CUP IT UP

I read about this restaurant several weeks ago. Here's what  i remember: it was started by 2 golfers who wanted to keep playing  the game but were also hungry but didn't want the mess or the grease or fattiness of the usual fare offered on the green (i'm not sure what this encompasses since i don't golf.) so they came up with a cup concept. Put a lot of good fresh food in a cup that can be eaten with a fork or spoon.

So voila! there is Cup it Up in the former home of a bbq place near trader joe's on wilmot and speedway. The first time we went here was for dinner and they had just closed at the ungodly early hour of 7pm!! This time we went there for  lunch during our weekly Friday grocery run.

The restaurant was just as bone chilling cold as the first failed time so we ate outside. The menu is on the wall giving you the steps to follow; pick out meat or fish as the base (we had herb citrus chicken) and then grains (we had white rice) but you could also get brown, barley or quinoa. Then lettuce or kale or spinach and they will grill it for you if you want. then some toppings; most come with the price of the cup and in our case it was $8. bill and i shared it and it was a more than ample serving for both of us. also we didn't get it in a cup (they will either mix it up for you and put it in the cup or layer it in the cup); we asked for a bowl which is a takeout container with a plastic lid.

so back to the toppings. there was tomatoes and peppers and jalapenos and onions  and mushrooms and then you got to choose 2 "superfood" toppings and if you wanted more there was an additional charge. These toppings included blueberries, garbanzo beans, avocado, edemame beans and some others that we can't remember.

Then you pick a sauce; they had a cheesy one and then their house sauce and a peppercorn one; we went with the house sauce. I don't know how to describe this sauce; slightly salty and slightly sweet with a tad of garlic. It was delicious and just enough was put on to not drown the concoction.

We were very satisfied and passed that on to the owner who was milling about.

The bathroom situation is sort of a hassle. All the businesses except for Trader Joe's shares a bathroom in the center of the strip mall and i had to wait till one of the server gals could go back into the restaurant and get the key and then walk me to the bathroom.!!! Not ideal.

 Not enough of a "problem" to prevent us eating here again.

CASA DEL RIO

What a delicious find! This Mexican restaurant was recommended by my friend Jacki who is also my hair stylist and the lady who is going to add some pizazz color to my hair. Its located on the NW corner of 22nd and Pantano.

The place had a great atmosphere with lots of booths in the main room and tables in an adjoining room.  Good service. The chips and salsa and water were brought to the table within a minute. Not much decoration but I was more interested in the food.

The chips were wonderful; very thin and crispy and flavorful and the salsa had just a very mild zing. Bill had a tamale and rice and I had a combo: tamale and cheese enchilada and a machaca taco. I saved the tamale for lunch today; just couldn't finish it. Bill loved his tamale; the masa was good and it was stuffed end to end with tender beef and the sauce wasn't too spicy. and i was super satisfied with my entree. The taco had lots of meat in it and was covered with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

The only thing i wish had been different was no cheddar cheese and instead queso fresca.

Very happy well fed full belly's on sat. night.

FRESH SUSHI PHO

Located on the NE corner of Kolb and Broadway; near DSW. Its open every day except Sunday till 9pm.

I didn't really like anything we ordered but we will come back anyway because i loved the atmosphere of the place and the portions are generous and the prices low and there's many other items on the menu that appeal to me.

Lots of bamboo and fans and "coolie" hats and wood frames and mirrors shaped like a zen   sand garden and the sushi area looked like a tea house. The service was good.

No booths and i think 4 of the tables, maybe 5 had those high chair/stool seats which i don't like at all.

So we ordered spring rolls because i got confused and thought i was getting egg rolls. the rolls were fresh and big (2 of them) and the sauce was tasty - a hoisin based sauce but i don't like spring rolls; too much rawness; like eating a salad in a cigar.

We also ordered a chicken ban mi; traditional Vietnamese sandwich. Unfortunately, this one lacked; the amount of chicken and pickled vegetables and the clear fish sauce and the bread which was a French baguette was a tad stale and way too crusty.
 

