FOOD & DRINK

Blue Moon Community Garden

September 29, 2013 |

Blue Moon Community Garden.
photo: Gina Chorover

Blue Moon Community Garden is a jewel among gardens. It is an award-winning garden, is completely accessible to disabled gardeners, it boasts a water harvesting system, and it is located next to Tucson House, a high rise apartment building for low-income, handicapped, and elderly residents.

Situated at 1501 N. Oracle Rd., near the Oracle and Drachman intersection, Blue Moon exists in a “food desert,” miles from grocery stores. The garden can provide neighborhood gardeners with high quality fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

The garden is unique because it has cement block raised beds, “table” beds, and the traditional ground-level beds, according to Blue Moon coordinator Dorothy Weichbrod.

“The table beds are made for the wheel-chair bound. Beds are raised for varying degrees of disability,” she adds. “The beds have a special width that makes it possible to reach into the middle of the bed. The centers of the beds are deep where root plants can be grown, and around the border is for plants with shallower roots like lettuce.”

Everyone in the neighborhood is welcomed to have a plot at Blue Moon, but most of the plots are currently being used by residents of Tucson House. Water harvesting is one of the features at Blue Moon. There is a 15,000 gallon water cistern on site, from which the beds are irrigated.

Weichbrod says that the fee for a bed, including irrigation, is set according to income. Currently the fee schedule is $6, $12 or $18 each month. “The $6 and $12 plots are funded by scholarships raised by the Community Gardens of Tucson’s Board (of Directors).” CGT provides scholarships to low-income gardeners who apply for all of Tucson’s community gardens.

Blue Moon Community Garden developed as part of the City of Tucson’s Oracle Area Revitalization, according to Gina Chorover, a lead urban planner for the City and also chair of the Community Gardens of Tucson. The area was identified as a food desert, says Chorover, by the Drachman Institute at the University of Arizona.

At that time, “the nearest grocery store was several miles away and a large percentage of people in the area did not have access to a vehicle. Bus service also stopped early on weekdays, preventing people from easily getting to the grocery store.”

Project funding for the garden came from a grant, a University of Arizona Landscape Architecture studio class developed the concept, and Norris Design of Tucson designed the garden which opened in March 2012.

Chorover says the garden has won two awards already. “The first is from the Arizona Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the design, and a second award is from the State Housing office. And I just heard we have won a third award from another housing agency.” She adds, “The garden has been a wonderful success in terms of the participation by the Tucson House residents. We would like more participation from the surrounding neighborhood.”

The garden’s coordinator, Dorothy Weichbrod, also has a plot. “I’m in transition now. I have tomatoes, okra, basil, oregano, jalapeno, and eggplant. But I’m emptying the bed, and I’m planning to plant beets, onions, garlic, Swiss chard, spinach, and sweet potatoes. I’m producing food for my use and to share. My garden plot keeps me in organic food, and it brings my food bill down. I enjoy gardening.”

What does Blue Moon Community Garden need now?  “Volunteers” is Weichbrod’s answer. “We just had a group of 16 engineering students from the University of Arizona, a group called Engineers without Borders, who weeded the garden. They worked hard!

“The difference between our garden and others is that we have landscaping and an orchard. The participants have limitations. We don’t have the manpower to take care of landscaping. We still need composting done.” Helping the disabled gardeners is always welcome at Blue Moon Community Garden.

“My main job as I see it,” Weichbrod adds, “is to build community with the people we have, to communicate with each other, to have a newsletter. We welcome everyone.”

To learn more about Tucson’s community gardens, visit CommunityGardensofTucson.org.

 

 

Eggplant Curry

September 28, 2013 |

“Raga” Indian eggplants
photo: CJ Shane

Eggplant is our featured veggie for October!

This lovely plant with its gray-green leaves and lavender blossoms comes in several varieties that produce eggplants in different shapes and colors. The most familiar are the large deep purple varieties known as aubergine in Europe. There’s also the Japanese elongated purple variety, Indian reddish-purple eggplants, and white eggplants that range in size from an egg to a tennis ball.

The first eggplants introduced to North America were the white varieties which lead to the name “egg” plant. Eggplants are tropical vegetables that thrive in the heat if they are helped with mulch and a weekly deep soaking. The plants are heavy producers that go until the first frost.

Eggplant Curry

¼ c. canola oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbls. minced garlic
1 onion sliced
3-4 cups of eggplant chopped into bite-sized chunks
1 serrano chili (remove seeds)
1 tsp coriander
1 can (14-15 oz) diced tomatoes
¼ cup water
¼ tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add mustard seeds and cumin until mustard seeds pop. Add sliced onions and minced garlic. Stir occasionally until onions are clear and begin to brown. Add eggplant and fry until skin begins to soften. Add chopped chili, coriander, diced tomatoes, water, garam masala, salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium low and cook until eggplant is soft and sauce thickens. Serve over rice.

