If you’ve been following Tucson Foodie for a while, you probably notice a lot of talk about restaurants. But, the original inspiration for Tucson Foodie was a sincere, passionate love for locally grown and raised food.
The word ‘local’ (as it pertains to food) gets thrown around a lot these days and it may be easy to dismiss it as some hipster or liberal movement or trend. The truth is that local food tastes better.
Just the other day, I was at Whole Foods. It was apricot season, and it’s nearly impossible to find good apricots any other time of year. It’s just as hard to find good apricots when they are in season, but Whole Foods always delivers.
This year, I became aware of the Red Apricot hybrid. These plump, juicy, delicious fruits are unlike anything you’ll get any other time of year. They’re amazing. But, a few boxes down from the Red Apricots were local peaches. They’re small. They’re kind of ugly. They look nothing like a big, round peach. But, these little, lovely, local peaches were even better than the Red Apricots.
With that said, there are only a handful of chefs in Tucson that understand this. One of those chefs is Zona 78’s Kevin Fink.
On August 13th and 14th from 5-10pm, Zona 78 and local magazine Edible Baja Arizona will feature a locally sourced farm to table dinner. Highlighted growers, ranchers, and artisan producers include:
- Five Sons Farm
- Walking J Farm
- Sleeping Frog Farms
- Hayden Flour Mills
- Fiore di Capra
- Ten Fifty-Five Brewing
- Whiskey Del Bac by Hamilton Distillers
- Iron John’s Brewing Company
- E & R Pork
- More to come
A number of tapas sized dishes will be available from $10 – $18 with a 5-course option available for $60.
- Salt Roasted Crooked Sky Sweet Potatoes with Fresh Chevre from Fiore di Capra, Wild Greens from Sleeping Frog Farms and Local Watercress and Beet Greens $10
- Creosote Panna Cotta, Wild Juniper Rye Crumb, Sleeping Frog Farm Roasted Beets, EVOO Poached Local Fennel, Beet Agrodolce, Our Garden’s Thai Basil $11
- Hayden Mills Farro Mafalda, Five Sons Lamb, Garden Mint, Walking J Pickled Onions and Sleeping Frog Fava Beans $16
- Five Sons and E & R Pork Chicharones. Lime Zest, Vinegar Powder, Chiltepin Dust $9
- Wild Yeast Sourdough Beignets: Crispy Local Kale Chip, Candied Ajo Rojo Garlic Chip, Seared Kale Dust $14
- Rotolo of San Rafael Beef made from White Sonoran Wheat with Wild Desert Herbs Sauce, Walking J Zinnia Flowers and Onion Petals, Native Seed Chili Vinegar $18
- Noel Patterson’s Beeswax, Fior di Capra Cave Aged Goat, Brioche of Sonoran White Wheat, Fiore di Capra Brown Butter, Roasted Local Nuts, Garden Oxalis $13
- Desert Kimchi, Roasted Local Berkshire Pork, Other Stuff $16
- Arizona Ramen: Fermented Maggie’s Mushrooms, Five Sons Farm Perfect Egg, Red Waddle Pork Belly, Pickled Maggie’s Mushrooms, Pickled Local Vegetables, Local Pork Broth, Blue Beard Durum Noodles $16
- Blue Beard Durum Pappardelle: Walking J Cherry Tomatoes, Ajo Rojo Garlic, Sarah Farms Stracciatella, Garden Basil, Fiore di Capra Cultured Butter $15
- San Rafael Valley Kansas City Strip, Hayden Mills Polenta, Mushrooms in Keeling Schaefer Wine, Wild Rosemary $28
- E & R Local Berkshire Pork Chop, Pickled Cherries, Geoff’s Mom’s Lemon Verbena & Thyme, Sleeping Frog Farm Georgia Southern Collard Greens, Whiskey Del Bac and Cherry Sauce. $26
- Five Sons Farm Rack of Lamb or Porterhouse of Lamb, Confit of Crooked Sky Farm Eggplant, 12-Hour Tomatoes, Queen Creek Olives, Hayden Mills Chickpea and Parsley Puree $28
- Arizona Antipasti: House cured Guanciale, Salami, Local Eggplant, Wilcox Apple Jam, Candied Local Nuts, Tucson Artisan Bread $12
- Hayden Mills Roasted Chickpeas, Raw Corn, Cilantro, Garden Thai Basil & Italian Basil, Fermented Local Tomatoes, 6 month aged Zona 78 Lardo $13
Zona 78 is located at 7301 E. Tanque Verde Rd. More information is available by calling Zona 78 at (520) 296-7878 or visit them on the web http://zona78.com/. The Seed & Sow Event page is on Facebook.