On to the main entree; a bun dish which was really a pho; it was listed under pho so i don't know why i expected something different. The broth was good and the vegetables (carrots and sweet and white potatoes and bean sprouts and cilantro) were cooked perfectly. There was lots of tofu which i didn't eat. But the vegetable and dumpling soup at Ha Long Bay is WAY WAY WAY better plus having a lot of different veggies.

I think the next time i will order egg rolls and one of their chicken and rice dishes.

BAI THONG

We gave this Thai restaurant on Speedway near Swan another chance. We  have quit going there (culinary boycott) twice because of the quality of their food and the toughness of their meat. And each time we have come back, the first meal was pretty good and then we go back again; uh oh, back to a chewing marathon and picking out gristle from the chicken which is not all white meat.

So i think we are again going to have to separate from this place and take it off our restaurant list.

We ordered pad woon sen vegetarian (the veggies were plentiful and perfectly cooked) but it tasted like the sauce was a can of Campbell tomato soup.

The yellow curry with chicken?? Well, let me just say i let bill eat all the chicken after i wrestled with my first piece and just doused the rice with the curry sauce and potatoes. The sauce was tasty and just spiced enough.

However, overall, the meal just wasn't real satisfying.

DOLCE VITA

excellent Italian restaurant right next to sprouts on the  nw corner of broadway and pantano. It was not crowded and therefore, not noisy.  Lots of tables well spread out and no booths.

Our service was wonderful. Just enough attention.

The olive oil dip for the bread was very good but the bread itself was similar to a dollar loaf of french bread at Safeway; very doughy with hardly any crust.

 Each entree came with soup or salad. We had a salad; very fresh. I had feta garlic dressing.  Also a plate of bowtie pasta with peas in a very light vinaigrette as  an appetizer for the table. This didn't have much flavor which did NOT stop me from eating it.

Bill had chicken piccata which came with his choice of pasta and sauce. He picked angel hair with a garlic butter. He was very very happy and said the chicken had the best flavor and was so tender he didn't even need a knife. I had cheese ravioli with meat sauce which was a 10.

Both of us have leftovers for lunch today. Their desserts looked wonderful but i had made a chocolate magic flan cake so we passed on the sweets.

Oh and the bathroom was painted  the most striking combination of a lilac and mauve. Beautiful.

We will be back.

EL MOLINITO

First time at this Mexican restaurant. Its so close that on a warm summer's evening we could walk to it; on the corner of Wrightstown Rd. and Pantano.

Its a really large place and has several rooms; some of the rooms are stark and too bright with no decorations at all but other rooms are filled with murals and wall hangings.

This is a mixed review because the prices were good; portions large and the food was ok. However, the bathroom was horrid; very dirty and one toilet was spewing a steady drip of water. and the service was desultory and slow (we waited about 20 minutes before our food came out; usually at Mexican restaurants the entree arrives almost as soon as you say LADA; like in enchiLADA.) and even then it wasn't all our food because our waitress said they had no ground beef to put in my chimi so i had to pick something else. which i did; chicken which was quite tasty and i have some left over for lunch too.

Also bill's order was incorrect and the beans were a lukewarm soupy swirl of beige; totally unappetizing.

However, (back to the positives), bill liked his tamales and the guacamole and as i said, my chicken was good. uh oh, another negative; the chips were cold and stale.

But we will be back maybe in 6 months.?? there are a couple more Mexican places we want to try that are close to us now that we are east-siders.!

ECLECTIC CAFE

We used to come here all the time after a hike on Mt. Lemmon during Tucson #1. then during tucson 2, our favorite waitress had retired (a clone of barbara streisand and very efficient), their prices had gone up, portion sizes down. So we quit going.

Now that the cafe is located in 'our hood', we decided to give it a try especially since i had a coupon. unfortunately, the coupon had expired which i didn't find out till we were settled in our seats.

For a little over $21 we shared a curry chicken salad with cucumbers, avocado, berries and "Wilcox tomatoes" (really Safeway). It was  flavorful and we got a side of their russian dressing which was just perfectly seasoned and also a side of creamy dill which was also quite good. The portion of chicken salad was fairly small.

The salad came with 2 rolls which were a tad doughy but fresh. We also shared a  slice of quiche lorraine which we enjoyed.

