Jim and Diana Kelley split a chicken parmigiana dish at Nate’s Italian Kitchen, 7074 E. Golf Links.

 Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star

With prices higher than they were a year ago for everything from groceries to gasoline, it is the perfect time to think strategically when dining out.

Splitting meals between you, your partner and the kiddos, or while out on a hot date, might save you a few bucks for when the water, gas and electric bills roll in, especially if the restaurant you are visiting is known for its generous portions.

Consider some of these dining establishments with big dishes for hearty appetites the next time you are looking to share a meal or two.

Chef Dorian Anton prepares lunch at Bumsted’s, 1003 N. Stone Ave.

Bumsted’s

1003 N. Stone Ave.

bumstedsaz.com

Big portions are ingrained in the DNA at Bumsted’s, a former North Fourth Avenue hangout that now inhabits what was once the Royal Sun Restaurant and Lounge at 1003 N. Stone Ave.

Each meal is epic and can easily serve two, from their Belly Flop penne pasta and meatballs dish ($16) to their Bat out of Hell meatloaf sandwich ($16), a fan favorite, topped with peppered bacon, loaf sauce, cream cheese, mayonnaise and jalapeños.

Owners Scot and Barbara Shuman are big proponents of their customers leaving the restaurant with full bellies.

“We go out to eat all the time,” Scot Shuman said. “You go to places and say, ‘This is really good but where are we going to go for dinner?’”

It’s one of the reasons the restaurant keeps a steady clientele of regulars, many from their North Fourth Avenue days, in addition to the overnight guests from the adjoining Best Western Royal Sun Inn and Suites.

Bumsted’s menu features more than 75 different dishes served during lunch and dinner. You can even pre-bag half of your meal to-go when you order.

The Shumans have settled nicely into their new digs over the last two years. They offer a breakfast service, something they never had at the old Bumsted’s, and have a full-service bar in the back that hosts regular karaoke nights, drag shows, open mic nights, comedy nights and male dance revues.

The restaurant area hosts trivia nights. The Shumans hope down the road to install a patio out front, and a second bar in the dining area.

“There will be a visual enticement with the bar up front,” Barbara Shuman said. “And it will make it easier to manage.”

Menu items — more than 75 different dishes served during lunch and dinner — are available in the restaurant, as well as the bar. Barbara Shuman said you can even pre-bag half of your meal to-go when you order.

“Then they don’t have to feel compelled to eat it,” Barbara Shuman said. “They know they’ve got something to eat at home later.”

Nate’s Italian Kitchen

7074 E. Golf Links Road, natesmetrodeli.com

It’s best to bring your appetite to Nate’s Italian Kitchen, even if you are splitting a dish or two with your significant other and the kids.

The hole-in-the-wall restaurant, located in a strip mall at East Golf Links and North Kolb roads, produces some of the biggest Italian dishes in Tucson.

“The lasagna ($19.50) is like 2 pounds,” owner Nate Martin said. “The ribeye salad ($16.50) is basically a cheesesteak on top of lettuce.”

Portion sizes is part of what has made Nate’s so popular on Tucson’s east side. 

Some other significant plates worth sampling: The chicken parmigiana ($17), baked ziti ($17) and chicken prosciutto ($19.50).

Martin attributes his gargantuan creations to the fact that he is a big eater himself. That, and “in Italian culture, everything is shared,” Martin said. “I like everybody to be able to try everything.”

Portion sizes is part of what has made Nate’s so popular on Tucson’s east side. Martin said Thursdays-Saturdays, there is usually a line out the door to order and an hour wait.

The restaurant recently received it’s BYOB liquor license, allowing folks to bring their own beer and wine to dinner with a $5 corking fee for wine and $1 fee per beer. It has also added cold sandwiches, equally massive, to the menu, which Martin said have been well received.

Options include an Italian ($16) with provolone, prosciutto, genoa, salami, capicola, basil and marinated artichoke hearts, and a turkey pesto ($15) with provolone, turkey, basil, pesto and mayo.

“The cheesesteaks are also super popular,” Martin said.

