Everyone should do flights, honestly.
For those of us who are indecisive and want to try one of everything, flights are our best option.
We can count on our favorite breweries to offer up beer flights, but there are a handful of Tucson spots that offer up flights for other yummy things — ice cream, pancakes, mimosas and even bacon 🥓
Cider and soda flights at Bawker Bawker
400 N. Fourth Ave., Phone: 520-222-8871
Flights at Bawker Bawker Cider House come in four or six pours, and you can choose from draft hard cider, cider slushies and nonalcoholic craft sodas.
At any given time you'll find about two dozen artisan hard ciders on tap at Tucson's first and only cider house, Bawker Bawker, which opened on Fourth Avenue in September 2020.
The refreshingly crisp beverage made from fermented apples comes in a variety of flavors ranging from lemon prickly pear to tomato basil to fan-favorite orange cream and owner Don Rubino creates a new flavor to add to the tap weekly. There's also icy cider slushies in two flavors and a handful of non-alcoholic craft sodas on the menu.
"We sometimes hear it's a little overwhelming," Rubino says of all the options.
With so many choices you'll be hard-pressed to choose just one flavor to try, but the cider house's flights make it easy to try a little bit of everything.
Flights come in four or six and are 5 oz. each. You can choose any combination of ciders, sodas and slushies. Four-pour flights for one are $15 and six-pour flights are $22.50 and recommended for two people.
Visit the Bawker Bawker Cider House website or follow @bawkerbawkercider on Instagram to see what's on tap.
Hours: Wednesday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, Noon to 11 p.m.; Sunday, Noon to 7 p.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Happy hour is 4-6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday.
Pancake flights at Snooze, an A.M. Eatery
2500 E. Grant Road, Phone: 520-815-5500
Snooze offers a pancake flight with three pancakes of your choice.
Breakfast chain Snooze opened in midtown last year and brought with them their signature pancake flight.
The pancake flight comes with three smaller pancakes in Snooze’s three most popular flavors: Pineapple Upside Down, Blueberry Danish and Sweet Potato. But if those aren’t quite what you’re in the mood for, you can choose any three flavors that your pancake-loving heart desires — or you can switch out half of a French toast for one of the pancakes. It’s truly a breakfast-lover’s dream.
“We have offered a pancake flight since Day 1 — April 2, 2006,” senior brand manager Becky Fairchild said in an email. “We are known for our pancakes and don’t believe that choosing just one is fair!”
“We love to suggest a pancake flight for the table as an appetizer for our guests and it’s definitely the best way to start your experience,” she said.
Hours: Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Margarita flights at Reforma
4340 N. Campbell Ave., Suite 101, Phone: 520-867-4134
You can choose any three margaritas from Reforma Modern Mexican’s menu to create your own flight.
While you can't go wrong with a classic margarita, if you're in the mood to shake things up a bit Reforma Modern Mexican has 10 different on-the-rocks creations to try.
Reforma's margarita flavors include cucumber mint, mango habanero and strawberry jalapeño, and with their super popular margarita flights you can try 5 oz. servings of three different flavors.
Choose either the Fan Favorites Flight (comes with a house, prickly pear and blood orange marg) or the House Favorites Flight (with mango habanero, blueberry basil and mezcal margarita) for $14. Or, for $16 you can choose any three margaritas (except the Roca Patron margarita) from the menu.
Hours: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Bacon, bloody mary and mimosa flights at The Oink Café
7131 E. Broadway, Phone: 520-296-6465
You can try all eight bacon varieties cooked up at The Oink Cafe with its signature bacon flight.
If the name didn't give it away, bacon is king at this east-side breakfast and lunch spot.
You can find it on burgers, sandwiches, salads, mac and cheese and doughnuts. But the bacon flight is the way to go to savor the eatery's specialty bacon strips.
The Oink Cafe's crispy bacon staples are apple cider, applewood smoked, hickory, honey cured, jalapeño, pepper, sugar cured bacon. And there's always an eighth chef's choice option which changes at least once every three months, recent flavors have included chipotle garlic, cinnamon sugar and pumpkin spice, says owner John Baxla.
The full flight includes one strip of all eight varieties for $11.49 or you can choose a half flight with four different choices for $6.49.
You can also wash down all the bacon with a brunchy cocktail flight with either four bloody marys or four mimosas for $11. There are six different bloody mary recipes to choose from and nine mimosa flavors including prickly pear and piña colada.
Hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Ice Cream flight at The Screamery
A selection of flavors in six one-scoop helpings are available at The Screamery in Tucson, including chocolate, left, coffee toffee, blueberry cheesecake, peppermint chip, strawberry banana sorbet and vanilla.
Have you ever walked into an ice cream shop and gotten overwhelmed with the seemingly-endless choice of flavors? Because same.
The Screamery serves up an ice cream flight, so you can get six sample scoops and indulge in all your favorite flavors.
So if you want fudgesicle and Bee’s Knees (a lavender and sweet cream base with a honey swirl, if you’ve never had it), but also something fruity like blueberry cheesecake, the flight is a great option — especially if you’re sharing.
The Screamery has five locations in the Tucson area and two in the Phoenix area.
Hours: Visit thescreamery.com for locations and hours
Tequila flight at Blanco Tacos + Tequila
2905 E. Skyline Dr., Phone: 520-232-1007
Sip your tequila with a beautiful patio view at the Fox Restaurant Concepts eatery Blanco Tacos + Tequila. Since “tequila” is literally in the name, it only makes sense that tequila flights are on the menu.
Blanco offers seven flights, each of which come with an ounce of blanco, reposado and añejo.
The flights available are:
- Azunia
- Milagro
- Fortaleza
- Mezcal
- Patron
- Casamigos
- El Tesoro
Or, with a more expensive price tag, you can get “The Ultra Flight,” which comes with Milagro single barrel, Don Julio 1942, and Reserva de la Familia.
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Mimosa Flights at the Cup Café
311 E. Congress St., Phone: (520)798-1618
You can build the perfect mimosa with the Cup Café's mimosa flight.
The mimosa flight offered for Easter and Mother's Day brunch at Hotel Congress' Cup Café were so popular the restaurant has made it a permanent part of the menu. 🥂
You get to select a bottle of bubbly (from three options), two fruit juices and two fruit syrups to create your perfect mimosa. Each flight also comes with mint, berries, basil and rosemary to garnish your drink. The flight ranges from $45-$55 depending on which bottle of bubbly you choose.
Hours: Sunday-Wednesday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4-9 p.m.
