Although restaurants that cater to new trends are always popping up in Tucson, many diners still crave traditional Italian, Mexican or French cuisine. Luckily, whatever the dining preferences, Tucson restaurants satisfy myriad tastes.

After travels to Paris or Montreal, locals can come home to enjoy paté or chateau briand with bearnaise sauce at Le Rendez-vous. The classic French restaurant was established in 1981, and its owner/chef Jean-Claude Berger was born in France. “We smoke our own mesquite salmon. Very little is store-bought,” says Gordon Berger, the owner’s son and manager of Le Rendez-vous.

“Our Grand Marnier soufflés are made to order. We feature a romantic setting with tableside flambées” that are quite dramatic, says Gordon, 32, who lived in France studying its cuisine for three years, and he sometimes does the cooking at Le Rendez-vous. “I grew up working in the restaurant, wearing every hat,” he says.

Tucson’s restaurants go beyond varied cuisines; they also contribute to our city’s history of diversity. “I’ve been part of Tucson for over 35 years,” says Joe Abi-Ad, owner of the Falafel King. “With the economy still bad we’re continuing our lunch and dinner values for the Tucson community.”

Abi-Ad, who hails from Lebanon, offers “good bargains” of falafel in pita bread, and chicken or beef shawarma. Although the fare at Falafel King may be considered fast food since it’s prepared quickly, all dishes are “homemade and made fresh with the finest Mediterranean ingredients,” says Abi-Ad.

Italian cuisine is ever-popular in Tucson, “and now that the weather is getting cooler people are looking for pastas, which are around 75 percent made in-house,” at Tavolino Ristorante Italiano, says Larissa Capizzano, assistant manager.

“Our lasagna is the best I’ve ever had and that includes my mom’s,” she told the AJP, adding that she hopes her mother doesn’t get mad at her. “I come from a very Italian family.”

Tavolino has a wood-burning rotisserie fired by mesquite, notes Capizzano. “We’ll have a new fall menu next month,” she says, which will bring back the most popular specials of previous seasons. Tavolino also boasts a happy hour with all drinks and appetizers priced under $8.

Mexican food is a staple in Tucson, and La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill owner Ron Yaeli notes that the locally owned La Salsa restaurants are celebrating their 16th birthday this year. “We’re featuring dinner for two with steak or chicken fajitas and two beers or fountain drinks for $16,” Margie Fenton, La Salsa’s marketing coordinator — and Yaeli’s mother-in-law — told the AJP.

“We’re fast casual, but our food is made to order. I’m proud that my family has offered this good food in Tucson for 16 years,” she says. La Salsa’s success is also about customer and staff loyalty. “I’ve know some of the people who work for us since they were kids,” notes Fenton.

The 52 members of Tucson Originals independently owned and operated restaurants also strive to promote loyalty among Tucson diners. “We were the first city in the nation to come up with this concept of grouping local restaurants” for everyone’s benefit, says Colette Landeen, executive director of the Tucson Originals. “We started out with just a handful [of restaurants] in 1998. We now run the full gamut from casual dining to white tablecloth.”

The organization started out as a “financial buying group creating a level playing field with the chains,” explains Lan­deen. “It’s become more altruistic, giving back to the community.”

One way Tucson Originals contributes to the community is through the annual Tucson Culinary Festival, which will take place Oct. 27-30 (tucsonculinaryfestival.com). The organization provides volunteers for three nights of eating events, and “a major portion of the ticket sales,” says Landeen, will benefit New Beginnings for Women and Children, research at the Diamond Children’s Medical Center and Arizona’s Childrens Association.

Todd Martin, co-owner of the Tucson Tamale Company, with his wife, Sherry, recently joined the board of Tucson Originals. Part of the bigger picture of belonging to Tucson Originals, says Martin, “is supporting local businesses. Even when the economy is booming, around 70 percent of the money stays in the community. It helps all of us. I really believe in that.”

Promoting Tucson’s beauty also contributes to the success of local restaurants. At Loews Ventana Canyon’s Flying V Bar & Grill, the motto is about enjoying Tucson’s “fresh mountain air and delicious Southwestern cuisine.”

On the site of the former Flying V Dude Ranch, the Flying V grill touts its tableside guacamole, beef tenderloin, seared salmon and seasonal vegetarian dishes. Whether sitting on the grill’s patio or indoors, diners can partake of the nightly happy hour.