We were certainly satisfied after our dinner but we wouldn't make this restaurant a regular part of our dining circle.

MOLINO'S MIDWAY MEXICAN FOOD

I have a love-hate relationship with this place. sometimes the food is really good and the tortilla chips fresh and other times, the service is slap-dash casual and the food is disappointing in flavor and presentation.

As of last night though, i am back in love. Delicious dinner and the service was personable and our food was served roadrunner fast inspite of the big crowds.

I had albondigas soup to which i added some of the excellent thin crispy tortilla chips. There were lots of meatballs in the soup and it was flavored with a hint of zip. I also had a beef tamale. Stuffed end to end with tender beef. Bill also had a tamale along with a side of rice and we shared guacamole..

I know we will be back and who knows what my review might be then. i'll either still be in love or in the throes of culinary contempt.

POCO & MOM'S CANTINA

First time here and we will be back. Its on Tanque Verde near Sabino Canyon Road and its closed on Mondays.

The entrance is through a long tiled hallway. It felt like we were walking through a friend's foyer in their home and the eating space itself was large but not overly spacious so again, the feeling i had was eating in someone's kitchen. Very comfortable.  They have a patio but it was dark outside and too cold for us.

The service was excellent and the prices extremely reasonable and the portions more than adequate. All of us were happy with our meals. The chips were thin and crisp and fresh and the salsa was slightly zippy. We ordered guacamole which was good but could have been chunkier; a tad too creamy for my taste.

I had 2 tostadas; one chicken and the other ground beef. Very flavorful. Bill had tamales and enjoyed them. Every dish had refried beans and rice. Neither impressed me. The beans didn't even have any cheese on top and was a  sad and  unappealing scoop of brown-ness. The rice was dry.

Nice to find a good Mexican restaurant close to our new location on the east side.  though my heart and stomach still belong to
Frankie's on Pima and Alvernon and their tacos dorados.

SHISH KEBAB HOUSE

We finally tried this restaurant that we must have passed about 50 times on Broadway - its across the street from the park place mall. I got a coupon in the mail which was the deciding factor.

and we will be back. Excellent aromatic delicious food.

The atmosphere is ok; sort of a small restaurant and the tables are fairly close together so i would imagine on the weekends (belly dance nights) it could be really crowded and noisy.  Also i was disappointed a bit in the bathroom; plain and sparse. Didn't seem to go with the white table cloths.

The menu is huge so we had trouble deciding what to order. We ended up getting perfectly complementary dishes which we shared; baked squash in this absolutely transforming yoghurt, lemon, garlic and fenugreek and oregano sauce, a rice dish with chicken and pinenuts and veggies and spinach pie. The crust on these 2 small pies was tender and crispy and it was filled to the fluted edges with spinach and feta and bits of green olives.

the pita bread was so-so. I've never tasted pita bread that i really liked; just seems tasteless and too doughy.

and the service was good and personable.

KNEADERS BAKERY AND CAFE

This soup/salad/sandwich place opened this July. Its near the corner of Broadway and Wilmot.  The menu includes sandwiches, soups, salads (given with a slice of bread - your choice of variety), some pastries, some desserts, coffee drinks and a packed to the edge of the shelves gift area with lots of STUFF. So Kneaders is similar to Beyond Bread except BB is a tad better due to their bread quality and the size and filling amount for their sandwiches.

We shared  chicken salad on a croissant which comes with a small salad with balsamic vinaigrette. and we shared an entree salad with bacon and avocado. I asked for a side of the poppyseed dressing but the ranch which normally comes with the salad was extraordinarily good so i switched mid-lettuce chew.

B K - TUCSON

Wanted to eat here before we moved because the drive would be about 30 minutes one way from our new townhouse  so our visits to BK will be significantly curtailed.

The restaurant is on 1st avenue between grant and glenn. I love it here. the service has always been friendly and prompt and the atmosphere is noisy and festive and joyful. Lots of families come here for their excellent Mexican food. They have an awesome salsa bar; varieties of dips and sauces and salsa's that i've never seen any place else; including lots of thin sliced crisp cucumbers and radishes. Oh and their cheese is absolutely out of this world; very finely grated with a hint of sharpness underneath the creaminess.