Brewing History in a Sour Environment

September 15, 2013 |

The original Gentle Ben’s in 1991 while under construction.
photo courtesy Dennis & Tauna Arnold

The abundance of beer brands and styles available for us to choose from today is staggering, and the success of the craft beer industry is nothing less than a remarkable story of American ingenuity.

According to the Brewers Association, as of March 2013, there were 2,416 breweries in the United States, of which 2,360 are small, independent craft breweries. Arizona is home to 44 craft breweries, with more preparing to open.

If one could only travel back in time to Arizona’s territorial days, it would be interesting to bring back Alexander Levin – the first brewer to embark on brewing beer commercially in Arizona – to get his reaction to the state of today’s beer industry.

Levin was a Prussian-born and trained brewer who, at 30 years of age in 1864, established the Pioneer Brewery in the dust-laden settlement of Tucson.

Unlike today’s brewers, who have all the provisions and resources for starting a brewery available virtually at their fingertips, Levin built his brewery with limited means in a nearly impossible environment for supporting a brewery at a time when the science of brewing beer was not fully understood. Water and raw materials were scarce, artificial refrigeration had not yet been devised, hops – not a native crop in Arizona – was imported from other regions and pure yeast cultures were virtually unattainable. The crushing, malting and roasting of the grain was accomplished manually by sight and feel over long hours of back-breaking work.

This was at a time when pasteurization had not yet been discovered and ice, if available, came only on a seasonal basis. Therefore, Levin’s beer did not travel well prior to the 1880s. Completion of the railroad was still a thing of the future so he delivered his beer in kegs and bottles by wagon across treacherous terrain to various military forts and mining camps.

Park Brewery ad from an 1881 Tucson City Directory.
Image courtesy Ed Sipos

The finished beer was at best served at room temperature or worse. What level of sanitation was used during brewing is unknown. It was likely inconsistent from one batch to the next and, because of exposure to airborne wild yeast strains and bacteria during fermentation, was likely sour.

Dennis Arnold, the owner of Gentle Ben’s and Barrio Brewing Company in Tucson, concludes, “The odds of brewing a beer (under Levin’s conditions) that somebody today would drink here in southern Arizona are infinitesimal.”

Levin’s brewery had its limitations, but it surely improved over time and quite possibly achieved brewing a quality beer prior to its closing in 1886.

Advancements in brewing science, technology, and completion of the railroads in the Arizona Territory, led to beer with a longer shelf life being shipped in at an alarming rate by the 1880s.

Consequently Anheuser-Busch, Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz, Lemp, and others, began to distribute beer nationwide. They, and many more like them, became behemoths in the industry while smaller regional breweries either fell by the wayside or were gobbled up by larger entities.

Primarily after World War II, a mindset was set in place dictating the size of a brewery as the determining factor to its success. Advertising budgets for the largest American breweries increased exponentially, leading to a handful of breweries controlling the market. As a result, crystal clear premium light beer became the top seller and by the 1970s and 1980s, some rightfully claimed beer had largely become uninteresting. Beers with a more complex character were primarily available from specialty stores or foreign markets.

Thankfully, there were some individuals who sought to change the direction of the brewing industry. Individuals like Fritz Maytag, who managed to save one of the few small breweries under threat of closure, purchased the century old Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco in 1965 so it could continue its brewing tradition of producing unique beers.

Then in 1974, a small number of beer enthusiasts rekindled the art of home brewing by launching the country’s first home brew club, the Maltose Falcons. Two years later, the New Albion Brewery in Sonoma, California became the first microbrewery to open in the U.S., at a time when British beer journalist Michael Jackson began a writing crusade that espoused the finer points of beer styles.

Arizona joined the craft beer renaissance in 1987, when the state legislature passed two laws that allowed microbreweries and brewpubs to sell their own beer. Electric Dave’s Brewing Company was established in Bisbee in 1988, a few months after Bandersnatch opened in Tempe. The first microbrewery in Tucson was the short-lived Southwest Brewing Company, which operated from 1988 to 1990.

In 1991, Arnold opened Gentle Ben’s Brewing Company of Tucson. He built his brew house in Tijuana, Mexico because stainless steel was cheaper. He had zero brewing experience and virtually “faked it” going in, but succeeded because of a little ingenuity and a lot of business savvy.

He admits upon opening, “It was a catastrophe. The beers were really bad… (but) the food was great because my ability was to cook.” He continued, “If I were to do the same thing today that I did then, I would have been out of business in six weeks.”

Some of the flash-in-the-pan breweries that closed within a short time period in Tucson during the 1990s include River Road, Habaneros, Breckenridge and Pusch Ridge. Veterans such as Barrio, Thunder Canyon and Nimbus offer an example to newbies of what it takes to continue in the long run.

