the great southwest

My weekend in Tucson was lovely. Even the long flights worked out well enough with only my final return leg from DFW to DCA being a big uncomforable (leg room issues). I'd certainly fly American again before considering another airline for cross-country travel.

I had cocktails and dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Saturday night at Scott &  Co. (return visit) before dinner at Poca Casa across the street (another return visit). Hopefully, it was welcome break for the Mister, who is in the midst of working loads of hours while piling on 12 or 16 hours of college - admirable, if debilitating. Company and cocktails were excellent; I'd been longing for some Campari and/or bitters so the Lying Bastard served me just fine. Dinner was good, if not as excellent as it was during our December visit - my tamale was good, not great; service wasn't up to par. I won't not go back, but they get one more chance to tip the scales. On Sunday the missus and I met at the Heirloom Farmers Market for some coffee, brunch-y stuff, and a bit of shopping; we had a nice long chat over her waffle and my coffee. I actually did some wandering and shopping before we met: great Mexican chocolate, bags of heirloom beans, hand ground flour, some pepper, and a fine locally roasted bag of decaf French Roast beans. I always forget the limits on volume when flying - I managed to get everything in my bag along with the two bottles of Arizona Stronghold wine which is nearly impossible to find here (they also don't ship to Virginia.) Sunday night we did a melodrama - impossible to find just about anywhere in America these days - at the Gaslight Theatre. It was a wonderful visit and an enjoyable journey that I'd let slip over away over the years.

Oh, there they are:

I stay two nights in the Catalina House at the Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast - top marks. The house had a loft bedroom over a comfortable living room and half kitchen. Fantastic breakfasts created by chef/owner Dennis complemented a beautifully conceived layout and accessories. It will certainly be my base of operations for future Tucson trips.

raising arizona

The Eleven did the long weekend in Tucson for Sean and Sarah’s nuptials; a success all around. The wedding was outdoors at a small ranch with the reception following in a lodge-y/multi-purpose building mere steps from the scene of the “I do’s”. We flew down on Thursday, with a day to spare, so we could take the kids out for a nice dinner before the final onslaught of a rehearsal dinner on Friday, and the crazed actions of the Saturday marriage (by ‘crazed’ I mean busy, not the marriage part). They appreciated the time away, and meeting Sean for the first time was quite nice. Saturday went off without a hitch – lovely weather – and by 8pm everyone was happy and more relaxed with the open bar nearby. The happy couple headed to NYC on Monday for a weeklong (wintry) honeymoon.

I was worried about my tour planning abilities and Tucson: none of my research on places to eat and things to do seemed to completely pique my interest. I had my list in hand, but was quite tentative on success. The best of the best ended up being Café Poca Casa for dinner on Friday night with Anne and my hold high school pal, Todd (who drove down from Flagstaff for 24 hours of visiting). This place is amazing: Fantastic service, inspired food, and a perfect atmosphere for a celebratory-like dinner. (The picture on the Web site doesn’t do justice to the ambiance in the evening.) Easily one of the best meals ever. Afterwards, we wandered across the street to a speakeasy of sorts, Scott & Co.  where X, Anne, and Wags enjoyed some high-end fancy-pants cocktails (I was the adult!).

Good recommendations on breakfast/lunch/brunch at Blue Willow and Ghini’s French Café. The best breakfast we had (twice) was at the Café ala c’ART located behind the Tucson Museum of Art. Excellent fritattas and they make a nice, strong decaf Latte, and that’s no mean feat.

We stayed at the Wyndham Westward Look resort hotel in northwest Tucson. It was nice enough, and plenty roomy in our junior suite, but it has some issues: the furniture is aged, the clock couldn’t be set (?), the TV/cable was mediocre, and they charged $3.50 for a bottle of water (we used tap). The goods? The beds are new and very nice. The hot tub was a few steps from our room. The views and layout of resort are quite nice. For the money, I’d go back – there’s nothing that would lead me to give it a “do not go!” review.

Weather was lovely. The skies over Tucson are high, blue, and clear. About 65 during the days, down to the 40s at night. And, we had a convertible Mustang. Legend.

rock market

The 51 headed down the walk to the Metro and on to the Eastern Market this morning. X and kids were off to save a river in the wilds of Virginia. Apparently, the farmers show up to see just what these Buddists were up to - the farmers trotted off thinking the Buddists with pickaxes and saws were badass. I'll let her pass that along.

A few things to pass along. First, the Slobberbone Web site has suddenly been redesigned which bodes well for the greatest bar band of all time getting back in the studio and on the road. I've brought it up before, and I'll do it again, nobody but nobody in this generation is a better songwriter - and no band is better in a bar - than Brent Best and Slobberbone. Great stuff. Even if it's for only one more turn, that turn will be gold. It's hard to lockdown any really good video of the guys rocking but I can give you some Brent doing one of the greatest songs ever, Robert Cole. The song is loosely based on a piece by the great author, Larry Brown. Kills.



I picked up a few more 1970s cookbooks at Capital Hill Books today. These were a hat trick of the Time Life International series: Middle Eastern, Italy, and Spain and Portugal. What's interesting is that they were $6, $7, and $8; they were all in the same condition so I'm trying to sort out the pricing. What's interesting about a lot of these series' is that we've dumbed down ethnic cuisine over the last 30 years and these books give some solid skills and deep recipes from the old days. You get history, biography, and cooking all in one.

My second push is for Sarah's graduation from her Vet Tech program on the 20th. A much smarter 21-year-old than I ever was. She did her first year at ASU before deciding that it wasn't for her - the college thing. She turned to her first love and then ran through it like nothing. She wants to go on to Vet school after this and she's laid a nice path in that direction; quite admirable. I imagine she'll work for a few years or so and then apply to move along her career path. As with most of my lot, I've not been as close as I should have been over the years but that doesn't dull my pride.

We're doing a belated dinner for Amy tomorrow that will have langistinos, a huge organic leg of lamb, and pie tips. You do what you can do...

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