We usually always get the same thing. Bill gets a bowl of charro beans (most excellent; tastes like rich chili) and 2 carne asada or pastor tacos. I get a sonoran hot dog (though i didn't last night because i had a chicago dog at Luke's for lunch) and 2 shrimp tacos. There is always lots of tiny breaded shrimp on each taco and it comes with its own dipping sauce.

They have 3 or 4 tv's on the wall and they usually are tuned to different channels; always a sports game or two, and then music video's and a soap opera (Mexican) and on top of that cacophony there is piped in mariachi music.

Yes, this is a deafeningly happy place.

HA LONG BAY - TUCSON

Now that we are going to be "east siders" this restaurant is in our 'hood and we're glad of it. Excellent Vietnamese food with an extensive menu. Its located on Tanque Verde near Sabino Canyon Road; closed on Monday.

Its beautifully decorated; very colorful. There are several tv's soundlessly showing scenes of Vietnam and/or cooking demonstrations.

Bill and i shared (once again) their vegetable wonton House soup. It comes in a large white bowl and the broth is the most aromatically delicious i've ever tasted. However, you can barely see the broth for all the delectables; carrots, broccoli, onions, celery, pork slices, shrimp and pork stuffed wontons.

Our other shared dish was a Bun entree. This is a glass noodle dish with lettuce and carrots and bean sprouts and topped with, in our case, lemon grass chicken (to die for) and an egg roll. Then in a separate small bowl, there is fish sauce to put over the noodles. We always have a Bun dish when we eat at a Vietnamese restaurant; there is always a large variety of toppings.

And we also had a pot of green tea.

Wonderful meal at the end of our first Tucson #3 hike. We had to go up the Catalina Hwy because the temp was almost 100 in the city.

GREEK HOUSE - TUCSON

We were so glad to see this place still open after our months on the road. Its located in the University district; speedway near campbell. Parking is several buildings down; near Bentley coffee house and a tattoo place.

The food is excellent. Counter ordering. Its got lots of silver tables; no booths. The large TV is always blaring a sports game. Service is prompt and friendly. The only options for silverware is plastic which I don't care for and which caused some  difficulty with cutting  the sausage.

That's what bill and i had; greek sausages. Very flavorful and spiced but not hot. We also shared a Greek salad which is almost bounding over the plate with green peppers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumbers, and a thick scattering of feta cheese. We got the creamy mediterranean garlic feta dressing which is absolutely delicious; i could almost drink it.

Of course i overdid it; dipping not only my veggies in it but also the pita bread and the sausage. Beware: LOTS of garlic is contained therein.

Not sure if it was the garlic or all the tomatoes I ate but i had to treat my gut's petulance at what i was putting in it. Was the dinner worth some gas, bloat and having to take a Tagamet and a Pepcid AC? Hell, Yes!!!!!!!!!

THE OINK CAFE - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant is on Broadway and Kolb in a location vacated by the excellent Heist pizza place. Oink is open for breakfast and lunch and their culinary hook is 8 different varieties of bacon; sugar cured, honey, apple smoked, jalapeno, etc.

Unfortunately, the bacon that came with my breakfast  was disappointing and i couldn't even finish it. it was also greasy and almost cold which could have been due to the subzero air conditioning in the restaurant. The bacon came with 2 scrambled eggs, tasteless and only lukewarm home fries that, by the way, were supposed to contain sauteed onions and red and green peppers; the peppers must have been on vacation and i saw one onion; and a biscuit (there was a choice of toast, english muffin, fruit or maybe cottage cheese) which was good; nice and warm.

Jean's pork sausage link was delicious and if by a far far stretch of the imagination i was to come back here, i would order that and stay away from the bacon. Oink! Oink!

FRANKIE'S SOUTH PHILLY CHEESESTEAKS - TUCSON, AZ

Last time here for us. though since we are moving to the east side we will be quite a distance away from this restaurant anyway.

This most recent visit and the one before (between road trip 1 and 2) were highly disappointing.