Tristan White and Eric Greene at Dragoon Brewery.
photo courtesy Eric Greene

The Address Brewing Company, Dragoon, Borderlands and Ten 55 Brewing Company represent the newest lineup of breweries in Tucson. They, along with Sentinel Peak Brewing Company, which is under construction, in many ways have a leg up to their predecessors because of the groundwork the early breweries provided.

Inevitably, however, the craft beer industry will change as its predecessors have throughout history, especially since the giants in the industry have taken notice and joined the fray, and consumer tastes continue to evolve. For now, we should simply enjoy the ever-growing variety of beer styles, and if you are a little adventurous, sours.

Flemish Red, Lambic, Gueuze. These beer types may sound alien to the average person, but I bet if you were to pony up to the bar of any establishment specializing in craft beer today, there is a chance you might run across one of these sour beer styles and even spark conversation with someone familiar with them.

Sour styles were, up until recently, Belgian brewed and not available in the United States. Historically, the process which contributes the tart element in the beer happened when the wort cooled and was left exposed to the open air where fermentation occurred spontaneously. Wild Lactobacillus and the Pediococcus bacteria, as well as Brettanomyces yeasts, contribute to the acidic, “funky” off flavors and aromas.

Recently in Tucson, Dragoon brewed a Berliner-Style Weisse, and Borderlands offered a Gose, a sour style that originated in Leipzig, Germany and a non-traditional sour ale called Jasmine Sour.

Those who enjoy sour beers relish their complex and engaging tart flavors and aromas. However, the sometimes “barnyard-like” like comparisons may not suit all palates. Brewing sours can also be risky because – if not properly controlled during the process – yeast strains, especially Brettanomyces, can cross-contaminate and ruin other beers because of the yeast’s ability to survive in low nutrient environments.

Who would have ever guessed ten years ago that sour beer, similar to what Levin may have inadvertently brewed, and brewers for decades meticulously tried to avoid, is gaining popularity among today’s local brewers. Levin just might feel right at home.

Ed Sipos is a past president of the A-1 Chapter of the Brewery Collectibles Club of America and has been the editor of the A-1 Chapter’s newsletter, the Can-o-Gram, for more than fifteen years. He has written extensively for Beer Can & Brewery Collectibles Magazine and is author of  the upcoming book “Brewing Arizona: A Century of Beer in the Grand Canyon State.” Sipos has a book release celebration on Saturday, November 2 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Barrio Brewery, 800 E. 16th St.

Crafting AZ Libations & Pub Fare

September 5, 2013 |

Good Oak Bar, opening night

The Good Oak Bar Opens on Congress Street.

The Good Oak Bar is now a reality. Up until a few days ago, the space on Congress – between the new Diablo Burger and the established Rialto Theatre – was still being completed, and was gloriously punctuated by the scent of oak dust. Fittingly, since the name Good Oak bar comes from Gary Nabhan’s interpretation of Arizona’s namesake: the Basque words “aritz onac,” for “place of the good oak,” which became garbled into “Arizona,” and in like fashion you too can garble your words at the Good Oak Bar.

The cozy corners have taken shape and the bar front and vestibule are fashioned from reclaimed wood, roughly 70-years-old, saved from some buildings previously on the Northern Arizona University campus. Derrick Widmark brought the Diablo Burger concept from Flagstaff to Tucson this summer to expand the connections between the local culture and the local foodsheds in Arizona, and with the Good Oak Bar he’s ready to take that idea a step further with what he calls “local foods based pub fare.

“The idea is to broaden our local food footprint and use the palate of pub fare to open up our relationships with local farmers and ranchers,” Widmark explains. With a tight but variable menu based off pub standards like shepherd’s pie or a classic pulled pork sandwich, Good Oak can accommodate the variety of meats and heirloom foods that producers bring to the table. “And maybe some folks will have to come in and sip a pint while they look at the blackboard specials,” Widmark quips.

At the heart of Good Oak is a rotating selection of Arizona beers curated by Blake Collins, the home-brew prodigy turned master brewer for Borderlands. The wine cellar is commanded by Kassie Killebrew, who also concocts beer and wine based cocktails for the more spirit-inclined. As an example, Widmark describes a dream in a glass: imagine fresh peaches from Sleeping Frog Farms, muddled in a light summer beer with a spritz of seltzer.

“Refreshing and local,” Widmark describes, “that’s what we’ll try to do. I think the idea is to give people an option who wouldn’t normally drink just beer or wine, but it also further defines the craftiness of the bar.”

