Art Projects

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Where to Eat in Tucson

El Saguarito, 2 Chile Rellenos and 1 Mexican Crooner

The other night we had a yen for Mexican food so asked the locals where they like to go.  We were referred to El Saguarito, a smallish restaurant that had a patio extending way out into the parking lot with sails, I think, stretched on clothesline, and forming a very large canopy to protect the customers from the sun.  There were walls made of wrought iron fencing and covered in posters, art and advertising.    We had a surprisingly fun evening.  The food was unremarkable so I won’t bore you a description, (click on the link for an image,) but what was noteworthy was the Mexican guy that was singing, and playing his music machine and guitar!  He was quite listenable, and knew a lot of songs, and so we made a request just to test his mettle.  He obliged with his down home version of Spanish Eyes, and was a very good sport, in spite of his messing up the words here and there. One thing to always count on; when there is a singer, there is always a dancer, and dancing guy showed up just like clockwork.  He didn't need a partner; he was immediately in the groove and put on a show.  You can tell that in his day, he was probably quite a good dancer, but …you can imagine. This dancing man was a guy in his sixties, very skinny, with a fringe of oily hair hanging from under his tan colored hat.  He definitely had the moves and danced with a Latin flair that was painful to watch but we couldn't look away.  The crooner egged him on and commented at how good he was.  (How I wish I had my phone to take a video clip and share online.) He was kind of good, kind of bad, kind of embarrassing, and kind of entertaining, and no fools no fun!  We clapped at each performance and he kept going! We didn't know whether to tip him or the crooner, so we opted for the crooner, who gave us a CD in return for our 2 bucks!  In summary, we ate mediocre food, watched a mediocre dancing man, had a lot of laughs and wonder how anybody could have had a more enjoyable evening!  Upon returning to the truck, Lance and I laced on our sneakers and walked 10,000 steps around the well lighted parking lot!  The night was a beautiful, cool Tucson night, and we were two old crones, doing what old crones do and were perfectly contented.

 Tiger's Tap Room- The Hotel Congress




When poking around an unfamiliar city it is a common thing to ask the locals where to eat.  We do this quite a lot and we get interesting suggestions.  Sometimes we don’t even ask, and people volunteer their suggestions in hopes we will check out there “place.”  This is exactly how we found Tiger’s Taproom at the Hotel Congress. 

There is quaint old guy, Tom Zigler, nicknamed Tiger, who has been keeping bar at the Hotel Congress for a whopping 54 years. At his 50th anniversary the bar officially became Tigers Taproom and is a well known watering hole in downtown Tucson. He is now a skinny little fellow wearing crepe soled oxfords, brand X denim pants, a Mexican style button up shirt covered by a beige golf jacket (despite the heat) and a jaunty chino fedora. He has a leprechaun voice that is quick to give you practiced yet agreeable conversation that, I imagine, makes him a good listening ear that is so cliché of bartenders in the movies. 
This photo appeared in the paper on his 80th birthday!
 Everyone in the Hotel knows and loves him.  Folks pass by and call out his name and he doesn’t even look up but knows who to respond to.  His bar is decorated with signed and framed cowboy art all over the walls, sketched in pencil and charcoal, by a western painter of the 1930’s, a guy named Peter Martinez, who paid off his bill while residing at the Hotel doing art.  There were dozens of drawings; think Charlie Russell only not nearly as good.  There were a few old neon signs from the sixties, and an old juke box in mint condition, and of course skads of bottles of every description on the back bar. Tiger was on his way to eat lunch at The Cup, the long standing eatery in the lobby, when the overzealous host, upon  failing to get us  to come in and dine, (it was only about 11:00 and we were simply scoping out the Hotel) interrupted the hungry Barkeep and asked him to show us the Taproom.  Tiger postponed lunch in favor of showing a couple of out of towners the whole place.  He is an icon within the Hotel Congress, another Tucson icon.   

