ALFONSO GOURMET OLIVE OIL & BALSAMICS
St. Philips Plaza, Suite #40 • 4320 N. Campbell Ave. 441-9081 Plaza Escondida • 7854 N. Oracle Road • 638-5000 www.alfonsooliveoil.com
Tom Alfonso, co-owner
Do you have a secret menu item?
All of our extra virgin olive oils are certified kosher and have been certified by Rabbi Yossie Shemtov. What is your earliest cooking memory? Being Italian, I grew up consuming olive oil, sitting under my grandparents’ grapevine ramada overlooking their garden, cooking and eating fresh vegetables from the garden using olive oil. My family used olive oil every day, so I acquired a taste for it at an early age.
What is your ultimate comfort food? Vegetables sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, potatoes finished with olive oil, goat cheese with chocolate balsamic vinegar — so much to choose from!
ECLECTIC CAFÉ
7053 E. Tanque Verde Road • 885-2842 • www.eclecticcafetucson.com
Grant Bennett, owner
Do you have a secret menu item?
It’s not a secret to anyone that my favorite menu item is the plato de calabacitas with grilled chicken. Healthy, satiating and each bite gets better and better.
What is your earliest cooking memory?
Making German-style donuts with my mother. I always got a little heavy-handed with the powdered sugar.
What is your ultimate comfort food?
Pionic Pizza.
GOURMET GIRLS GLUTEN FREE BAKERY/BISTRO
5845 N. Oracle Road • 408-9000 • www.gourmetgirlsglutenfree.com
Mary Steiger, chef/co-owner
What is your earliest cooking memory?
Making breakfast for my mother who was having a sick day when I was 5 years old. Thus began my lifelong passion for nurturing everyone with food.
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
Pumpkin chile in a bread bowl. The taste of fall and gluten free of course, with enough spice to keep it interesting.
What is your ultimate comfort food?
A toasted English muffin with butter and peanut butter drizzled with pure maple syrup. Heavenly!
HILTON TUCSON EL CONQUISTADOR RESORT EPAZOTE KITCHEN & COCKTAILS
10000 N. Oracle Road • 544-1705 • www.epazotekitchen.com
Jonathan Kupper, chef
What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Fresh citrus, because it can bring dishes to life with a fresh squeeze. I use a lot of citrus zest in my recipes. You can do so many things with citrus fruits too; they are very versatile.
What is your earliest cooking memory?
I would always offer to cook my family breakfast. I loved to make omelets, because I liked flipping them in the pan. I would always offer to help cook because in my parents’ house, if you didn’t help cook, you would have to clean.
What is your ultimate comfort food?
Any kind of hearty soup or stew. Anything from chicken and dumplings to beef stew loaded with vegetables. My grandmother used to make a sauerkraut and dumplings that I still crave to this day.
KALINA RUSSIAN CUISINE AND TEA HOUSE
8963 E. Tanque Verde Road• 360-4040 • www.kalinarestaurant.com
Natasha Kalina, chef/owner
What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Several: flour, eggs and heavy cream, because baking is what got me started on my cooking adventure. I love to make sweet treats because dessert is the best part of the meal.
What is your earliest cooking memory?
In the kitchen with my mom and grandmothers cooking for family parties during holidays. I was 10 years old and my responsibility was desserts. Before that I was in the kitchen washing dishes, which I love to do!
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
Grilled sirloin steak marinated in vodka.
LOEWS VENTANA CANYON FLYING V BAR & GRILL
7000 N. Resort Drive • 615-5495 • www.loewshotels.com/ventanacanyon
Ken Harvey, executive chef
Do you have a secret menu item?
Email me a week or more before your birthday/anniversary reservations to our Blues, Brews and BBQ Sunday brunch and we’ll personalize a dessert/mini cake for that special occasion.
What is your earliest cooking memory?
I remember watching “The Great Chefs of the West” series as a young boy. I made chicken with sherry BBQ sauce. I was 12 and it was my first time “stepping it up” at home. We had to drive over 15 miles to the next town to even find sherry and I still remember how I excited I was during the ride home. To this day the anticipation is still what is most interesting to me as a chef.
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
“Barbacoa style” 12-ounce lamb shank with agave glazed root vegetables and garden herbs, poblano and sweet potato hash.
NOBLE HOPS
1335 W. Lambert Lane, Oro Valley • 797-4677 • www.noblehops.com
Jamie Eldredge, chef
What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
This is a tricky question, but I’ll have to say it’s either red snapper or high quality beef ribeye. Red snapper has such a delicate yet unique flavor and it is incredibly versatile. Ribeye, however, may be the winner based solely on the fact that it is my favorite thing to eat and I seldom order anything else while I’m dining out.
What is your earliest cooking memory?