Good Oak Bar, opening night

Widmark says that “with the narrowness of its focus, Good Oak has an opportunity to create a craft wine destination that’s bold and unique,” and parenthetically he adds, “without trying too hard to be either of those things.” The hardest thing Widmark is trying to do, it turns out, is create the kind of bar that deserves to be on Congress, next to the historic Rialto Theatre.

In the interceding time between opening Diablo Burger this summer and now following it with Good Oak, “it’s given me more time to think about, ‘what kind of bar does Tucson want in that space?’” In the light of a tongue-in-cheek discussion to “Keep Tucson Shitty,” Widmark says that “I was drawn to Tucson because of the same qualities of authenticity and character that are being discussed there. I value that sense of place, and I’m committed to trying to deliver that in a heartfelt and unpretentious way.”

And so, here it is: comfort food and libations with a Tucson and Arizona focus. The finishing touches to the bar include an original section of Old Pueblo Trolly track salvaged during Tucson’s streetcar construction, and a giant “Tucson” mural, spelled backwards as if you were standing behind a classic building sign. As for an authentic sense of place, Widmark says that he’s discovered one of the original tenants of the space he’s inherited, the Sunshine Climate Club of Tucson. He’s created a homage to the club that you’ll see as soon as you walk in the door.

Good Oak Bar is now open at 4pm everyday at 316 E. Congress St. Find Good Oak Bar under the locations tab at DiabloBurger.com.

Sunshine Climate Club, Tucson, Arizona

Artistic Homage to the Suds

September 4, 2013 |

“The Pour House” by Mel Dominguez
Mixed media on found wood

“We should do a beer art show,” Nathan Saxton declared at Borderlands Brewing Company about a year ago. “Everyone laughed,” Saxton recounts, “and then, everyone kind of looked at each other and said, ‘We should do a beer art show!’”

So the planning began, and the Beer-Flavored Art Show was born.

“It’s been in various stages for almost a year,” says Saxton, proprietor of Borealis Arts Custom Framing and this exhibit’s curator. Saxton culled together artists through a general announcement, but many of the pieces were acquired by contacting people he had worked with for previous exhibits – specifically shows he produced that celebrated the sports of bicycling and soccer through artistic renderings.

Admittedly, Saxton said via email, he tends to organize art shows around his personal interests. “I love bicycles, so I started an annual exhibit of bicycle-themed posters every November. Soccer is another passion of mine, so I produce a similar show for my fellow soccer fanatics in February. I like beer, so an art show about that just seemed like the natural thing to do!”

And, naturally, the best locales to host a beer-themed art show are at local breweries. Approximately 25 pieces will be hung between Borderlands Brewing Company, 119 E. Toole Ave., and Thunder Canyon Brewery, 220 E. Broadway Blvd.

“Both Borderlands and Thunder Canyon have shown themselves to be strong supporters of the arts and community in general,” Saxton explains, and further explicates that he has been curating the art at Thunder Canyon Brewery since this May and at Borderlands Brewing Company for about a year.

“We’re confident in his taste,” says Mike Mallozzi, co-owner of Borderlands Brewing. “We met because Nathan’s framing shop (Borealis Arts) was next door. We always wanted to have local art, and it was a chance to work with him; it made sense because he is already involved in the art community.”

Anyone who really understands brewing and brewers knows that crafting beer is a combination of art, science, passion and dedication. It isn’t that much different than the processes an artist goes through to produce their creations.

“Will Skate for Beer” screenprint by Rich Rogowski

Saxton’s exhibit statement fleshes out the concept: “Have you ever had a chance to meet a brewer of beer? If not, I strongly recommend you seek one out. You’ll find him or her to be one of the most creative, passionate, articulate and intelligent people around. Have you ever had a chance to meet an artist? You’ll find that an artist almost always shares those some qualities. It is partly for this reason that I created The Beer-Flavored Art Show: to pay homage to the creations of a brewmaster through the creations of an artist.

“Another fascinating aspect of this show is that the approaches to creating art are as diverse as the varieties of beer. This show includes very inexpensive prints, stencils and larger paintings, so that just as there is a beer for all tastes, we are hopefully providing art for all tastes.”

This show will no doubt provide art for all tastes, as the current line-up of artists (as of press time) include: Devin Acadiz, Timothy Avila, Tracey Brown, Mel Dominguez, Matt McCoy, Joe Marshall, Joe Pagac, Rich Rogowski and, the curator himself, Nathan Saxton.

The exhibit shall include pieces that were previously made by some the artists and other work created specifically for this themed show. Although there “will be print runs at both venues, some (of the art) will be original work only available at one or the other venue,” Saxon elucidates.

“Each venue is going to have its own opening night ‘gimmick.’ Thunder Canyon will host New Belgium Brewing offering promotions and Borderlands will have growlers painted by local artists on sale.