Shlomo & Vito’s New York Delicatessen hopes “to bring back the mentality of the family dinner” this fall, says co-owner Matt McKinnon. Shlomo & Vito’s will offer more dishes for diners to share, such as “an antipasto platter for the table. We’re going to have a more extensive appetizer menu, including jumbo fried ravioli and jumbo fried pickles.”

Although the fried pickles are a Southern favorite that McKinnon and co-owner Dean Greenberg fell in love with in New York City, of all places, they’re focusing on Jewish and Italian food people remember growing up with, or “comfort food. The recipes we use are almost exclusively from Dean’s family,” says McKinnon. “We’re sticking with the best ingredients. We use Boar’s Head meats, which aren’t cheap. We’re not substituting cheaper products” because of the economy; “that’s not who we are.”

“We’re introducing Northern Italian dishes that are light and fresh, like pappardelle pasta with green beans and basil-dominated pesto,” says Larissa Capizzano, Tavolino Ristorante Italiano event coordinator. “Our pasta is made in-house. Our dishes are not the heavy chicken parmesan that people often think of as Italian food.”

Tavolino Ristorante Italiano is locally owned, although the chef and manager hail from Italy. “We have a welcoming Italian atmosphere with personality and charm,” Capizzano told the AJP.

A different kind of old-world charm is evident at Falafel King. Owner Joe Abi-Ad has a long family history of food preparation — around 700 years in his native Lebanon. “Everybody tells me I make the most authentic, best-tasting falafel in Tucson” at affordable prices, says Abi-Ad, who traveled to Lebanon last summer. “I try to educate people about Middle Eastern food,” he says. He got the idea for a new eggplant salad on his trip, but, he adds, “it’s labor intensive, has to be made fresh and sell that day.”

Abi-Ad also caters for private parties and fills special orders, especially for lamb dishes. “I don’t use domestic lamb but only the best lamb, which comes from New Zealand.”

Guiseppe’s Ristorante Italiano takes similar pride in its ethnic food preparation. “Everything is homemade at Guiseppe’s,” says Joshua Velderrain, who co-owns the restaurant with his brother and chef, Israel. “Our prices are very low with good-sized portions and a really affordable wine list. Our food and service are much better than at any chain restaurant.” Homemade desserts change every other day and often include fresh fruit.

With summer and warmer temperatures coming, Guiseppe’s will offer more salads, lighter fish entrees, and a new menu item — cold cucumber soup. For Mother’s Day the restaurant will serve a special petite filet mignon, Tuscan style.

Shlomo & Vito’s New York Delicatessen will offer a Mother’s Day brunch this year with a buffet that uses its whole courtyard, including meat-carving stations and Jewish specialties such as kugel and blintzes.

“Our customers are looking for consistency,” says owner Dean Greenberg. “They want a knish or pastrami sandwich just like you get in the best New York delis. We’ve got the Jewish concept, the Italian concept and the diner concept.” People can come in at 7 p.m. and get an omelet or pancakes for dinner. “We have lots of choices, like a diner, and serve everything all day,” he says. Then there are the desserts: “We make them all in-house. My favorite is the key lime pie,” he says.

“People eat with their eyes. Make it big, make it tasty so they want to come back for more,” says Greenberg.

Tucson Originals, a marketing association of 48 locally owned restaurants, capitalizes on the uniqueness of the Old Pueblo’s independently owned eating establishments. Currently, with the growing move toward healthier eating, Tucson restaurants are “anxious to put spring veggies on their menus,” says Norma Gentry, owner of Proventures Marketing, Networking & Creative Talent, which represents Tucson Originals. “Farmers are now producing much larger organic crops, so there’s more competition.”

Renee’s Organic Oven, formerly Eclectic Pizza and one of the Tucson Originals, now uses only organic ingredients, serves organic wines and offers gluten-free pizza, says Gentry. Vero Amore has also started to make gluten-free pizza. And other Originals such as Lodge on the Desert, Acacia, Kingfisher and Maynard’s Market & Kitchen use sustainably raised beef and chicken “whenever possible,” she says. Chad’s Steakhouse, Pastiche Modern Eatery and Frankie’s Philly Cheesesteaks use Certified Angus Beef, although it’s not local. In addition, many of the Tucson Originals are “trying biodegradable take-out containers,” adds Gentry.

