Justin Stewart is currently cooking all kinds of comforting goodies in the kitchen of the Wooden Nickel Tavern. The best way to describe chef Justin is, he is your favorite chef’s favorite chef. 

He has worked for, alongside, or mentored some of the biggest names in our beloved City of Gastronomy. Justin did a long stint with the McMahon group in their heyday, was a partner in the original Lindy’s on 4th, and most recently, was at the helm of Tucson institution, McGraw’s Cantina, as Executive Chef/General Manager. Ask 10 restaurant folks around town about Justin and nine will know him, and 10 love him! 

So, without further ado, I present the return of Nine on the Line, featuring Justin Stewart. 

1. WHAT WAS THE FIRST DISH YOU HAD THAT CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF FOOD?

On several occasions in my early twenties, I had the opportunity to spend months at a time driving up and down the Baja Peninsula, I fell in love with the food, people, and the natural beauty of those small towns. There is a place on the Bay of Conception, called Santa Rosalia. The French founded this settlement in 1884. I stopped in to this tiny cafe off the cobblestone street that was also the family’s residence. They had three or four tables in the front room and you could look to the back of the house passed a curtain and see kids doing their homework. I ordered a lobster langostino dish, that came sauteed in the most incredible delicate chili cream sauce. To this day, I remember it as one of the most incredible meals I’ve ever had. Amazingly, it was created and served in the living room of someone’s home, not a pretentious fine dining establishment.

2. WHAT IS ONE TOOL YOU USE THAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE?

Since I spend a lot of my time making scratch wing sauces, salsa, and crema’s for our Sonoran cuisine, I could not make it happen without this small, inexpensive, immersion blender. 

3. WHAT WAS THE FIRST DISH YOU REMEMBER COOKING?

The first dish I remember (attempting) to cook, was a shrimp stir fry. I was probably 12 years old and my parents weren’t home. The oil in my sauté pan was probably 600°, and when I added the shrimp, there was a pillar of fire that left burn marks on the ceiling over the stove.

4. WHAT CONCEPT, INGREDIENT, OR FOOD TREND ARE YOU EXPERIMENTING WITH OR ENJOYING THESE DAYS?

These days my experimentation has been Limited. As for “current trends”, they’ve never interested me much, I’m a dinosaur that way. However, recently I’ve been working with this guy during the day at the Nickel, everyone calls him T-Bird, and he’s got about 15 years (experience) on me. He is a culinary graduate and classically trained chef. I’ve taken the opportunity to look over his shoulder and observe how he prepares some incredible authentic Sonoran dishes, such as red chili beef and a green chili potato pork. These are very old family recipes passed on from each generation to the next, I feel lucky to be able to learn some new techniques from this guy.

5. WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO COOK OR EAT DINNER WITH?

Obviously, sitting down for a meal with Julia or Bourdain would be incredible, but I would choose to have dinner with my mom, Jill, one last time. She passed away over a decade ago, and she was the most amazing lady who would cook scratch dinners for our family every night. My love of cooking came from her.                                 

6. WHAT CITY, OTHER THAN TUCSON, IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT?

It’s too difficult for me to choose one city as my favorite. I could say New Orleans, Osaka, Japan, New York.. etc, all of which I’ve had incredible meals. My favorite thing about traveling anywhere is eating the local food, that’s always been my primary mission.                    

7. SPEAKING IN JUNK FOOD TERMS, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURE?

I love fast food, it’s terrible and I’m ashamed… I limit myself to eating garbage only once a week or so these days, and that could be anything from a Big Mac to Jack in the Box tacos.                     

8. WHICH THREE TUCSON RESTAURANTS DO YOU FREQUENT THE MOST, ASIDE FROM YOUR OWN?

Every other Saturday afternoon a friend of mine and I choose a place to eat lunch that neither of us have ever been to. Most recently, we dined at Tumerico, and we were both blown away! To create and execute vegan and vegetarian dishes that appeal to carnivores like myself is incredibly difficult. I have been obsessing about the meal I had there. Tucson has too many great local spots, that I enjoy, to list. This really is a great city to live in for food.

9. WITH A FIGURATIVE ELECTRIC CHAIR IN YOUR IMMEDIATE FUTURE, WHAT IS YOUR LAST MEAL?

If given the choice of my means of execution, I would choose a firing squad over the electric chair. In either event; my last meal would be: salad with fresh greens and Roquefort blue cheese, a two-pound porterhouse cooked mid-rare over mesquite with fresh horseradish root grated on top of it, baked potato with extra butter and sour cream, grilled corn on the cob, and rhubarb pie with a big glass of milk for dessert.

The Wooden Nickel Tavern is located at 1908 S. Country Club Rd. For more information, visit woodennickeltavern.com and follow Wooden Nickel on Facebook. When you buy the Immersion Blender, 6-in-1 Hand Blender through our links, we may earn a commission.