“Opening night will be the most interesting night to attend,” Saxton intones, because, in addition to the aforementioned, there will also be “tee-shirts and limited run pint glasses with the show’s logo.”

Besides, having the event split between the two breweries encourages people to meander through Downtown to enjoy all of what is happening during 2nd Saturdays on Sept. 14, especially since the venues are a mere five to ten-minute walk from each other, depending on your speed.

The Beer-Flavored Art Show opens on Saturday, Sept. 14, 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Details can be found at BorealisArts.com or by emailing borealisart@mac.com.

 

A Desert Twist on Caribbean Cocktails & Cuisine

September 3, 2013 |

by Emily Gindlesparger, photos by Andrew Brown

Stepping across the threshold of Saint House is like entering a private club in the heydays of Havana. The lighting is low, the booths are plush and the rum list – 40 labels strong – seems straight from a private collection. Decorating the high walls above the bar is a local stamp on this otherwise Caribbean locale. Artist Gonzalo Morales has painted a mural in three pieces, swirling figures that get more fascinating after every drink.

“If you spend time looking at it you’re going to discover the different shapes and forms,” Morales explains of the work. “On the second or third drink, just look at the art. It’s there to entertain the people who come.”

Against the dark walls of the rum house, Morales’ bright canvas colorfully pops in the light with yellow, magenta, green and purple hues. In a unique artistic twist, the mural is done in watercolor, a medium normally reserved for fine paper, but in Saint House, Morales has splashed it across his gesso-primed board.

“I was thinking of the Caribbean Sea, the colors and the jungle; I was thinking of Miami, and I made bright colors to match the restaurant. What inspired me was the Caribbean, and when you see the design on the wall you’ll see the waves.”

The signature drink here, even in the midst of a creative palate, is the simple daiquiri: rum, sugar and lime. And each spirit poured into this simple cocktail creates a wildly different experience.

“We carry a lot of rum because rum is the most diverse spirit in the world, and in some ways the most misunderstood,” explains Nicole Flowers and Travis Reese, co-owners who began their downtown ventures with 47 Scott and Scott & Co.

Rum is constantly pegged as sweet and syrupy – not surprising with its foundation in sugarcane – but as Saint House proves, there are styles and flavors from all over the world to be explored. On every table sits a little yellow chapbook titled The Book of Rum, and in it 17 countries are represented: from Brazil to Java with many islands in between.

Each environment and distillation produces a different signature. The Mount Gay Eclipse Gold from Barbados is fruity and bright, with an aftertaste of sucking on a chip of coconut, whereas the Rhum Clement Agricole from Martinique is described as “grassy and wild” in the restaurant’s Book of Rum, and it’s both spunky and distinguished. Those two terms could describe so much about the experience of Saint House, which has such clean-cut styling that’s still faintly reminiscent of The Great Gatsby, with snappy servers and hostesses who coordinate the party.

Woven into this tropical diversity is a little taste of Sonora. From the Vicious Virgin #3, based on Bacanora and grapefruit, to the shrimp ceviche styled with pico and clamato and Caribbean-inspired tacos, local ties thread through this restaurant right where it belongs, Downtown on the corner of Congress Street and Arizona Avenue.

Saint House is located at 256 E. Congress St. Call 207-7757 or visit SaintHouseRumBar.com for hours, menus and more details.

A Townie’s Guide to Summer in Tucson

July 3, 2013 |

Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl

The dog days of summer in sweltering Southern Arizona separate the meek from the mighty like no other natural phenomena. Many quickly depart for cooler climes. The rest of us adopt adaptive techniques like nocturnal workouts and midday siestas. For those who stick around through triple-digit temps, the dramatic population reduction is a boon. No lines to get in anywhere on Fourth Avenue. Quiet neighborhoods with apartments on hold until fall.

Let the snowbirds and students flee to San Diego. Get going? In this town when the going gets tough, the tough stay put. Since we can stand the heat, we don’t have to get out of the kitchen. Here’s what’s cooking in Tucson this season.

At the Tucson Botanical Gardens, summer means the return of their Twilight Third Thursdays series showcasing visual art alongside complimentary live musical performance. On July 18 from 5-8 pm the work of Tucson artists David Kish and Holly Swangtu will be displayed, with the tunes provided by Bisbee indie folk duo Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl. August 15 sees local rockers The Cordials and painter/printmaker C.J. Shane featured in the idyllic outdoor oasis at 2150 N. Alvernon Way. Admission is $9 for adults and $5 for children; food, face painting, Isabella’s Ice Cream and a cash bar will all be available. See membership discounts and details at TucsonBotanical.org.