Tucson Original restaurants “have raised awareness that there’s a brand of places to go that are unique to Tucson,” says Pat Connor, co-owner of Pastiche and president of the restaurant association. “Chain restaurants are a dime a dozen. You can find them in any city. Consumers here have choices” of among the Tucson Originals that support community events. Last year alone, says Connor, “Pastiche did 46 charity events.” The Originals’ summer initiative will begin on June 1, with every member restaurant promoting an item or meal for $20.11.

Tucson’s resort restaurants also want to cater to local diners throughout the year. Azul Restaurant and Lounge at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa serves lunch and dinner, offers happy hour specials, free valet parking, and live outdoor music. And their menu is always changing. “When people return we want to give them something new to enjoy,” says Richard Brooks, director of marketing.

The Flying V at Loews Ventana Canyon has a new deck and has added fire pits for outdoor dining or cocktails, adding to the ambiance, which includes a waterfall, says Mark Lindsay, Ventana Canyon director of sales and marketing. Their gazpacho is made with Willcox tomatoes, and local citrus is used in salads, says Geneya Sauro, director of food and beverage.

Delicious cuisine is important at local restaurants but the dining-out environment also draws customers. Accomplished high school musicians, who play jazz every Tuesday and Saturday, have a following at the Sheraton’s Fire + Spice: An Arizona Grill. “Flavors inspired by the Sonoran Desert and the Southwest are our specialty,” says Damen Kompanowski, general manager. “Our fish tacos are very popular because they’re grilled, not deep fried, and are served with a distinctive Arizona rice and grilled veggies. Our jalapeño snake bites are amazing.”

Ginza Sushi co-owner Diana Raiman says her husband and chef, Jun Arai, enjoys personalizing dishes for their regular customers. If people sit at the sushi bar “Jun will offer omakase, or chef’s choice, [that means ‘it’s up to you’ in Japanese], says Raiman. “I recommend that people try new things, tell Jun their [food] likes and dislikes. Be adventurous.”

Fire + Spice: An Arizona Grill at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel and Suites prides itself on its western fusion specialties, combining Spanish, Mexican and Native American cuisines. With local chorizo rolls and fish taco entrées, and cilantro-lime butter, jalapeno jelly and spiced olive oil accompanying each bread basket, the two-year-old establishment has a burgeoning clientele. One of its signature dishes, says hotel general manager Damen Kompanowski, is sweet potato chiles rellenos, which especially appeal to vegetarians.

But the menu isn’t all that interests Kompanowski. “We believe in giving back to the community,” he says. The restaurant hosts talented local teen jazz musicians three nights a week and has partnered with schools. Last year, Fire + Spice assisted Ft. Lowell Elementary School, where 95 percent of students participated in the subsidized lunch program, says Kompanowski. “Our staff members helped in the classroom with reading [activities], did manual labor like painting rooms and fixed up the playground.”

Flying V Bar & Grill at Loews Ventana Canyon connects with the greater Tucson community through its menu, which includes ingredients from its adopt-a-farmer program. The resort has joined with 12 local farms to provide fresh and often unique ingredients, says head chef Ken Harvey. Not only do the resort’s five eateries use local honey and tortillas, they purchase mesquite flour, white beans, Saguaro seeds and syrup from Toca Farms, part of the Tohono O’odham Community Action program. And, Loews Ventana Canyon goes beyond buying local ingredients and creating local dishes, says Harvey; staff members “actually have classes with and harvest [ingredients] with the farmers.”

Although the Flying V Bar menu boasts entrees as varied as root vegetable lasagna and bison burgers, it’s the tableside guacamole that Harvey touts. The traditional and not-so-traditional ingredients vary by season, include mangoes in the summer and pumpkin, squashes and roasted corn in the fall. Reliance on local food sources, as well as only purchasing seafood from sustainable fisheries, says Harvey, “is what sets us apart.”

What’s unique about the Italian cuisine at Guiseppe’s, says chef/owner Joe Scordato, is that “we make everything from scratch — meatballs, sausage, bread, all our sauces and desserts. We give people fine dining at an affordable price, and you don’t have to spend half your paycheck if you’re not rich.”

