Glendale is hosting the 57th Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 12.
But Tucson has plenty of “super bowls” — of the foodie sort — that don’t require a two-hour drive, paying to park and all that traffic in and out of State Farm Stadium.
Here are five Tucson super bowls that you can get long after the other Super Bowl is decided on the gridiron.
Healthy eats
If one of your new year’s resolutions was to eat healthier, check out the paleo bowl from Trident Grill IV, 2912 W. Ina Road, on the northwest side.
It comes with pesto-grilled chicken (you can sub salmon, grilled shrimp or steak for an added cost) on a bed of mixed greens, topped with avocado, carrots, boiled egg, a three-tomato bruschetta and sweet potato.
The salad is drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Tucson’s own Alfonso Gourmet Olive Oil & Balsamics and served in a vessel big enough to hold Tucson’s finest menudo, says Trident co-owner Jason Machamer.
Machamer is the foodie among the trio of Trident partners — Machamer, Nelson Miller and Danny Gallego — but the paleo bowl was actually the brainchild of Gallego.
The Paleo Bowl at the Trident IV Grill, 2912 W. Ina Road, features pesto grilled chicken, avocado, carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, egg and mixed greens.
“He came up with that paleo bowl (five years ago) and it’s been a hit ever since,” said Machamer, who said Gallego was into fitness and was looking for something different to add to Trident’s meal-worthy salads.
Since adding it to the menu at all four Trident locations — in addition to Ina Road, the original is at 2033 E. Speedway; Trident II at 2910 N. Swan Road; and Trident III at 250 S. Craycroft Road — Machamer estimates they sell as many as 75 a day between the four locations.
The trio also owns the popular University of Arizona area Trident Pizza Pub on East Sixth Street and North Campbell Avenue.
Check out Trident’s full menu at tridentgrill.com.
From the sea to the desert
Colby Quist added a new twist to the poke menu at his family’s Jimmy’s Pita & Poke restaurant: signature poke bowls.
In the week or so since, the signature bowls are edging out the build-your-own option as the biggest seller at the family’s two locations: 3820 W. River Road in Marana and 245 E. University Blvd. in Main Gate.
The eight signature bowls include the Alaskan, with salmon and crab; the California Crunch, which eats like a deconstructed California roll topped with crispy onion; and the Spicy Crunch, with your choice of fish kicked up with a spicy mayo sauce.
All of the specialty bowls’ fresh vegetables are sliced daily. Fish comes whole and is sliced fresh.
Jimmy’s Bowl at Jimmy’s Pita and Poke, 3820 W. Orange Grove Road, includes spicy salmon, aloha tuna, cucumber, pineapple, jalapeño, green onion, crispy onion, furikake, chili flakes, avocado, spicy mayo, house sauce and eel sauce.
“I think the most important thing about our poke bowls is we get the fish in and we cut it ourselves,” said Quist, whose parents opened the original location in Main Gate in 2017. The Marana location followed in December 2018.
“We make the majority of our sauces in-house. We cut our vegetables daily. We have the whole carrot, we shred the carrot. Same with the cucumbers. And I think that’s really important for a poke bowl,” added Quist, who runs both restaurants. “You want that fresh food.”
So far, the Jimmy’s Bowl with spicy salmon and Aloha tuna over a bed that includes cucumber, pineapple, jalapeño, avocado, crispy onion and the dried Japanese condiment furikake, with a kick from red pepper flakes is the fan favorite.
“If you’re new to poke and confused by all the (build your own) options, this is a great introduction,” Quist said.
For the full menu, visit jimmys2go.com
Manager Keila Flores, left, puts in the finishing touches on a rainbow in paradise bowl at Acai Paradise, 3253 E. Valencia Road.
Antioxidants to go
Jeffry Flores and his wife Auxi Navarro knew it would take some convincing to get their south side Tucson clientele to buy into their new restaurant, Acai Paradise.
Many of the folks who visited the restaurant at 3253 E. Valencia Road were more interested in the couple’s other concept, Flaps and Racks, the wings and ribs restaurant in the same space that the couple opened up in November 2021.
