn was overcooked and also lacked flavor. This is to be expected when you overcook bacon. Shrimp, like scallops, have a small window for doneness. The tartare, besides being poorly assembled, seriously lacked flavor. As in salt. If I’m going to eat something that looks like (and basically is) raw hamburger meat, there better be a good reason for it. I’ve had plenty of tartare. In Tucson, Maynard’s is the place to go for tartare.

The hamachi was my favorite. Unfortunately for my guest, who is allergic to certain fish – hamachi not being one of them (or so she thought) – her mouth started to swell up. But, it was a perfect combination of flavors. the delicate sweetness of the airy beet foam with perfectly carmelized cauliflower beurre noisette and hamachi had me raving about it. The hamachi was a little overcooked, as was almost everything, but flavor-wise, it was spot on. The pork belly was definitely overcooked. I kept checking in with my guest, “is this overcooked? Am I crazy?” She replied, “yes, it’s overcooked and you are crazy,” but at least I wasn’t imagining things. It was almost burnt on the top. The problem with overcooking pork belly is that a lot of the flavor is rendered out, so in addition to being overcooked, it lacks flavor. If you can manage to pull flavor OUT of pork belly, you might as well not serve it. The lamb was full flavored. It was cooled by this point, but the flavor was there. It seemed poorly paired with the wine, however. Every sip made me feel as if I were drinking blood.

The panna cotta with the Moscato was my second favorite. If only my dinner was the hamachi followed by the panna cotta. I did not see any lemon rind. I suppose it is possible it was pureed into the blackberry puree, although that seemed odd. The PB&J, while clever, was forgettable. The bread pudding was deliciously rich and dense.

For the price, I felt let down. I’ve had my fair share of tasting menus and I understand that not everything will be amazing. It was clearly a matter of execution here, not creativity. To Acacia’s credit, I think they’re a great restaurant. The food is usually excellent and inventive. The service is perfect, and their new location is great with amazing views of Tucson. They missed the mark on this one, though.

I don’t remember how I stumbled upon King’s Chinese Restaurant. A lone Google review for it, I believe, amongst two. I better check it out, I thought. After all, I am the Tucson Foodie, for whatever that’s worth. (Very little, monetarily, just so you know). When I first drove up to the place around 8:00 pm one evening with my significant other, we didn’t get out of the car. It didn’t look worth it. Second time we didn’t get out of the car either. The third time, it was just me and my daughter and she loves Pei-Wei, which I think is equivalent to an Asian version of Taco Bell, so this couldn’t be any worse, I figured. Five or six visits later it’s not any worse at all. No where near it.

In fact, I’m amazed at how clean and light their Chinese food is. I’m not going to go into menu descriptions because it’s pretty standard Chinese food. They offer items such as Broccoli Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Sesame Chicken, Lo Mein, Chow Mein, etc. All entrees are priced between $6.99 and $7.99 with half orders available for between $4.59 and $4.99. Everything I tried tasted fresh, and well prepared. Everything. I wanted to try as many things as I could from the Chinese menu since they are a Chinese restaurant. That’s their name – King’s Chinese Restaurant. It’s not King’s Chinese and Vietnamese Restaurant. If it was, I might have tried it sooner. And had I tried it sooner, I most definitely wouldn’t have held out so long to try their pho ($6.25). It’s the best pho I’ve ever had. I don’t know why. The broth itself is delicious. The plate of basil and bean sprouts is, well – a plate of purple basil, limes, and bean sprouts. But the meats they put into the Pho Tai Nam Gau are not just the rare beef slices you typically get. There’s three kinds of meats in there. Even though the menu decription says “Rice noodle soup with rare, tender beef slices,” trust me, there’s other meat in there. And it’s good. And very filling.

I’ve also tried the Fresh Spring Rolls. Those are great, too. Really big and made to order.

Ambience? Uh, heh… yeah. None. It’s small and bright inside, lit with fluorescent lighting. A big TV is on for you to watch CNN. One of the owners’ children is usually sitting at one of the tables doing homework or playing video games on a laptop. He’s cute.