For the younger set, summer brings free entertainment in the form of Loft Kids Fest (the event formerly known as the Tucson International Children’s Film Festival). Kickoff festivities at Trail Dust Town on Friday, July 19 at 5:30 pm include trick roping by lariat artist Loop Rawlins, followed by a screening of his short The Adventures of Loop & Rhett. Trail Dust Town’s homage to the Old West can be found at 6541 E. Tanque Verde Rd.

Then each day at 10 am from July 20 to 28, family favorites such as Matilda and Shrek will grace nonprofit The Loft Cinema’s big screen at 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Arrive early for groovy giveaways, super surprises and pre-show hijinks hosted by Mildred & Dildred Toy Store! LoftCinema.com has the full Loft Kids Fest film schedule. Crave more air-conditioned independent arthouse goodness? Catch the award-winning Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home for free at The Loft on Tuesday, July 23 at 7 pm.

For over a decade we heard the calls for revitalization and watched as downtown struggled to get started. Fast forward to today, and Congress Street is humming with activity any night of the week. At the Historic Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., check out New Jersey third wave ska band Streetlight Manifesto on July 3, finely-aged punkers Rancid on July 23 or LA indie rock outfit Cold War Kids on August 18. Club Congress across the street welcomes 1980s alternative rock icons Camper Van Beethoven on July 23. Eateries such as Hub Restaurant and Ice Creamery, 266 E. Congress St., and Empire Pizza & Pub at 137 E. Congress St. have rightfully become popular enough that reservations may be advisable even during the slow summer months. Both of these establishments’ excellent reputations are well-earned.

From August 14 to 18, the Tucson Audubon Society invites any and all birders to investigate our sky islands and riparian zones for ornithological rarities. The third annual Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival is an opportunity for nature lovers nationwide to participate in workshops, programs and field trips all celebrating the Sonoran Desert region’s astonishing biodiversity. Festival headquarters will be at the Arizona Riverpark Inn, 350 S. Freeway. Register online at TucsonAudubon.org.

Indulging oneself for a good cause is always a win-win; thus the 2013 Salsa & Tequila Challenge. A $40/person ticket price benefits the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance as well as the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. The question is, are you up for it? There’ll be as many as fifty tequila-based mixed drink and menu pairings presented by area chefs with bragging rights at stake, plus creative salsa concoctions galore, so you may want to begin training. The competition takes place at La Encantada shopping center, 2905 E. Skyline Dr., on Saturday, August 24 at 5:30 pm with winning tequilas and salsa announced the same evening. Purchase tickets online at SAACA.org or by telephone at (520) 797-3959 ext. 1.

At Main Gate Square near the University of Arizona, the annual summer exodus leaves behind only the most determinedly heat-resistant portion of the student body. This sturdiest of breeds knows that Irish pub and restaurant The Auld Dubliner, 800 E. University Blvd., continues their happy hour drink specials even during the hottest months. Entertainment at Geronimo Plaza next door comes courtesy of the Friday Night Live! concert series, which on July 5 features the jazzy Butch Diggs & Friends and on July 19 cabaret crooner Heather O’Day. MainGateSquare.com lists current merchant specials.

Longtime residents are familiar with Mt. Lemmon’s charms; day trips to the Catalinas have cooled many a hyperthermic Tucsonan over years past. During recent summers a pleasant scene emerged, with smiling and dancing folk flocking to a big white tent each weekend to simultaneously appreciate local bands and the Coronado National Forest. Music on the Mountain, as it was called, brought thousands of visitors following 2003’s destructive Aspen Fire. Following a year off, the tradition now continues with Top Dead Center on July 27 and Stefan George on August 17 among others. Bring a chair and enjoy the fresh air free of charge! Find the fun each Saturday afternoon from 12:30-4:30 pm at 12901 N. Sabino Canyon Parkway up in Summerhaven (so named for good reason).

De Anza Drive-In may be history, but Tucson’s love affair with watching movies outdoors continues. Cinema La Placita’s longest-running classic-movies-under-the-stars series screens an older Hollywood gem for $3 admission each Thursday evening at 7:30 pm through August. That price includes popcorn, and the courtyard setting at 110 S. Church Ave. is ideal for canoodling. Cinema La Placita will also show a film at 7:30 pm on Saturday, July 13 as part of the month’s Second Saturdays Downtown celebration. Visit CinemaLaPlacita.com for more information.

That’s not all that’s afoot in Tucson this summer. Science Sundays at the Children’s Museum Tucson, 200 S. 6th Ave., are a chance for the little ones to explore hands-on educational exhibits at a discount. Admission is only $2 every Sunday through August; plan your visit at ChildrensMuseumTucson.org. For a flashback, try Flandrau Planetarium’s “Dark Side of the Moon” laser light show on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 pm. The on-campus facility at 1601 E. University Blvd. also offers educational programs like “Exploring Saturn’s Mysteries” and “Tucson Sky Tonight.” Flandrau.org has details.

