The Tucson food scene was once again packed with flavors and our taste buds were definitely rocked (in a good way) throughout this year’s Sonoran Restaurant Week (SRW).
New to the 10-day event this year were the Special Dinners! Multiple restaurants hosted one-night-only dining experiences during Sonoran Restaurant Week, making their menus even more exclusive for local diners.
“One of my favorite parts of Sonoran Restaurant Week is sitting down to peruse the menus and plan my attack,” said Addie Ibarra, Community Director at Tucson Foodie.
“Most of the Special Dinners sold out and many of the restaurants had double the traffic,” said Shane Reiser, Head Foodie at Tucson Foodie. “The city was alive!”
“I was excited about the new addition of the Special Dinners,” Ibarra added. “During the Feast dinner, Doug did an excellent job of pairing the wines with very creative dishes for example the duck confit with cacao nibs.”
If you missed out on some of the menus, there’s always next year. And if you’re curious, you can still explore them in our Guide to Sonoran Restaurant Week (take notes for which new-to-you restaurants you’d like to visit soon).
Those who did partake in the festivities are still reminiscing about the food they had the chance to taste.
“Flying V Bar & Grill’s vegan SRW menu hit all the right notes and kept things exciting from start to finish,” said Hannah Hernandez, Social Media Director at Tucson Foodie. “The Mexican street corn, watermelon ‘tuna’ aguachile, and wild mushroom tamales were unforgettable. Already looking forward to next year’s Sonoran Restaurant Week!”
“The best breakfast I had was at Buendia — way more food than I expected for $15,” said Reiser. “The best special dinner I went to was at The Coronet last night. It was a fully vegan dinner with paired NA cocktails — it blew everyone’s mind. I couldn’t decide which dish was best or which drink was best. That’s how good it was. Overall, the best SRW menu I had was at JoJo’s. The squash dish was amazing. They rolled it in sugar, seared it, and laid it on a bed of super rich dark chocolate mole.”
“Trocadero Cafe had an awesome menu with three options of starters and entrees to choose from such as tres leches chia seed pudding, machaca burritos, and quesabirria tacos,” Ibarra added. “My favorite experience had to be Terraza Garden Patio & Lounge at Hacienda del Sol. The hospitality I experienced was a prime example of why they have a Forbes designation. The value of the meal was stellar. An extra $10 for two glasses of Mexican wine? Absolute no-brainer.”
Stay tuned for next year’s 10-day celebration of Southern Arizona cuisine.
In the meantime, bookmark sonoranrestaurantweek.com.
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.
