|
What's New in Tucson
October 2008
Still Savory After All These Years. What makes a legend most? For Tucson's El Charro Café, being a legend means using your family's 86-year-old recipe for sun-dried beef when preparing your signature Carne Seca Plate. For this and other recipes that have stood the test of time, El Charro Café has been named a legend by Gourmet Magazine. In its October issue, the magazine lists El Charro as one of 20 "American Restaurant Legends" that have been going strong since before Gourmet debuted in 1941. El Charro, established in 1922, describes itself the oldest restaurant in Arizona under continuous family ownership. Its five Tucson locations include the original café downtown, which was profiled in Gourmet. More details are at http://www.elcharrocafe.com/.
Modern Upgrades for Historical Resorts. Two historical hotels in Tucson have completed improvement projects. The Westward Look Resort and Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort - located about five miles apart in Tucson's northern foothills - began as private homesteads that made the most of their Santa Catalina Mountain and Tucson valley views. Today, after extensive upgrades, the Westward Look's acclaimed meeting rooms now offer the most innovative technology, implemented as part of a $10 million renovation at the resort. Hacienda del Sol's award-winning restaurant, The Grill, recently reopened after a remodel that added an Exhibition Kitchen lounge area with new seating arrangements that provide diners with views of the kitchen staff at work. For more news about Westward Look, contact Susanna Minegishi at 520-882-6262. For details about upgrades at Hacienda del Sol, contact Stephanie Jerzy, 520-325-0940.
Frightfully Fun Walking Tour. Explore downtown Tucson after dark on a new walking tour, led by costumed guides, which is sure to send shivers down your spine. The Tucson Ghost Tour includes stops at well-known downtown landmarks said by old-timers to be haunted. You'll hear of the ghost of a man who still enjoys watching the plays onstage at the Fox Tucson Theatre; of the glowing apparitions in the Scottish Rite Building; and the many ghosts that have been seen and heard at Hotel Congress, the Pioneer Hotel, and the Historic Train Depot. The one-and-a-half-hour tour meets at 7 p.m., Thursdays through Mondays, at the Tucson Visitor Center in La Placita Village. Reservations are required. For more information on the Tucson Ghost Tour as well as the Old Bisbee Ghost Tours and Tombstone Ghost Tours, call Renee Gardner at 520-432-3308, or visit http://www.tucsonghosttour.com/.
Free Bike Valet at Street Fair. A free Bike Valet will be available to cyclists peddling to the Fourth Avenue Winter Street Fair, December 12-14. For the third year, the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association (FAMA) will provide a secure, gated area for bicycles, located near the Food Court at Seventh Street and Fourth Avenue. Ordinary Bikes, BICAS (Bicycle Inter Community Action and Salvage), and the City of Tucson Bike to Work program will monitor the area and also offer information about bicycling as transportation. The Winter Street Fair usually attracts 300,000 to 350,000 people. While there is plenty of street and lot parking, including several bus routes and a free shuttle from the Pennington Street Garage in downtown Tucson to the fair, FAMA says the Bike Valet demonstrates Fourth Avenue's support of "green" transportation. More information is available from FAMA at www.fourthavenue.org/fairs/.
Biosphere 2 Hosts Fall Lecture Series. Visitors to the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2 this fall will be able to get a science lecture with their tour of the giant controlled-environment research facility north of Tucson. The B2 Institute has begun its fall 2008 "Let's Talk Science" public lecture series. The general audience lectures, presented by noted UA faculty members, cover a number of topical issues in areas where the UA excels in research. The lectures on eight consecutive Saturdays, which began October 4 and continue through November 22, all start at 11 a.m. in the Biosphere 2 Theater. The November 1 lecture is on "Sustainable Energy." For details, visit http://www.b2science.org/, or call 520-838-6200
Giant Bronze Sculptures Downtown. Sculptor Curt Brill says great public art brings a sense of intimacy into public settings. The artist has an opportunity to test this theory at his latest exhibition, at Jacome Plaza in downtown Tucson, now through December 31. The exhibition features a series of monumental - some more than twice life-sized - figurative, bronze sculptures that Brill created using a complicated lost-wax process. This public art display is a joint exhibition of The Gallery at 6th & 6th and the City of Tucson Parks and Recreation department. For more information, contact Lauren Rabb at The Gallery at 6th & 6th, at 520-903-0650. See pictures of the sculptures at the Downtown Tucson Partnership Web site, http://www.downtowntucson.org./
Chic New Dining & Shopping. JaxKitchen is a new, chic bistro-style restaurant that has opened at the corner of Oracle and Ina Roads in northwest Tucson. The menu features "French-inspired comfort foods," such as in-house cured meats and handmade sausages, as well as more than 45 kinds of wine. Owners Brian and Sandy Metzger and Chef Addam Buzzalini bring many years of industry experience to their new venture. More details are at http://www.jaxkitchen.com/. A new store has opened at La Encantada shopping center. Shoppers will find a mélange of designer items - many never before available in Tucson - at The Pamela Laurence Collection. Owner Pamela Laurence, who is a well-known Feng Shui expert, describes her shop as "Tucson's premier gallery of fine art, decorative glass, crystal, porcelain, jewelry, evening bags and antiques." For further details, visit http://www.pamelalaurencecollection.com/.
Cool Weather & Fresh Produce. Autumn is perfect for a day trip to Willcox, 80 miles east of Tucson. Along with the cool weather comes an abundance of produce. At Apple Annie's Produce and Pumpkins, this is the season for sweet corn, melons, green beans, squash, field tomatoes, chiles, peppers, and more. Produce is available already picked, or you can pick your own right from the vine. Apple Annie's bakery, fudge kitchen, and gift shop are also open daily. Autumn's mild days also are luring Tucson shoppers to outdoor farmers' markets. One of the newest markets serves the campus crowd at University of Arizona's Main Gate Square, now through April. A list of area Farmers' Markets is available at www.VisitTucson.org/visitor/culinary/farmersmarkets. For a list of Willcox-area u-pick-it farms, visit www.willcoxchamber.com/upick.asp
Adobe Chapel Serves New Community. Tucson's Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood is celebrating the revitalization of the San Pedro Chapel after an intensive, four-year restoration effort. The 1,370-square-foot adobe chapel, built in 1932, originally served the Mexican community living in the area of "El Fuerte," or the Fort Lowell military post. The chapel served as the parish church and community center until 1948. It was made the first City of Tucson Landmark in 1982; in 1993 it was placed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Today, the charming landmark may be rented for weddings, parties, and other gatherings. For more information, call the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood Association, 520-318-0219.
Wish You Were Here. Send a free e-postcard from the city of purple mountains, billowing clouds, and prickly-pear cacti. Images of Tucson scenery are available free from the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau. Take a photo tour at www.visitTucson.org/visitor/gallery/.
# # #
|