 Just when you think it can’t get any more colorful, just check out the rogue’s gallery on in the hallway to the restrooms in the Hotel Congress. John Dillinger’s gang were caught right there in the lobby back in the day. The story goes that there was a fire in the hotel, and the gang members had to go out into the street. One of the gang fellows bribed a fireman with a fifty dollar bill to go back into the burning building to get his stuff out for him.  He did, and a day or so later the fireman thought that something was fishy about a guy having a 50 dollar bill in the ‘30’s and so he squealed to the sheriff that he thought these might be bad guys.  The sheriff and posse caught them all at the Hotel Congress. The lobby hasn’t changed since the 30’s. At the time of writing this post I don’t have internet access so there will be no fact checking on Dillinger. 

Pionic Pizza

Pionic Pizza was recommended as the best pizza in town!  We had to go there, and this is what we found.  The place has a warehouse décor, with concrete floors, metal tables and chairs and overhead doors that slide up off the sidewalks exposing the diners to the awning covered patio and the street beyond that.  You walk up the counter where there is a bevy of smiling t-shirted youths waiting to create for you a perfect pizza.  You choose your crust, whole wheat, gluten friendly, or classic,  all of them are about 12 inches, which is one size fits all.  The crusts are made in the restaurant and rolled/pressed into the same shape as a giant poker chip and stacked up, waiting for toppings.  Then you go down an assembly line, just like Subway sandwiches, but with every imaginable topping you could wish for.  You decide what you want and the kids heap it on.  It seems there is no limitations on what or how much you pile on.  I asked for a little extra sauce and the young guy cautioned me because the toppings will slide off with too much! 
Perhaps the best pizza in town!
  
Oh yeah, there are 6 kinds of sauces to choose from; two marinara (meat and meatless), a pesto, an alfredo, and I can’t remember the other two. The young people pizza makers have clever and unique ways of “decorating” your pizza; for instance, they add the sauce by squeezing it out of a squeeze bottle and go round and round in diminishing spiral until they make a capital letter “P” at the center and then “draw” a compass with the four directions on it!  Does this have something to do with Pionic, or Greeks or something?  Again, I don’t have internet service at the moment so no checking why they do this.  It is something like when a barista makes a pretty shape in the top of your coffee fluff, customers like it!  Pionic Pizza has pastas and salads too.  They cook up the pizzas and bring them to you, and if you are there before 5:00 o’clock pm the pizzas are only 5 bucks!  Man, are they good!  We loved discovering this place.


El Guero Canelo

No trip to Tucson is complete without a Sonoran Hotdog, sometimes called a Mexican hot dog.  The restaurant that is famous for them is El Guero Canelo, which started as a two taco truck operation and over the years expanded into a huge, very basic, no frills style eatery, serving up Mexican fare by the tens of dozens of plates, or Styrofoam container, or wax paper dinnerware!  I found them on the internet when I Googled what to eat in Tucson.  This came up as a don’t miss.


A Sonoran Hotdog begins with a homemade irregular bun, assumed to be made in the restaurant, fitted with a grilled, bacon wrapped wienie, or two if you like, and covered with pico de gallo and a grating of cheddar.  Then it is toasted and served up on half a styrofoam clam container, with whatever you want to put on it from the salsa bar. 
I chose to put on a red salsa, a green salsa, and these terrific green onions that had been grilled whole and were served cold.  Yum!  What a treat! They also have tacos, burritos and etc, but the Mexican hotdog is a stand out and much imitated all over Tucson. 

Pappy's Diner

Pappy’s is a big diner very near to where we are parked at the Whispering Palms.  We have eaten here several times and there are many reasons why we keep coming back.  The food is good and so is the service, and the place is very clean; that hits all my big three requirements! 
When you order pancakes watch out!  You think you ordered a short stack, but they bring you a giant pancake served on a 16 inch pizza pan!  It is such a surprise and I must say it is a delight!  They had to custom make a flipper to flip those babies!  Lance asked for a blueberry pancake and they loaded up the batter with berries.  It was so big and delicious that I recommend sharing with everybody at your table.   Pappy’s is a kind of place that is okay with sharing, that is to say, it is a casual kind of place!  This pancake cost us $3.50.  Here’s a photo of Pappy’s pancake found on the web.  

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