Above ground kiddie pool: $11.99. Ten-pound bag of ice: $1.79. Summer in Tucson: priceless.

Quench your thirst at Tap + Bottle

July 2, 2013 |

Tap + Bottle soft opening. In its first week of business, T&B went through 46 kegs of beer. Photo by Andrew Brown.

You’d swear there is a brewery or vineyard out back at Tap + Bottle, 403 N. 6th Avenue.

Though they don’t brew beer or tend to grapes, owners Rebecca and Scott Safford are playing right into the turn of the century ambiance firmly in place at their newly opened beer and wine tasting room and bottle shop.

You’ll find exposed brick walls and original wood flooring dating back to when Tucson had maybe 10,000 inhabitants. And now, a spacious bar, beer glasses and growlers on metal shelves, a giant chalkboard menu, and a 10-foot long community table grace the restored building. The Tap + Bottle logo is on the brick wall, appearing as if it’s been there for 100 years. The top half of the logo, created by Dennis Fesenmyer at Fezlab, looks like a keg and the bottom half like a bottle cap.

“This is our beer baby,” says Rebecca, the Safford who you’ll most likely find working at Tap + Bottle. “We got the idea of doing this while traveling up and down the West Coast and in Colorado. We discovered a lot of bottle shops where you can purchase craft beer bottles for take out or stay and drink them on the spot.”

Having opened in late June, Tap + Bottle is a bar but not really a bar. No hard liquor, just beer and wine – on tap and also available by the bottle (or can) to take home. With nearly 400 varieties of bottled beer and 20 tap beers, the concept is clear. Provide an impressive inventory of harder to find beers from around the country and world, add a local feel in an historic setting, and Tap + Bottle becomes a one-of-a-kind destination in Tucson.

The 20 craft beers on tap continually rotate out, some on a daily basis. Two kegs are always “on deck” ready to be tapped once a line opens up. One cask condition beer is also available. The beer goes into the cask flat and the beer’s yeast creates the carbonation. Other elements can be added to the cask such as orange peel or blueberry. In the future, they hope to convince local Tucson breweries to brew one-off varieties just for Tap + Bottle.

While they do an excellent job of celebrating beer, they also feature six wines on tap – three red and three white. Their bottled wine section includes over 70 choices.

Don’t expect to find Tap + Bottle within the 4th Avenue or Congress Street bar scene. It’s just north of the 6th Avenue underpass, which is not exactly a spot screaming location, location, location.

“We’re totally one block off,” Rebecca says. “We want to be something different. We’ve watched Borderlands Brewing and EXO Roasting closely. Nearby, they’ve created their own culture and scene without being in the middle of it all.”

Tap + Bottle shares a building with EXO and Old Market Inn Tile Shop. Old Market tile decorates the restroom and denotes the street addresses for all three businesses.

Rebecca and Scott Safford. Photo by Andrew Brown

It makes sense how Rebecca and Scott got into the beer and wine business. They met at the Tap Room at Hotel Congress and live at the Ice House Lofts near Barrio Brewing.

“We grew into it together with our love of beer and love of learning about beer and wine,” she says. “We both did Cicerone wine certification training. We studied together. We talked about it a lot. It really did happen together. It was not one person saying I love beer and now you have to love beer, too.”

As expected, this is a true joint venture in beer proficiency right down to their chalkboard menus detailing not just the beer, brewery and price but also specifying IBU and ABV values (International Bitterness Units and Alcohol by Volume – the percent alcohol). Flip their branded coasters over and you’ll find beer tasting note sheets to mark down sweetness, bitterness, hoppiness, and on the wine coaster, intensity, body, flavors and hue.

Rebecca and Scott are nose-to-nose about having nine different glasses for beer and a stemless tumbler for the wine. Depending on which glass best suits a given beer, you will get your brew in English pub, Belgian or “Munique” glasses in sizes ranging from 10.5  to 23 ounces. Get the right curves in the glass for the right beer and drinking becomes all about aromatics and smell along with the taste.

“It starts with what not to serve it in,” Scott says. “We say, be good to the beer.”

For those less concerned with stemware and more oriented toward take out or volume, you can buy 4-pint and 2-pint Tap + Bottle growler bottles to take along and for later refills.

Like at EXO Roasting, where they offer coffee tastings by flights, you can sample a flight of four 5-ounce beers at Tap + Bottle. Well-briefed employees happily detail any of the nuances.

Not just anybody works at Tap + Bottle. The Safford application process resembles a college essay exam. They’re less concerned with where you’ve worked, your references or your record. Where potential employees score their points is with answering application questions such as “What is your favorite style of beer and why?” and “What do you believe is the most overrated beer and why?”

“We want to hear how they explain it,” says Rebecca.

