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Dennis Begin
Mission Gardens. Project of O'odham people to grow desert foods on site of original village.
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Dennis Begin
Cafe Poca Cosa. Downtown restaurant that uses local, edible desert foods.
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Dennis Begin
Guadalajara Mexican Grill – typical of Tex-Mex food in Tucson.
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Dennis Begin
Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson with Cafe Poca Cosa Restaurant.
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Dennis Begin
Local fruit and vegetables at Farmers' Market.
Words by Dennis Begin
Almost everyone loves food, regardless of its ethnicity. Cuisine from around the world often defines who they are as a country. For example, pasta is associated with Italy, bratwurst with Germany, fish and chips with England and maple syrup, poutine and tourtiere with Canada. In Tucson, Arizona, food is also associated with "gastronomy."
What is Gastronomy?
Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the growth of food, the preparation and the science of eating good, healthy foods. In December 2015, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or U.N.E.S.C.O, added Tucson to the Creative Cities Network [C.C.N]. Tucson received this award as a result of its rich agricultural history, cultural food traditions, and culinary distinctiveness.
There are seven areas of classification to the CCN from Crafts/Folk Art to Gastronomy. In total, there are 116 CCN cities from 54 countries that have received this accolade from the United Nations. The purpose of this United Nations Organization is to strengthen the creative partnership between different cities, the exchange of knowledge, and to encourage sustainable urban food production. Only 18 cities from around the world meet the standards as a ‘World City of Gastronomy,' with Tucson being the first in the United States.
Local Foods
Tucson is right in the midst of the Sonoran Desert, the last place where agriculture should thrive. The desert, however, has produced an abundance of food over the past 4,000 years. In Spanish, Tucson or ‘Chuk Shon' means "…….at the base of the black mountain," referring to ‘A' Mountain and the Santa Cruz River. Dating back to 1,200 BC, the local tribes of the Hohokam, Yaqui, Pima, and O'odham used the flood plains to irrigate their crops and build their villages. On that historic site, the walled Mission Garden is a project of the O'odham Nation to recreate their ancestral gardens and traditional foods.
If you want to mix a bit of history with your edible desert foods, take the Marana Gastronomy Tour. This tour educates people on how the Hohokam used the Sonoran Desert to survive and what local foods have made the transition into the restaurants of Tucson today.
Native desert crops include prickly pear cacti, tepary beans, cholla buds, devil's claw, white Sonora wheat, wild pepper, maize, squash, white pomegranates, various berries like hackberry, and of course, desert fruits from the saguaro and barrel cacti. These are just a sample of the variety of local foods, as Tucson is the leading authority on how to produce and harvest food from the desert.
Many Canadian Snowbirds may have never tasted these unique foods, such as palo verde, ironwood, mesquite pods, amaranth and chiltepin chiles. There are numerous markets to buy local foods, including the Baja Arizona Market, the Santa Cruz River Farmers' Market and the 5 Point Market and Restaurant.
- you are interested in cooking with local foods, refer to "Eat Mesquite and More: A Cookbook for the Sonoran Desert." Two downtown restaurants that specialize in creating meals with local foods are the Café Poca Cosa and Cup Café in the Congress Hotel.
Tex-Mex Food
Most food in Tucson or north of the Mexican-U.S. border is not Mexican but is referred to as ‘Tex-Mex', meaning a fusion of the two countries. Common ingredients include Texas beef/pork/chicken, yellow cheddar cheese, wheat flour or corn, beans, and tomatoes.
Depending on the dish, the herbs/spices used may include cumin, cilantro, oregano, garlic, and chili. Popular choices of Tex-Mex dishes include tortillas, tacos, fajitas, burritos and quesadillas, all referred to as Southwestern food. Of course, this spicy food must be washed down with a fresh margarita, a drink invented in Juarez, Mexico in 1945. If a craft beer is preferred, try La Rosa, a creamy ale made with the prickly pear.
Food Justice
Gastronomy is far more encompassing than just food. One of the goals of both the City of Tucson and UNESCO is to reduce and eliminate hunger. Local foods are used by many different organizations in Tucson including Market on the Move, Mobile Soup Patrols, Las Milpitas Community Farms and the San Xavier Cooperative Farm.
Tucson is ‘food insecure.' There are 46.5 million Americans, or 1 in 7 people who depend on a network of food banks to feed themselves. Tucson, at 15.1 percent, is just above the American average. Various organizations help to create food justice, such as The Pima Community Food Bank and KGUN9, and Stuff the Bus.
Tourist Destination
Tucson is indeed a culinary destination for tourists. At last count, the Greater Tucson Area had 1,551 restaurants, representing 54 ethnic communities. Over many years, my wife and I have come to enjoy numerous restaurants. Our favorite recommendations include:
- Congress, Cup Café – breakfast/brunch Lindy's on 4th – giant hamburgers.
- Charro Café – lunch and Mexican. Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar – steak/American beef. Pizzeria Bianco – best pizza. Kingfisher Bar and Grill – seafood.
No two people can ever agree on the best Tucson restaurants, but more important to the area is the agreement reached on the importance of using edible desert food, the biodiversity of food and the environment, sustainability and the reduction of poverty.
In October 2017, President Trump withdrew the United States membership in UNESCO, but the people of Tucson are proud of their accomplishments and not about to give back the award. Jonathan Mabry, President of Tucson City of Gastronomy stated, "…..Tucson will be unaffected by the withdrawal. "
A free booklet called ‘Edible Baja Arizona' is available for tourists/locals that continues to publish articles about the City of Gastronomy.