Many of Guiseppe’s original Italian recipes come from Scordato’s mother, the late Ann Scordato. “We enjoy feeding our customers. We’re more than just a restaurant,” says Scordato, whose family moved to Arizona in 1963 from Paterson, N.J., because of his brother Daniel’s severe asthma. The family opened Scordato’s in 1972.

At Guiseppe’s, “we have a huge following; some people eat here two or three times a week. That’s the best part,” says Scordato, “seeing people who return again and again. Locally owned businesses make Tucson a really nice place to be.” Restaurants contribute a lot to Tucson’s economy, he says, adding, “We don’t have a million dollar advertising budget like the big chains. We care about quality food and building relationships.”

Classic American dishes with a Southwestern twist are Bistro 44’s specialty, says Rick Siegler, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Sara. “We use Red Bird free range chicken from Colorado for our very popular chicken and dumplings. Very few restaurants go to the added expense to use it. We also use all Certified Angus Beef.”

Bistro 44, which opened in January 2007, “goes for traditional quality. We don’t skip any steps,” says Siegler, adding that the kitchen staff prepares fresh mashed potatoes eight to 10 times nightly, rather than leaving potatoes sitting under heat lamps.

“We take a lot of pride in serving quality food,” he says. “People are pleasantly surprised that we’re not overly pricey.” And, says Siegler, “We serve a diverse menu. Bistro 44 is family friendly, a great place for everyday eating out or for celebrating a special occasion.”

While Vivace Restaurant has been a mainstay of elegant Italian dining, owner Daniel Scordato opened Pizzeria Vivace at St. Philip’s Plaza in 2009. “It’s not your typical pizzeria,” says Daniel. “I always wanted to do more casual Italian food. I was a big fan of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, which may have been the first one in America to make artisan-type sophisticated crust. I thought it would be fun to do that in Tucson.

“It’s all about the crust,” notes Daniel, adding that you’ll see thinner crusts in New York City, while in Chicago, deep-dish crusts rule. Neither are like pizzas prepared in Naples, Italy, with crusts “that get that bubbliness, and have very simple artisan toppings, [most often] mozzarella cheese, basil and tomato sauce,” he says. “We use Kalamata olives, not canned California black olives.”

Daniel is passionate about his pizza making: “Our crust takes two days to make. We use biga, or starter in Italian, to develop the flavor. We use hand-made artisan cheeses. You can’t judge pizza by what you’ve eaten your whole life,” he says. “I thought Tucson diners are more sophisticated and would appreciate something a little different.”

The Westin La Paloma Resort has also made a recent change, converting its 25-year-old Desert Gardens restaurant into the Azul Restaurant Lounge last November. “We went for a more modern, Mediterranean theme,” says Richard Brooks, director of sales and marketing. “We even have a charcuterie station for specialty meats. We wanted to be more of a destination restaurant for the local population.” In addition, the new Azul rewards program features monthly e-mail specials and discounts on future meals.

Azul offers a happy hour nightly from 4:30-7:30 p.m. On Thursday nights Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa personnel give free chair and hand massages, and Azul hosts Friday Night Live with acoustic guitar music. Terrace dining around the restaurant’s two newly installed fire pits, says Brooks, “contributes to the great ambiance.”

Tucson’s world-class resorts draw visitors from all over the world. Tourists from across the United States, Israel, Egypt and Lebanon have told Joe Abi-Ad, owner of Falafel King, that he serves “the best falafel, hummus and tabouli they’ve ever had, the authentic dishes. I don’t modernize them.”

Abi-Ad has been preparing Mediterranean dishes in Tucson for 35 years, but he notes that his Lebanese family has been “involved in food preparation for the last 800 years.” When he first settled in Tucson it was hard to find all the essential ingredients, but now they’re all readily available.

“When I first came here there were only 300,000 people,” says Abi-Ad. “Many Mediterranean restaurants have come and gone over the years. I’ve closed and opened new ones myself but I’m still here. My daughter Mary will graduate from culinary school in Scottsdale in 2011. I hope she’ll take over the business.”

For a traditional Japanese dinner, Tucsonans can head to Ginza Sushi, which opened in 2007. The restaurant serves izakaya, which are similar to Spanish tapas, offering diners small portions of different sushi to try, says co-owner Diana Arai. She’s particularly fond of the ceviche sushi roll concocted by her husband, co-owner Jun, combining her Mexican heritage with the Japanese favorite. The roll includes albacore tuna with spices and lime juice.