Finding gristle in the meat; hardly finding any onions; deprived of the right amount of gooey white american cheese; and a bun which is not crispy on the exterior and soft on the inside. They advertise that they still get their bread from Philly but its gone down in quality; tastes like a slightly stale subway roll.

and their french fries are not good.

So there!!

THAI HOUSE - CHARLOTTE, NC

This restaurant was right next door to an awesome used book store called The Last Word  that we were browsing in so it was a logical choice for dinner.

I really liked the atmosphere. Very well decorated and we felt like we were in the middle of a temple with ornate wall hangings and all the wait staff were dressed in colorful spangled and jeweled outfits. Even the men had those billowy white shirts with high collars and tight wrists and they were wearing Disney pirate pants; like pantaloons; or Aladdin pants; in shiny greens and reds.

We ordered Pad Thai  and also a stir fry chicken-ginger dish. All the chicken was white meat but a tad dry and the ginger dish lacked flavor (i even had to add some salt which i've never done to a Thai dish). There were way too many ginger julienne spears too. The Pad Thai was the better of the 2 entrees; very tasty with great flavor.

and we have a lot left over for lunch today. If we lived in Charlotte, this restaurant wouldn't be my number 1 pick for Thai but i wouldn't protest if this was the only place open.

BRUSHFIRE BBQ - TUCSON, AZ

This has always been our favorite bbq place in Tucson. Well, during Tucson #1 there was a great one on 22nd and Craycroft but that closed early on during our stay. I have always had great shredded chicken and pulled pork and Bill and I have split their rack of baby back ribs quite a few times and all this food has been delicious.

Including their sides; (exc. for their grilled bread; flavorless and very dry. oh and their corn on the cob but then again what does one expect getting corn in the winter in Tucson!!) their bbq'd beans are just zippy enough, coleslaw not too drenched in sauce, crispy fries, super sweet potatoes.

But our last 2 visits have been disappointing. We ordered during one of our dinners there during what we are now thinking might be a decline commensurate with the opening of their "small batch" ice cream place next door baby back ribs and some of them weren't very tender and the 1/2 rack was smaller than all other times.

And last night Bill had pulled pork and i had shredded chicken (they have several bbq sauces on the table so you can experiment; everything from way hot steaming palate to sweet molasses). Bill's sandwich was just ok. My shredded chicken was just on THIS side of tender and it wasn't shredded; it came in 2 huge chunks like a breast had been hacked in half. The coleslaw on the sandwich was put on the bottom of the roll and soaked through. I didn't get the onions i asked for. and the side of potato salad seemed like they had forgotten the mayo.

Very disappointing. Glad we are heading into the land of bbq. In fact, bill and i are already remembering with fondness some fantastic droolingly good bbq in Texas and Arkansas and Mississippi and North Carolina. Here we come!

PEI WEI DINER - TUCSON, AZ

They've changed their menu and now its sort of confusing. you can get bowls or platters with rice (different kinds) or noodles or no starch and you pick your protein and then your sauce from 2 different places on the menu which is on boards along the area which approaches the order "desk".  everything has 2 sizes with different prices. and the sauces are just named on the board and not described until you get to the counter and then in very very small print on a dimly lit shelf is the description; only all the descriptions sound the same.

So then i had to query the order gal with multiple questions. It wasn't busy and there was no one else in line but i can imagine the back up I would have caused if it was lunch time for instance.

Anyway, even after all my requests for more information; the veggie and tofu with white rice tossed in a sesame sauce was too spicy for me. Fortunately, (Bill always comes to the rescue; well, usually always!) gave up his half of our chicken lettuce wraps to me. And that was a delightfully delicious dish; great flavor and lots of chicken. I would for sure order that again.

BUSHI'S - TUCSON, AZ

Wonderful Japanese restaurant. Its never crowded, has lots of private booths (with high backs), food is excellent and the service is geisha superb. Its located in the Sprouts strip mall on Speedway and Swan.

I ordered vegetable tempura. Very good combo of broccoli, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and onion. The tempura also came with edemame beans, miso soup, a salad and rice. All for just $10. Bill got his usual; salmon teriyaki.

I had a bite of Molly's yakisoba and it was very tasty and they used thin noodles not the thick rope-like noodles. I'm going to order that the next time we come here.