Service? They have great pho! Who cares about service?! But seriously, don’t go here expecting much. Just go for the pho. Maybe that could be their new advertising slogan. Just GO for the PHO. Of course, it’s pronounced “phuh” so that wouldn’t work. Unless you said “Just GUH for the PHO. Anyhow…

Next door – which I had never realized was an Asian market – is the Grant Stone Supermarket. They have some amazing things for you to peruse and/or purchase if you dare. It’s a nice little weeknight cultural experience – dinner at King’s then a jaunt through the Grant Stone Supermarket. I always get Pocky – those shortbread sticks dipped in chocolate.

But, check out King’s Chinese Restaurant first and let me know what you think. It’s seriously worth it and they probably seriously need the business.

They’re open everyday until 9 pm, but close early on Sundays, I think.

King’s Chinese Restaurant
10 West Grant Road
Tucson, AZ 85705
(520) 829-7214
Google Map

All hail Janos! The ORIGINAL Tucson Original. King of the Tucson dining scene. Foie gras burger man of the hour. Known to all Tucson foodies. If there’s anyone in this town that can get it right it’s Janos, right? Right?! Wrong.

I’ve been to Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails three times now. And I want to go again because I want SO BAD for it to be SO GOOD but it just isn’t. Is it horrible? No. But I hold Janos to some high standards that I don’t hold many others to.

The ambience/decor of the place has shifted since my first visit. It really isn’t that much different than Barrio Grill was. There’s a different palette and some modern art piece hanging above the kitchen. They took out that cool wine bottle holder with all the holes in it. And, at first they actually had booths crammed up against the bar seating with no way into the bar other than meandering through the guests sitting in those booths. That has since changed. Also, the door that was the main entry for Barrio Grill is no longer an entryway, which is a little irritating since that’s where the parking lot is, but I’m sure they have their reasons.

The service is just okay. On my first lunch visit, the female server was nice and seemed to be knowledgable given the length of time they had been opened. Second visit (evening, sat at bar) I wasn’t greeted, I had to call the bartender over from the other guests she had been overly focused on (eyes up!) and she seemed overwhelmed. Food took a while to come out. It seemed like I had to call her over every time I needed something. Third visit – the server was not rude but definitely not very nice. In her defense, everything was spot-on, however. So, that’s all I’m looking for. A smile does go a long way but… serving’s hard work.

Now, how about the food? For a restaurant of this caliber, with Janos name behind it, here is where I think there should be no exceptions. None. Perfection should encompass every plate that comes out of that kitchen in every way. As should the items on the menu. And the presentation. Let’s start with the menu. It’s okay. Nothing too creative (except for the burger, which I might add you CANNOT order at dinner in the dining room – only at the bar. Make sense? No, it doesn’t.). The burger was good. Almost as good as Zinburger’s. I tried the Dr. Pepper Marinated Pork Shoulder. S’ok. Tried The Game Changer. Not changing any games there. Seasonal melon and roasted beet salad was delicious but the beets were chopped into such large chunks that I couldn’t understand how they could pay such little attention to detail. Ahi ceviche was bland. I added salt. Also both the beets and ceviche are served in dark bottom bowls. This is probably the worst presentation you could dream up. For one – the beet dish, which was tasty, and I’ve had before elsewhere, is a beautiful dish. Show it! And chop those beets down to bite size. And what’s up with the gigantic portion size? No one needs to eat that many beets. Jeez, Janos. I tried the lamb sausage pasta. Not bad. Not great. Had the roast trout. Better than anything that ever came out of Barrio Grill, but still not there, yet. The Crispy Calamari was pretty good, but hasn’t that been on every restaurant’s menu since, oh… 1992?

Other than that, it was a good experience and I applaud Janos for taking over that space. I hope they work their kinks out because I do have faith. Until then, I’ll stick to Maynards or 47 Scott.

I recently moved out of my historic downtown second-story apartment. It had wooden floors, lofty ceilings, a claw foot tub, an O’Keefe & Merritt stove and a view off the back patio of the (very few) tall buildings downtown Tucson has to offer. Visitors often said, “I don’t even feel like I’m in Tucson!”

And that’s exactly how I felt when I first walked into CeeDee’s Jamaican Kitchen – like I’d been whisked away to, well, a diner in New York City rather than what I imagine Jamaica would feel like, but I felt whisked away nonetheless. The restaurant is set up as a long galley with diner style counter bar seating immediately on the right, and booth seating the length of the restaurant on the left. Reggae music plays in the background while colorful Jamaican colors come at you at all angles. And, of course, you can smell the food cooking. The enticing aroma of meat slow cooked with exotic spices pervades.