La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill offers an authentic tacqueria, or neighborhood Mexican dining experience, with a constantly changing menu. “We serve healthy fast food, free tortilla chips and have a salsa bar with eight varieties of salsa,” says Margie Fenton, director of marketing. “All our food is cooked to order” and changes with the season, including a cranberry salsa around Thanksgiving that customers will start asking for soon. And, she adds, “When you see the snow on Mt. Lemmon, it’s time for chicken tortilla soup.”

American Southwestern, Mediterranean, Jamaican and even Irish fare comprise the “hodgepodge of cuisines that we favor” at Pastiche Modern Eatery, says Julie Connors, who has co-owned the Tucson restaurant with her husband, Pat, for 12 years. The Connors’ propensity for inclusion extends to their customer base: “We have our regulars in the community,” says Connors. “There’s a bond, like an extended family in a way.”

Besides their award-winning cuisine, Connors says that “philanthropic involvement, giving back to the community” is important to her and Pat, who initiated the “Philanthropy with Phlavor” promotion in which other Tucson restaurants participate. Throughout the months of October and June, patrons can designate 5 percent of their check to a nonprofit of their choice.

Pastiche offers specials such as Tuesday steak night, when customers can enjoy a $15 steak dinner with a full salad and two sides. The restaurant also offers customers smaller bistro-size portions. “The reduced prices,” says Connors, “help their pocketbooks as well as their tummies.”

New York-sized portions are what owner Dean Greenberg has in mind at Shlomo & Vito’s New York Delicatessen — as well as evoking memories of the Big Apple. “I have a passion to bring the New York experience to Tucson,” he told the AJP.

As for the name of his deli, Greenberg says, “growing up in New York, Jews and Italians were interchangeable.” During the 1950s, his family and their Italian neighbors would cook a special Jewish-Italian meal to cheer everybody up, he says, if the Brooklyn Dodgers lost.

Recently, Greenberg, who also runs a money management firm, visited the Stage and Carnegie delis in New York. “I was surprised and disappointed,” he says. “I wanted to find out what they were doing better than us.”

Instead Greenberg discovered “our corned beef and pastrami that we get from Sy Ginsberg [from Detroit] beat theirs.” And in New York, he adds, “they don’t even give pickles anymore.”

Restaurants come and go, as do food trends. This spring, Tucson restaurants are extolling their use of the freshest ingredients, locally grown produce — and their place in Tucson “dining out” history.  

Papagayo Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, says owner Bryan Mazon, is a family affair that was started by his great-great-grandfather Alexander Levin as a brewing company in 1866. “We believe we’re one of the oldest restaurant families in Arizona.” 

The Levins were the third family to settle in Tucson between 1864 and 1866 after the Civil War. Levin, who was a Jewish pioneer from Bahn, Prussia, met and married Zenona Molina in Sonora, Mexico, and the couple moved to Tucson, says Mazon. Molina started a small Mexican restaurant inside the brewery situated at the end of Pennington Street, in what is now the Arizona State office building. “We are Tucson history,” says Mazon.

To appeal to today’s dining needs, Mazon’s wife, Maria, who is one of Papagayo’s chefs, created a gluten-free menu that is served daily after 5 p.m.

“Our food is 100 percent healthy,” says Mazon. Although the menu includes cheese and fried dishes, he says, “it doesn’t have the chemicals you find in other fried foods. We’ve been using canola oil since 1975.  

“We were the first Mexican restaurant to move into the Foothills” at Papagayo’s present location at Swan and Sunrise, says Mazon. “My grandfather [Rene A. Perez, Sr.] always wanted to have a destination outside of town, which proved correct when he opened on Fort Lowell in 1973. There are no outskirts now.” 

When it comes to Italian food, the name Scordato has long been synonymous with fine cuisine in Tucson. “We make everything from scratch,” says Joe Scordato, who recently opened Guiseppe’s Ristorante Italiano. “We make all our own sauces, butcher our own meat, and make the sausage ourselves. We offer reasonable prices with the best quality food.” The new Guiseppe’s also offers Telero white and red wine imported from Italy at a good price. “We don’t want people to have to spend their whole paycheck to have a nice dinner out,” he says.