I was around 9 or 10 and had gone fishing with my dad in a little reservoir outside Salt Lake City called Jordanelle. I caught two rainbow trout. We took them home and my dad demonstrated how to clean them. He then did a very simple presentation of butter, lemon and herbed bread crumbs on the filets. I was astounded at how great they tasted.
What is your ultimate comfort food?
My grandmother-in-law makes a wonderful Hawaiian dish, “Island Chicken,” for their annual New Year’s Eve Japanese and Hawaiian family feast. It’s deep fried chicken thighs that have been marinated in pineapple juice, soy sace, sesame oil and scallions. This dish always reminds me of family.
PASTICHE FOOD/ DRINK
3025 N. Campbell Ave. • 325-3333 • www.pasticheme.com
Timothy Moore, chef
What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
It depends on what season but I always love fresh herbs, especially rosemary.
What is your earliest cooking memory?
Making butter cookies for the holidays with my grandmother when I was 5 or 6.
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
Pumpkin ravioli with toasted fennel and champagne cream sauce and fried sweet potato.
PIONIC PIZZA & PASTA
2643 N. Campbell Ave., #105 • 327-4992 • www.pionicpizza.com
Danny Marquez, chef
Do you have a secret menu item?
I don’t believe in secrets, rather I lean toward balance and transparency. Our philosophy is that all menu items help “balance” our pizzas, taking great care to not let one thing dominate the final dish. When you look at a signature Pionic pizza you should see the sauce through the cheese and each topping should be spread evenly throughout. It is this balance that helps us cook the pizza evenly and ensures a unique bite every time.
What is your earliest cooking memory?
Mirroring my mother as she made tamales near the holidays.
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
We are currently testing grilled eggplant, zuchini and squash. Stay posted.
QUEEN CREEK OLIVE MILL
2905 E. Skyline Drive, #167 • 395-0563 • www.queencreekolivemill.com
Perry Rea, owner
What is your earliest cooking memory?
Cooking in the kitchen with my mom, making homemade pasta.
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
We’ll have a pumpkin spice extra virgin olive oil, with allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. It can be used to jazz up sweet potatoes or yams or in your favorite recipes, such as pumpkin bread.
What is your ultimate comfort food?
A big bowl of homemade pasta with my mom’s sauce and meatballs. When I was growing up, my mom would get up early every Sunday to start her marinara sauce with meatballs. With three boys in the house, even if she made 40 meatballs, they hardly ever made it all the way from the pot to the table.
RADISSON SUITES TUCSON HOTEL BREEZE PATIO BAR AND GRILL
6555 E. Speedway Blvd. • 731-1414 • www.radissontucson.com
Duncan Bulkley, executive chef
What is your earliest cooking memory?
I cooked terrible game hen for a presentation class in high school.
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
A spin on shepherd’s pie.
What is your ultimate comfort food?
Braised short rib or smoked wet brisket.
REILLY CRAFT PIZZA & DRINK REILLY BEER GARDEN
101 E. Pennington St. • 882-5550 • www.reillypizza.com
Tyler Fenton, chef
What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Whatever is fresh and high quality (because it makes my job easy).
What is your earliest cooking memory?
Making meatballs and pasta with my extended family.
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
Shaved brussel sprouts salad with cauliflower, dried apricots, marcona almonds and farro.
TAVOLINO RISTORANTE ITALIANO
2890 E. Skyline Drive • 531-1913 • www.tavolinoristorante.com
Massimo Tenino, chef/owner
Do you have a secret menu item?
Bottarga — it is a Mediterranean delicacy of cured tuna roe usually from Sicily or Sardinia. We make a simple pasta with extra virgin olive oil, garlic and a touch of white wine, and as soon as it comes off the stove we shave bottarga right on top. It has a savory or umami taste that reminds me of the ocean. I like to think of it as the white truffle of the sea.
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
We used to have a grilled steak at the original Tavolino, dressed with rosemary and olive oil and served with cannellini beans and baby spinach. Since our guests have been asking for it and it is such a good satisfying fall dish we are bringing “Bistecca alla Fiorentina” back.
What is your ultimate comfort food?
This is easy, I love pasta al dente with not too much sauce so the flavor of the pasta itself is the star. A good plate of pasta makes me happy and somehow it makes me dream.
VERO AMORE
2929 N. Swan Road • 325-4122 12130 N. Dove Mountain Blvd. • 579-2292 • www.veroamorepizza.com
Aric Mussman, co-owner
What is your earliest cooking memory?
My grandmother taught me to make cinnamon toast.
Describe one new dish for the fall/winter season.
The sushi roll salad at Noble Hops, our sister restaurant, has pan-seared ahi tuna with toasted macadamia nuts, grilled cucumber and avocado, toppoed with a sweet ginger and soy vinaigrette and fried wontons.
What is your ultimate comfort food?
Matzah ball soup.