With a plethora of beer and wine tasting options at Tap + Bottle, some friendly guidance from the staff sounds just about right.

 Tap + Bottle is open from 11 am to 11 pm  Monday to Thursday, 11 am to midnight Friday and Saturday, and noon to 6 pm Sunday. Find them online at www.thetapandbottle.com

CHEF BOY/R/C – Movie Night

July 2, 2013 |

More than Manhattans: cherries garnish an Old Fashioned, as below. Photo by Colin Wilkenson.

Culinary tidbits for the home kitchen and bar

Home Made: Maraschino Cherries. Movie theaters are awful. Who wants to be stuck drinking PepsiCoTM products when you could be at home, pressing ‘pause’ to grab an adult beverage (and munching the awesome popcorn to your right). A late night flick calls for a classic Manhattan at my house, and a Manhattan calls for…you guessed it.

You are probably familiar with the atomic red glow and disturbing vinyl texture of what many try to pass as maraschino cherries, either on a ‘cute’ sundae or in that kid’s Shirley Temple. Pumped with chemicals and high fructose yuck, I should add that they taste nothing like cherries, and summertime serves up some of the best (July is peak season).

Maraschino is not a cherry itself but in fact a type of liqueur, flavored with Marasca cherries and crushed pits. Originally from Zadar in Croatia, this small, slightly sour variety has been distilled industrially since the 18th century. Macerating your own cherries is simple, with lovely bi-products.

Toss some of that fresh fruit in a jar and cover with said liqueur, wait a couple days and viola gourmet! Mix it up and soak your cherries in bourbon instead, after you enjoy many well-garnished cocktails you are left with a delicious infused whiskey that can be used for all kinds of wonderful.

As you might imagine the list of variations and techniques goes on, with ‘mixologists’ often crafting a trademark blend. But I wouldn’t stress on whether to blanch the cherries first or whether the Rainier variety is required. The glory of the homemade maraschino is its simplicity, after all.

And in that spirit, I encourage you to review the ingredient list of those aforementioned “cherries”. Besides the petroleum-based FD&C Red #40 used to make that neon hue, there are another 7 (seven) contributors to it’s tasteless result. When something is as simple as two ingredients, and as easy to make, you’ll find yourself running out of excuses. I did.

A Recipe: Maraschino Cherries

Ingredients: 1 pint cherries, and 1 cup maraschino liqueur (I prefer Luxardo Brand, available at local purveyors such as The Rumrunner or Plaza Liquors, both in Midtown).

Directions: Pit and stem the cherries (OXO makes a handy cherry pitter available at Williams-Sonoma in La Encantada). In a small pot, bring liqueur to a simmer. Turn off the heat, add the cherries and let cool. Store mixture in a jar (refrigerated) for at least 2 days before using, and up to several months.

……………….

photo by Colin Wilkenson

Game Changer: Bagless Popcorn. In my short ‘career’ as aspiring epicurean I’ve had what some could call revelations. What was once is no more, and things will never be the same. For me, one of these pivotal moments was when I discovered what Mark Bittman calls “Real Popcorn.”

The concept is this: you can make better, healthier popcorn in nearly less time than it takes to microwave that scary future-bag of nuclear convenience. To be fair, with popcorn this lovely you might feel compelled to take an extra moment for the accoutrement. A favorite of mine is below. But good ol’ fashioned salt and butter never disappoints on movie night. Real butter, as opposed to that preserved, butter-flavored oil-stuff in that bag.

Feeling spicy? How about a tablespoon each of butter, olive oil and Sriracha, melted before it’s poured over your hand-crafted snack? Hint: the answer is yes. This popcorn is really just a solid platform, a blank canvas that you can individualize and refine with your toppings of choice.

I always keep a bag of bulk popping corn in the house; it’s a staple. What’s most surprising is how surprising it all was. After I got passed the embarrassment that I had no idea how popcorn was made before the microwave, I was left to wonder why we ever stopped making it this way.

A Recipe: Peppered Parmesan popcorn

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons neutral oil (I prefer grapeseed, but vegetable or corn oil will work), 1/2 cup popping corn, 2 tablespoons truffle oil, 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan, and a handful of minced fresh parsley.

Directions: Place oil in a stock pot (or deep saucepan) over medium heat, add 3 kernels of corn and cover. When all 3 pop, add remaining corn and shake, holding the lid on, until there is between 1-2 seconds per ‘pop’ (Less than 3 minutes). Transfer to large bowl, add remaining ingredients and toss. Serve immediately.

Colin Wilkinson is CHEF BOY/R/C and learning to cook changed his life. Find recipes and more culinary adventures at chefboyrc.com.

Tap + Bottle opens

June 28, 2013 |

Tap + Bottle Opening, just before and right after. Read more about Tap + Bottle,  here

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