Fired Pie opening Wednesday with free eats
The Phoenix fast-casual pizza chain Fired Pie is introducing itself to Tucson Wednesday with free food for all.
Between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. you can get a free pizza or salad for dine-in only.
Fired Pie, 350 E. Congress St., has no strings attached but it does have a favor to ask: When you come in, bring along a jar of peanut butter, canned foods, cereals or packaged snacks to be donated to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
Fired Pie follows the fast-casual pizza formula: You choose your crust, sauce, cheese and toppings and they put it together assembly line-like — think sandwich shop model — and pop in a super hot oven for 90 seconds or so.
The company, which opened its first restaurant in Phoenix in summer 2013, has nine locations in all. This is its first outside of Phoenix.
Cookies and wines, can there be anything finer?
The popular Tucson food truck Pin Up Pastries is teaming up with Arizona Hops & Vines Saturday for the Sonoita winery’s third annual Deck the Halls holiday party.
Pin Up Pastries is bringing five fun and wacky cookie creations to pair with the winery’s vintages. Cookies and wine is the hallmark of Deck the Halls — along with the inappropriate Santa. Don’t ask.
Shannon Zouzoulas, who owns and runs Arizona Hops & Vines with her sister Megan Haller, predicted this year’s event will “definitely be our best year by far.” And she credits a large part of that to Pin Up Pastries.
“For me it’s exciting to see what people come up with,” said Zouzoulas, referring to the delights that Tracey Nahrwold and her business partner Tracy Santa Cruz produce. The pair also have a competitive barbecue business Fork U BBQ, which has been in a number of national contests including the prestigious 2013 Jack Daniels World Invitational.
They will make 750 cookies in all, including peanut butter bacon, which Zouzoulas said might pair well with the Chardonnay; chocolate chip and potato chip that might accentuate the notes of The Temptress; chocolate chile to go with the fruity and frolicking The Fluffer; and apple cheese puff, which Zouzoulas said might partner well with Imbibe.
Nahrwold said they are tossing around ideas but haven’t settled on the final cookie, which Zouzoulas said she would pair with the seasonal glühwein. Of course, all the pairings could change, she warned.
Deck the Halls is 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Arizona Hops & Vine, 3450 Highway 82 in Sonoita. Details: call 1-888-569-1642 or at azhopsandvines.com
In other wine news
Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery’s 2013 Sangiovese took gold in the 2014 Arizona Republic Wine Competition. The red wine was made from Sangiovese fruit grown on Flying Leap’s Block 1 vineyard in the Kansas Settlement near Willcox.
Flying Leap’s winemakers Marc Moeller and Rolf Sasse made the wine, according to a news release.
Flying Leap has tasting rooms at St. Philip’s Plaza in Tucson, at their estate winery in Elgin , and in downtown Willcox and Bisbee. Details at flyingleapvineyards.com
Jackson Tavern, Metzger’s newest venture, set to open
Brian Metzger’s newest venture, Jackson Tavern, is set to open in early December in Plaza Palomino at 2900 N. Swan Road.
The menu features what Metzger likes to call “a modern expression of classic New England cuisine and culture,” inspired by his growing up in Rhode Island. Crafted by him and his executive chef and partner Virginia “Ginny” Wooters, it includes seafood playing a central role alongside a wide selection of beef, chicken, pork and pasta dishes.
So-called “seafood snacks” feature seasonal treats including oysters on the half shell, Little Neck clam cakes, “C Dogs,” and breaded and flash-fried lobster tails. Of course, any New England-themed eatery worth its “chowda” must have a killer version of clam chowder on hand. Jackson Tavern says its version is made with bacon and seasoned soda crackers.
They also will have street tacos — no doubt inspired by sister restaurant Gio Taco on East Congress Street — and what sounds like a very intriguing take on the newest Canadian import craze: potato skins poutine.
Jackson Tavern’s hours will be from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with a happy hour menu served from 10 p.m. to midnight. Brunch will be planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. See the full menu at jacksontavern.com
Metzger also owns Poppy Kitchen at 3770 E. Sunrise Drive at La Paloma Resort.
Sunshine mile food trucks sharing space
The weekly food truck gathering in the empty lot at 2419 E. Broadway, along Tucson’s Sunshine Mile, will continue to operate despite the large red-and-white, circus-style tent that has set up on the property.
Buckelew Farms is using the space, once home to the Panda Buffet Chinese restaurant, to sell its stock of Christmas trees.
Monica Hay Cook, owner of the Deco boutique and acting president of the Sunshine Mile business association, said there is enough room for at least some of the trucks to continue selling alongside Buckelew through the holidays.
It might even help business.
“It supports what we are trying to do, which is bring people to the area,” Cook said. “Buckelew will probably bring 1,000-plus people to that spot.”
The food trucks will continue to sell at the location from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. every Friday.
Holiday chocolate sightings
Hot chocolate is part of the mix when the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort and Spa’s tree lighting festivities get underway next Thursday.
There will also be carolers and The University of Arizona Pep Band. The event runs from 6-8 p.m. and guests are asked to bring a new toy to donate. Find the resort at 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd. Call 792-3500 for more details.
Also Friday, Blanco Tacos + Tequila offers hot chocolate sampling as part of Paws for the Holidays at La Encantada, 2905 E. Skyline Drive.
The event, which features photos with Santa for your favorite four-legged friend, costs $15 and benefits the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. It runs 5 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The snowfall — along with the hot chocolate sampling and music — continues in the courtyard Friday and Saturday evenings at 6 and 6:45 p.m. through Dec. 20.