“We knew from the beginning that that part of the business was going to be a little bit challenging for us because it was completely outside of the market,” Flores said.
Acai Paradise is the first acai shop on the south side, serving healthy acai bowls topped with fresh fruit, granola and other toppings. Acai is the deep purple fruit from the acai palm tree, native to tropical Central and South America. The berries are believed to have more antioxidant properties than cranberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry or blueberry, fruits that are known to help reduce swelling, lower blood sugar levels and stimulate the immune system.
But all that health food talk might fall on deaf ears for people who have never tried it, Flores said. So Flores met the market halfway, substituting fresh mango and dragon fruit for the acai.
The rainbow in paradise bowl at Acai Paradise has acai sorbet, coconut oil, granola, banana, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and coconut flakes.
The most popular bowl, though, is the Rainbow in Paradise, a colorful array of acai sorbet topped with coconut oil, granola and fresh fruits that can include mango, blueberries, pineapple, acai and coconut flakes.
“We’re offering something that is really good for you and trying to make it fun,” he said.
See the full menu of acai varieties at acaiparadiseaz.com
Ultimate comfort food
Kiwami Ramen added a new twist to the happy, wonderful, comforting world of Tucson ramen: Drive-thru.
The 2½-year-old restaurant is in a former Jack in the Box at 4610 E. Speedway and when the pandemic became a thing as owner Amane Shakuchi was building out the space, she decided to keep the drive-thru window.
That turned out to be a good decision after COVID restrictions were lifted, as well. On Mondays, they offer only drive-thru service.
With Tani Takanobu, a master ramen chef with 20 years experience, in the kitchen, Kiwami Ramen has garnered a devoted following among ramen fans who are enamored by the deeply rich pork broth made from pork bones simmered and stewed 20 for hours.
The spicy curry tonkotsu at Kiwami Ramen includes pork char siu, ground pork, sweet corn, wavy noodles, bamboo, bean sprouts, scallions and a seasoned egg.
That broth is the base for the restaurant’s eight varieties of ramen including their popular Spicy Curry Tonkotsu, anchored by a pork cutlet swimming in a bath of bold and spicy curry; and the Kiwami Aka, with juicy pork floating in a shimmering bright red chile oil adding depth and complexity to the thin noodles.
“The broth is the soul of the ramen,” said Hong Kong native Shakuchi, who with her husband operated a ramen shop in Houston before moving to Tucson. “We wanted to bring the real traditional Japanese noodles to Tucson.
To learn more about their menu, visit kiwami-ramenbar.com.
Co-owner Alfonso Terrazas dribbles chocolate on a waffle cone cup he just whipped up at Frozen Delight.
Fro-yo pioneers
Alfonso Terrazas believes his little Frozen Delight frozen yogurt shop, at 1101 N. Wilmot Road, is one of Tucson’s earliest fro-yo purveyors.
The family-owned storefront has been around since 1990 offering self-serve frozen yogurt alongside some two dozen flavors of the nostalgic Thrifty Ice Cream.
Terrazas is the shop’s third owner and he’s had it for 10 years, serving up the core fro-yo flavors — the house favorite peanut butter, chocolate, creamy tart and vanilla — and a rotating list of flavors that include tiramisu, pineapple coconut, blueberry cheesecake and chocolate overload, many of them sugar-free, low-lactose or low-fat.
The peanut butter/chocolate frozen yogurt combo in a waffle cone cup is a fan favorite at Frozen Delight, 1101 N. Wilmot Road.
You also can choose between more than two dozen toppings, from fresh fruit to chocolate chips and chopped-up candy bars, but Terrazas said the most popular flavor is the legendary peanut butter that has been around probably since day one.
“Our peanut butter is amazing. People like to mix it with the chocolate,” he said, and, yes, some people pay a little extra to bump up the peanut butter flavor with Reese’s Pieces or Reese’s peanut butter cups, he added.
When business slowed during the pandemic and in its immediate aftermath, Terrazas added a line of boba drinks including boba teas to the menu, which he said has helped boost business.
Check out the full menu of flavors at
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