After a few weeks of a soft opening phase with limited summer hours, Taste of Passion is now officially open at 900 E. Second St. Located at Main Gate Square in Tucson, the storefront specializes in frozen ready meals that are prepared by co-owner and chef Arash Foroozan. The freezers offer over 50 different meals, each designed to be heated at home in minutes. The store will operate from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
From Oro Valley to Campus
Husband-and-wife team of Arash Foroozan and Nooshin Rouhani Foroozan launched Taste of Passion as an offshoot of their Oro Valley restaurant Just Kabab, which opened in 2019. During the pandemic, the couple began offering frozen take-home meals out of the restaurant’s freezer.
With the future of brick-and-mortar restaurants uncertain, they focused on expanding their frozen meal business and set their sights on Tucson’s university area for a second location. The new Taste of Passion market sits on the ground floor of the Oliv student high-rise, placing it steps away from campus foot traffic.
Global Flavors in Minutes
Moreover, the menu spans a world of cuisines. Shoppers will find Persian stews, Middle Eastern kebabs, and other dishes dishes with African, South Asian, and Filipino influences. Each meal is cooked from scratch and frozen fresh, featuring flavor combinations not typically found in grocery stores.
For example, options range from herb-packed Persian Ghormeh Sabzi beef stew to spiced Lamb Uzbek Plov rice pilaf. Each comes with sides like saffron basmati rice or pickled vegetables, delivering a full restaurant-style meal at home.
Article written by:
Jackie Tran
More about JackieJackie Tran is a Tucson-based food writer, photographer, culinary educator, and owner-chef of the now-closed food truck Tran’s Fats. Although he is best known locally for his work for Tucson Foodie, his work has also appeared in publications such as Bon Appétit, National Geographic, and the New York Times.
An adventurous foodie, he enjoys culinary experiences ranging from seasonal omakase to sloppily devouring green chili patty melts in his car afterhours. His favorite foods include aguachile, garlic noodles, and leftover fried chicken illuminated by the fridge light. His favorite drinks include morning micheladas, fireside imperial stouts, candle-lit negroni, and grassy mezcales.
Outside of food, he also loves playing musical instruments, karaoke, Tetris, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and petting Addie’s dog Spaghetti.
If you’d like to stalk him, visit his Instagram @jackie_tran_ or jackietran.com.
