Each week, we want to highlight one of our favorite restaurants in Tucson!
With Friday the 13th right around the corner, it seems fitting to chat about Hotel Congress — a historic downtown building that’s earned a few ghost stories since its opening in 1919.
If available, you can stay in rooms that are said to be haunted by “The Woman in the White Dress” and “The Victorian Gentleman,” just to name a couple of options.
The hotel has had a great run for 100+ years and you can count on the food to be top-notch each time you stop by.
The Cup Café is often considered a “Tucson institution” that welcomes locals and folks from all over the globe. It’s not uncommon to see musicians eating dinner before a show at Hotel Congress or The Century Room, or on-screen celebrities taking in a warm cup of coffee in the morning.
With a relatively unchanging menu, many of us have appreciated the minor tweaks and additions over the years. A personal favorite is the Cast Iron Eggs for breakfast — best enjoyed when sitting at the bar, mingling with the bartenders on the clock.
The café serves lunch and dinner, too, with seating indoors and outside on the patio with a view of Hotel Congress’ Plaza.
Since opening in 1990, The Cup Café has received several accolades, winning more than a handful of Tucson Weekly’s “Best of Tucson” awards. Just a few years ago, they were recognized nationally as a “Neighborhood Gem” by OpenTable.
Be sure to poke your head into Tiger’s Tap Room — a hotel bar named after Tom Ziegler, much more commonly known as Tiger, who started serving drinks at the bar in 1959. Hotel Congress changed the bar’s name to Tiger’s Tap Room to commemorate his 80th birthday a few years back.
Sonoran Restaurant Week 2024
The 10-day celebration of flavors is happening now until Sunday, September 15. The menus at each of the 80+ restaurants are discounted by 25%, offering limited-time meals at $15, $25, $35, $45, or $55.
The Cup Café is serving a three-course prix fixe menu for $35, featuring vegan tamales, smoked ribs, and cups of chili. Pay a visit to the historic hotel during Sonoran Restaurant Week to try the following menu!
Sonoran Restaurant Week Menu ($35)
(Available September 6 – 15)
First Course (choice of)
- Cup of chili
- Cup of Soup du Jour
- Hotel Salad – Baby Spinach, candied pecans, red onions, grapes, herb goat cheese crouton, and pomegranate vinaigrette
Second Course (choice of)
- Vegan Tamales – Local tamales, charred carrot corn salsa, beans, calabacitas, cashew poblano crema
- Mesquite-Smoked Ribs – half-rack mesquite house – smoked pork ribs, housemade barbecue sauce, green chile Mac and cheese, coleslaw
- Santa Cruz Flank Steak (eight ounces) – Santa Cruz chili- marinated flank steak, chimichurri vinaigrette, calabacitas, sweet potato chips
Third Course
- A special Sonoran Restaurant Week dessert (ask your server)
For more information, visit sonoranrestaurantweek.com.
The Cup Café is located inside the historic Hotel Congress at 311 E. Congress St. For more information, including menu and contact information, visit hotelcongress.com.
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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.