On my first visit, I noticed a sign on the window that said,”$5 Lunch Specials.”

“What’s the lunch special?” I asked.

“Curry chicken or curry beef with rice and plantains.”

“I’ll have the curry chicken,” I said. And within minutes a plate of whole chicken pieces (complete with bone shards) was brought to the table smothered in their curry sauce with rice and peas (the peas are more like a curry sauce, too, than actual peas), a fried plantain, and a festival, which is similar to a fritter. It reeked of authenticity. A wealth of spices filled my mouth as I scrambled to eat every last bite. The portion size was a little smaller than the non-lunch specials on the menu as I found out on my following two visits. I felt satisfied, however someone with a larger appetite may need a tiny bit more food. The bill for this meal was $5.61.

Cee and Dee, or Cardell and Deon – a couple – have been cooking Jamiacan food in Tucson for years. In fact, if you’ve ever eaten any of the Jamiacan food being cooked in front of the Chicago Bar, that’s them. They seem like they’ve been working out of their little restaurant forever and definitely seem right at home doing what they’re doing.

On my second visit – now that I had cleared it for approval to bring a guest – we ordered the Jerk Chicken ($8.50), Oxtails ($12.50), and to drink I ordered a traditional Jamaican drink called “Sorrel” which is a hibiscus ginger drink lightly sweetened. Actually it was more than lightly sweetened. If you’re sensitive to sweet stuff, water it down or don’t get it. But it’s tasty. And purple. I had tried to order the Curry Goat instead of the Jerk Chicken which the owner, Deon (the “Dee” in CeeDee) told me usually sells out, but it was still cooking. The Jerk Chicken was slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and super moist. It, too, was whole chicken pieces and not available as a lunch special on that day. It’s a sizable portion that should be plenty of food for most of us. Perhaps a little too much for some of us. Not for me, though. The Oxtails – besides the fact that they were beef – were similarly flavored and I even asked if it was the same sauce, which the server assured me it was not. They, too were excellent and we both had trouble deciding which we liked better. In the end, though, it was the Jerk Chicken. It’s all too easy to dry out chicken and this dish was on the opposite end of the spectrum – moist and juicy. Both dishes were served with vegetables, rice and peas, and fried plantains.

I went one more time that week to try the Curry Goat ($12.50). In fact, as I was paying for the meal on my prior visit, I was asking Deon more about the Curry Goat, and a seated patron overheard and hollered out, “the curry goat is the best!” And it was good, however, I still liked the Jerk Chicken better. The goat seemed a little chewier than I prefer. I’ve eaten goat before and don’t remember it being that chewy. It could have been overcooked. It was quite gamey, as well. It, too was a sizable portion, plenty for most of us, unless you eat often at Claim Jumper.

I realize that as a responsible reviewer I should’ve gotten the dessert, but all three times I was stuffed and no one pays me to do this. But if you want it, they got it – Rum Cake ($3.50) and Potato Pudding ($3.50). Also, as a little bonus, at the end of our third visit, the server made us little mini portions of beet-carrot juice sweetened with sweetened condensed milk. Very tasty.

It’s a unique experience at CeeDee’s Jamaican Kitchen. You’ll feel like you’ve left Tucson. You’ll eat some authentic Jamaican food. You’ll get friendly, quick service. And, most likely, you’ll go back.

Ceedee’s is located at 1070 N. Swan Road. For more information you can visit their website or their facebook page.

Cafe VanGo

** UPDATE! Jason Calhoon is now a partner at Avenue Coffee and no longer utilizes the Bookmans spot.**

I frickin’ love coffee. Espresso, cappuccino, French press – love it. Early morning, late morning, mid-afternoon, yes, please. But it can’t be from any ol’ place. Oh, no. It has to be from a place that takes pride in what they serve. A place that knows the difference between light, medium, and dark roasts. A place that won’t ask me when I buy beans, “would you like us to grind this for you?” A place that knows a cappuccino has specific ratios of espresso to froth and ain’t just a smaller version of a latte. A place where they don’t make drip coffee. And of course, a place whose barista(s) know this, in addition to the owner, and strive for perfection. In San Francisco, the lines at coffee shops with this kind of attention to detail are usually so long that I would find myself questioning the worth of the effort only to be gleefully reminded each time, that, god yes, it was. I had nearly given up hope for something this good here in Tucson until a slight tweet from an unknown Twitterer, “espressojunky,” perked my ears up. In the least likely of spots – the Bookmans parking lot at Grant and Campbell – is a red trailer serving coffee and espresso called Cafe VanGo.