A native of Paterson, N.J., where his father operated an Italian restaurant, Scordato came to Tucson with his family in 1967. They opened the original Scordato’s in 1972. “Our family life has played out in the restaurant business,” says Scordato. “My brothers and I worked in the kitchen. One sister played the piano.”

At Guiseppe’s, “our prices are special year-round. We have the absolute best food you can get for reasonable prices,” he says. “We have happy hour all day.”

Daniel, another Scordato brother, owns Vivace Restaurant at St. Phillip’s Plaza.  His latest venture, Pizzeria Vivace, which opened a year ago, serves specially created thin-crust “artisan pizza,” using Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese, which he refers to as “Italy’s finest.” 

Daniel Scordato wanted to “do something more casual” than Vivace, a Tucson landmark in Italian fare since 1993. When the space next door to Vivace became available it seemed like a win-win situation, allowing him to easily check on whatever is cooking.

Amereno’s Little Italy, at a new location on Grant Road, prepares authentic Italian food, including such appetizer favorites as antipasto, fried mozzarella, and bruschette, as well as traditional Italian entrees, such as homemade cheese ravioli and eggplant parmigiana. The restaurant also serves Italian wedding soup — a festive dish with or without the accompanying nuptials. In addition, Amereno’s offers a catering service for outside events.

There’s an array of Japanese restaurants in Tucson, but Ginza Sushi & Izakaya, which opened in 2008, is different from most; it serves more than the usual sushi and tempura. The establishment invites diners to share tapas-style small plates, such as Bibimbap Chirashi, consisting of assorted seafood with spicy Korean sauce served over sushi rice, or Japanese fried eggplant.  As in Japan, Ginza Sushi is a place where family and friends can meet to socialize — and try something new.

La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill is celebrating its 30th year of operation in Tucson. With its constantly changing menu, La Salsa provides a tacqueria, or neighborhood restaurant, with healthy fast food, free tortilla chips, and a salsa bar with eight varieties. Everything is cooked to order at the restaurant’s open grill; the restaurant is currently promoting its green-chili chicken burrito. 

Another Tucson landmark is the Flying V Bar and Grill at Loews Ventana Canyon, which has been in operation at the same location for 25 years, says executive chef Ken Harvey. The Flying V is named after the original ranch located about a mile north of the hotel.

Touting their new spring/summer menu, Harvey says the restaurant carries sustainable seafood that’s flown in daily, is a natural product raised in ocean pens [not farm-raised] and isn’t derived from over-fishing.  “It’s eco-friendly,” he says.

“Instead of appetizers, we’re calling our small plates ‘things you share.’ The small plates are lighter, [and we’re] getting ready for hotter weather,” says Harvey. The Flying V has paired up with the Tohono O’odham nation for mesquite flour and with suppliers in Strawberry, Ariz., for goat cheese, and from Willcox for produce such as squash and tomatoes.  

“Street foods” — little tacos, hot dogs, locally made tortillas are also on the new menu, he says. “We’re also known for our amazing guacamole prepared tableside and our margaritas. 

“The Flying V is one of our most uniquely local restaurants,” says Harvey. “We want to be a leader, not a follower, with what’s new in the food world. We’re always evolving. We want to be known as cutting edge.”

Harvest Restaurant prides itself on its “seasonally inspired cooking.” The restaurant concocts seasonal cocktails using only fresh-squeezed juices and on-the-spot muddled ingredients. Harvest serves grass-fed beef and handmade pasta, including ravioli, gnocchi and fettuccine. Their new summer prix-fixe dinner menu with three courses will run from June 1 to Sept. 30. In addition, Harvest’s Sunset Menu offers seven entrees at a reduced price. 

The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, “a premier Southwest destination” since 1986, is nestled on 250 acres at the edge of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The resort — with its spectacular view for Tucsonans and guests alike — will offer a gourmet Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday, May 9. In support of local growers, all its menus offer organic and “regionally responsible” dishes.

Emphasizing the use of indigenous ingredients from the Sonoran Desert, Dos Locos Restaurant and the Sundance Café at the Hilton El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort focus on Southwestern cuisine.  The resort has been situated in Oro Valley for 27 years. “If you’re local and you haven’t been out here you’re really missing something,” says Julia Hansen, director of marketing. “What could be better — at any time of year — than sipping the house specialty, a prickly pear margarita, while watching the sunset over Pusch Ridge?”