Monster Sonoran Dogs

Inside American Eat Co., 1439 S. Fourth Ave., facebook.com/monstersonoranhotdogs

The one-eyed, two-horned purple people eater that greets customers in bright neon above Monster Sonoran Hot Dogs, at the south-side food hall American Eat Co., is a sight to see, for sure, but the true stars of the restaurant are its foot-long dogs, slathered in a range of toppings and served in brightly colored orange and red buns.

Its signature dog, the Monster Dog ($10.53), a foot-long, wrapped in bacon, and topped with birria, onion, mayo, jalapeño salsa and cilantro, has been a staple of the eatery since it opened as a food cart in 2019, selling in front of the now-closed Menlo Park Liquors at West Congress and North Grande Avenue.

Mariel Figueroa, who owns the concept with her husband, Julian Vargas, said people were instantly intrigued.

Monster Sonoran Hot Dogs serves foot-long dogs, including a birria hot dog, slathered in a range of toppings and served in brightly colored orange and red buns. 

“They liked challenging themselves, trying to eat it in one sitting,” she added.

Today, Figueroa and Vargas share a dining area at American Eat Co. with several other restaurant concepts, including Pop’s Hot Chicken, Walter’s Pizzeria, El Tacoson and Market Bar.

It’s not uncommon to see folks lined up to try the Monster Dog; the restaurant’s traditional Sonoran hot dog; its chile verde dog ($4.95 for six inches), a hot dog stuffed into a green chile with all the fixings, and its Not’cho Dog ($5.95 fir six inches), a bacon-wrapped hot dog with nacho cheese and hot Cheetos on top.

You can order any of the hot dogs as foot-longs, which can easily be split between two people, or as more traditional six-inchers.

Monster Sonoran Hot Dogs also has birria quesadillas ($5.99) and tacos ($3.10), birria ramen ($10) and juicy sticks ($5.50), which are mozzarella sticks topped with, you guessed it, birria, onions, cilantro and salsa.

Figueroa said business has been good, even during the height of the pandemic. In the future, the couple has its sights on a second location, and plans to take its food cart back out on the road.

“Business has been steady,” she said. “We are grateful for that.”

Holy Smokin’ Butts

6940 E. Broadway, holysmokinbutts.com

If copious amounts of meat is what you are craving, pack the family into the Nissan Versa and head to Holy Smokin’ Butts on Tucson’s east side.

The spacious restaurant, located since 2019 in the same shopping center as Little Anthony’s Diner and Arizona Beer House at South Kolb Road and East Broadway, has all of the good stuff: pulled pork, andouille sausage, smoked brisket, turkey breast, ribs, and a variety of barbecue sauces available at the the table.

The best value for money are the platters, variety plates that can easily feed two to three people. The Ol’ School platter ($27) has brisket, pulled pork, tri-tip, sausage, with two 8-ounce sides and bread. Swap out the sausage for the turkey and you have the Add the Bird platter for $29.

The best value for money at Holy Smokin' Butts are the meat platters, variety plates that can easily feed two to three people. 

The Big Q platter ($37) comes with all of the above, and two St. Louis-style pork ribs.

“A lot of people don’t really know barbecue, but they want a taste of everything,” owner Marisa Lewis said. “Except for the pork belly, the Big Q is pretty much everything that we do.”

Lewis said a good number of customers, many who had been fans of Holy Smokin’ Butts going back to its food truck days in 2016, opt for the platters.

Bigger groups will go for the Family Feast, two pounds of your choice of meats, 2 quart-sized sides and four buns for $63.

Other meals to split

The extra large, gut-busting burritos at Tanias 33, 614 N. Grande Ave., with breakfast, lunch and vegan options. taniasongrande.com

Any entrée on the dinner menu at Wild Garlic Grill, 2870 E. Skyline Dr., including its grilled Pacific Northwest salmon filet and its braised lamb shank. wildgarlicgrill.com

The absolutely gigantic family size pizza, measuring 24 inches across, at any Mama’s Famous Pizza and Heros location, including at 7965 N. Oracle Road, in Oro Valley. mamasfamous.com

The cream of potato bacon soup served in a bread bowl at Bison Witches, 326 N. Fourth Ave. bisonwitches.com

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