Jason Calhoon, owner and operator, won 2008′s Southwest Regional Barista Competition. Now, I can’t imagine what that contest entails, but he won the damn thing. For all I know, Jason can do cartwheels while juggling coffee beans with his feet. But in all seriousness, he knows what it takes to make an amazing cup of coffee, espresso, and cappuccino. So far, that’s all I’ve had, and I think those staples are the true tests of a good barista.

You might be wondering, “what makes his brewed coffee so much better than other cafes’ coffee?” Well, he’s got a Clover machine. According to this article in Wired, the Clover machine made such an impression on the CEO of Starbucks, he purchased the company leaving only 250 Clovers in existence. Without getting into the details, it brews a cup at a time – to order. You never know when you walk into a cafe how long that carafe of drip coffee has been sitting there. At Cafe VanGo, there isn’t any drip coffee. When you order a cup of coffee it’s fresh ground and brewed to perfection.

Unfortunately – or fortunately depending on who you ask – coffee has become something of a fad drink. A frappuccino, while a super-sweet and tasty drink, strikes me as more of a melted milkshake than coffee. And an iced, double soy latte with hazelnut is just plain amusing. It’s sort of the equivalent of mixing 7-Up with a nice Pinot Grigio. With all of this going on, there is a huge movement towards straight up coffee, espresso, and cappuccino. No frills – just like it’s been being made for eons. The beauty of this movement is it’s hard to find this kind of coffee without an ear to the ground, especially in a not-so-upwardly-mobile town like Tucson. The reason I bring all of this up is that, while I’m sure Jason at Cafe VanGo can make you anything you dream up, you’d be under-utilizing his wonderful coffees – and skills.

Cafe VanGo features coffee from at least four different regions daily. The roasts range from light to medium-dark. It’s a huge misconception that a dark roast is a stronger coffee. It tastes stronger, but caffeine-wise it’s actually less caffeine than a a light roast. A light or medium roast allows for the full flavor of the bean to shine – another element of the new-wave coffee movement. All of the beans Jason uses are from PT’s Coffee Company out of Topeka, Kansas. I’m a huge proponent of going local whenever possible, but not at the mercy of quality. PT’s is Roast Magazine‘s 2008 Micro Roaster of the Year. They have direct relationships with artisan farmers and adhere to strict guidelines which you can find on their website here.

Okay, so what’s not good about Cafe VanGo? Well, it’s a trailer. Tables and chairs are provided outside, but once it warms up, it won’t be a desirable place to hang out unless you plan on running inside Bookmans for a Dog Fancy magazine from 1979. Even now, it’s more of a walk-up counter, chit-chat with Jason and the regulars for a few minutes (I met Bob Bookman there) and then hit the road kind of a place. Wifi is provided via Bookmans. But again, if you’re looking for an indoor spot with air conditioning where you can meet a client, this isn’t it.

Hours are 7am-3pm daily. I think it’s the best coffee you can get in the city. Check it out. Let me know what you think.

Every now and then I discover a place with a dish so good that I have to tell everyone I know: Go here. Get this. Ask no questions.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of ceviche – though I am now – and I avoided Mariscos Chihuahua for years until a lawyer-client insisted we go there for lunch. He also insisted I get the Fresh Fish Culichi which is a poached white fish smothered in a light, creamy, green sauce topped with shredded, melted white Mexican cheese. With every bite I collapsed further into a love affair with the flavor. I frantically attempted to get every last drip of sauce and rice into my mouth. I’ve been back a few times and always order the same thing and it’s always as good as the first time, although I’m told everything on the menu is also excellent. Tucson destination material for SURE. Their chips and salsa are also excellent, the service is super friendly (probably even better if you speak Spanish) and the ambiance is a fun, baja style.

Seriously – Go here. Get the Fresh Fish Culichi. Ask no questions.