The Tucson Festival of Books is returning to the University of Arizona on Saturday, March 9 – Sunday, March 10 and you better believe there’s going to be some yummy food to consider, too. I mean, you may as well feed your belly since your mind is being fed all sorts of knowledge from the visiting authors, right?
The Tucson Festival of Books is considered to be one of the largest fundraisers for the community and those in the culinary world benefit as well.
The local food vendors setting up at this year’s festival are listed below. Also, take a look at the online map to start planning your food adventure.
Participating Food Vendors
West Food Court
- Renee’s Organic Oven — booth 170 – Cheese and pepperoni pizza by the slice, hummus tostada, Greek salad, and Boulder Canyon chips
- Flora’s Market Run — booth 169 – Caesar salad, Flora’s animal-style burger, mac and cheese, chicken salad sandwich
- Beyond Bread — booth 162 – Half sandwiches, chips, cookies, muffins, and kid’s half peanut butter and jelly
- Asher JCC Café — booth 168 – Falafel, salads, and kosher hot dogs
- Frost Gelato — booth 167 – Gelato, sorbets, and gelato bars
- Tucson Tamale — booth 165 – Tamale plates and tamale salads
- Hot Bamboo — booth 164 – Handmade steamed buns created with a fluffy wheat dough and stuffed with filling variations such as the traditional Chinese-style barbecue pork, Japanese-style ground pork, teriyaki chicken, and tofu
- New Delhi Palace — booth 163 – Authentic dishes from all over India
Friends and Volunteers Dining Plaza
- Cow Pig — booth 189A – Burgers, sandos, chicken wings, and fries
- Zio Peppe — Booth 189B – Italian-American inspiration with the flavors of Southern Arizona
- Carnitas Los Reyes — Booth 189C – Carnitas tacos and Mexican food
Children’s Area
- Fresco Pizza — booth 320 – Pizza by the slice
Cherry Avenue Snack Area
- Spunlight Cotton Candy — booth 476 – Cotton candy spun fresh
- Frost Gelato — booth 466 – Gelato, sorbets, and gelato bars
- Kabob Shack — booth 478 – Fruit kabobs covered in chocolate
- Hawaiian Shaved Ice — booth 479 – Snow cones
- Hot Pops Kettle Corn — booth 477 – Kettle corn
Science City
- Country Lemonade — booth 508 – Lemonade and tea
- Dante’s Fire — booth 529 – Tacos, chicken Philly, monte cristo grilled cheese, and chicken alfredo mac and cheese.
- Sonoran Hotdogs — booth 530 – Sonoran dogs!
- Just Churros — booth 531 – Churros!
Drink
- Lemons on the Loose — booth 439 – Lemonade
- Jake’s Lemonade — booth 108 – Lemonade
- Transit Tea — booth 443 – Hand-crafted iced tea and chai made to order. Tea reimagined. Let your imagination run wild.
- Stacks Book Club — booth 243 – Espresso, tea, coffee-based drinks, and lotus-plant energy beverages
The Tucson Festival of Books takes place at the University of Arizona on the UA Mall. For more information, visit tucsonfestivalofbooks.org.
Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
