New year, new restaurants! While we were busy buying presents, the foodies of Tucson have been hard at work designing restaurants, creating menus and putting the finishing touches on those dishes that'll wow us in 2018.
They're off to a great start. A brand-new concept Barrio Sandwiches is upping the lunch game with quality bread and local produce. And the taquito joint Rollies Mexican Patio is practically reinventing South Twelfth Avenue as we know it. Keep your eyes on the south side, there's more coming down the pipe ...
Tucson has lots of concepts on the horizon for 2018 including a Persian restaurant, Brazilian acai bowls and a traditional ramen house. So make sure to check the list of upcoming restaurants at the bottom. It's gonna be a fun year!
Abuela's Cocina Mexicana
60 N. Alvernon, 520-373-5430
Tucson's newest restaurant just opened this weekend in the sprawling courtyard that once housed Old Pueblo Grille. Expect a traditional menu of Mexican classics like chiles rellenos, fish tacos and more. Abuela's also has a Taco Happy Hour from 3-6 p.m. with $2.50 tacos, $5 margaritas, $5 shots of Patron and pints of Modelo for $2.75.
Barrio Sandwiches
330 S. Scott Ave., 520-884-0238
The Italiano sandwich, $13, has four different meats and tastes like a cross between a hoagie and a French baguette sandwich.
Here's one of the best sandwiches downtown, but it's a bit hidden ... Barrio Sandwiches is a collaboration effort between the up-and-coming chef Riley Chandler and Barrio Bread's Don Guerra. You can find Riley back in the kitchen of the Arizona Theatre Company most weekdays, where he puts out a curated menu that includes a fabulous caprese tomato mozz. on focaccia bread. Also, you can't miss the Sonoran wheat brownie, wow.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 90 minutes before each performance of Arizona Theatre Company's "Outside Mullingar."
Graze
5635 E. Broadway, 520-347-2159
The healthy burger concept that got its start on Speedway has just opened a second location. With a mid-century modern-chic building on Broadway, Graze is the local alternative to the California chain Habit Burger, which just opened right down the street. From the owners of Choice Greens, Graze is known for its gourmet Niman Ranch burgers and twice-fried Belgian French fries.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Ragazzi
7850 N. Oracle Road, Oro Valley, 520-638-7221
Ragazzi serves a large menu of Northern Italian classics, which rely on hearty cream sauces rather than the tangy tomatoes we know from Southern Italian cooking. The restaurant is originally from Nogales, Arizona, and the former Dickey's BBQ spot is its third location. It kinda looks like the Carrabba's across the street, but the chicken marsala with side salad comes highly recommended (by me), especially during the popular lunch service.
Hours: 11 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 11 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Rollies Mexican Patio
4573 S. 12th Ave., 520-300-6289
Chicken taquitos at Rollies Mexican Patio; colorful and bathed in a piquant chile tomato sauce.
Local chef Mateo Otero is a fresh face on South Twelfth Avenue, a neighborhood known for its traditional Mexican tacos and elote stands. His first restaurant Rollies seems like something you'd find on the outskirts of downtown, with a chill vintage vibe, street art murals and gourmet tortas to boot. Also, they make ice cream sandwiches out of Mexican pastries ... So that's a reason to come down by itself.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
Wild Garlic Grill
2870 E. Skyline Dr., Suite 120, 520-206-0017
This formerly dicey French bistro has gone full Foothills on us. Wild Garlic Grill moved to the former Shlomo and Vito's location on Sunrise and Campbell late last year. Expect the same menu of haute-California cuisine from chef Steven Schultz, but in a roomier and more elegant setting. No promises it won't smell like garlic though ...
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays
Wrap N' Roll
1011 N. Tyndall Ave., 520-490-9958
Pistachios added an earthy crunch to this strawberry Thai ice cream, $5, at Wrap N' Roll.
This is your spot for pita wraps and Thai ice cream? The two might seem like strange bedfellows, but things are a little looser here on campus. If you haven't had Thai ice cream, this is the time to start. At Wrap N' Roll, cream is flash-frozen on a circular panel and rolled up into pinwheels of fruity flavor, then topped with syrups and candies. It's lighter than regular ice cream, but twice as fun!
Hours: Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to midnight, closed on Sundays
Upcoming restaurants:
Raijin Ramen is opening early this year
Arizona Wine Collective is opening at St. Philip's Plaza
Berry Divine Acai bowls from Sedona, opening downtown
Craft, A Modern Drinkery is expected to open February or March
Persian Room from Scottsdale is opening on Thornydale and Overton
Ten-55 Brewing is opening a location on Congress in the next few months
Sentinel Peak Brewery has signed a lease on a production facility near downtown
A sign advertising Bombolé, an empanada shop, has gone up at 100 N. Stone downtown
