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Tucson boldly proclaims itself to be the "Mexican Food Capital of the United States," and most of the Mexican food in town is Sonoran-style. This means prolific use of cheese, mild peppers, corn tortillas, pinto beans, and beef or chicken. It's the birthplace of the chimichanga (Spanish for "whatchamacallit"), a flour tortilla filled with meat or cheese, rolled, and deep-fried.
The best Mexican restaurants are concentrated in South Tucson and Downtown, although some favorites have additional locations around town. If Mexican's not your thing, there are plenty of other options: you won't have any trouble finding excellent sushi, Thai, Italian, and Ethiopian food at reasonable prices.
For sampling regional flavors, upscale Southwestern cuisine flourishes at several resorts in the Foothills, most notably the Grill at Hacienda del Sol and Flying V Grill at Loews Ventana Canyon. A recent trend in Tucson dining is combining hip restaurants with chic shopping locations. Choose from sushi, steak, Italian, or Mexican at La Encantada in the Foothills. Casas Adobes Plaza, in the Northwest, is home to upscale shops alongside Wildflower Grill and trendy, thin-crust pizza at Sauce—and the gelato shop, Frost, is handy for dessert. Downtown has recently exploded with first-rate dining and drinking establishments, from modern comfort food and homemade ice cream to gourmet pizzas, craft beers, and contemporary Mexico City cuisine.
Tasty fare as varied as Indian, Greek, and Middle Eastern can be enjoyed on the west side of U of A's campus, along University Boulevard and 4th Avenue—another great area for people-watching and barhopping as well as quelling hunger pangs.
On Friday and Saturday nights and during the Gem Show (first two weeks of February), reservations are usually a good idea at upscale and popular restaurants. Dress ranges from casual to casual-dressy here; jackets for men aren’t required at any restaurant, even at resorts.
This trendy eatery in upscale La Encantada Shopping Center melds an urban-loft look with rustic Italian touches, including bright red chairs and metal tables. North draws crowds who come for the excellent thin-crust pizzas, pasta, fish, and steak, all prepared in the open kitchen. Alfresco dining on the wraparound patio affords views of the city and quieter conversation; on most evenings the expansive bar area inside buzzes with Tucson's young professionals.
Modern Italian fuses with fast food at this lively, family-friendly eatery in Casas Adobes Plaza. Delicious thin-crust pizzas, chopped salads, pastas, and panini are ordered at the counter; the restaurant is brightly decorated in a contemporary twist on the colors of Italy's flag—green, white, and tomato-red. The food is fast, fresh, and affordable, without sacrificing sophisticated taste. Two additional locations, on East Broadway in Eastside and North Campbell in Central, are identical in both decor and menu.
A modern Italian bistro in a lovely Foothills setting, Vivace has long been a favorite with Tucsonans. Wild mushrooms and goat cheese in puff pastry is hard to resist as a starter, and the fettuccine with grilled salmon is a nice, lighter alternative to such entrées as a rich osso buco. For dessert, the molten chocolate cake with spumoni is worth the 20 minutes it takes to create. Patio seating, with either city or mountain views, is especially inviting on warm evenings.
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