Our international eateries
All the world's a plate
By Cathalena E. Burch
cburch@azstarnet.com
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.27.2008
Tucson's most distinctive international restaurant row is a stone's throw from the University of Arizona and a few blocks from North Fourth Avenue.
Main Gate Square, on East University Boulevard, is home to the city's lone Afghani restaurant, Sultan Palace, the hugely popular Kababeque Indian Grill and one of the area's newest Vietnamese kitchens, Saigon Pho. Nestled between hair salons, clothing stores and coffeehouses are Greek, Italian and Chinese outposts, Americanized takes on Irish and English fare, a bustling Thai restaurant and the newly opened Fuku Sushi.
Throughout Tucson are similar yet smaller pockets where international cuisines are finding devoted diners. The range of restaurants is impressive for a metropolitan area of about 1 million:
Mexican — On every other corner, of course, from fast food to fine dining.
French — Four or five restaurants, not counting those that apply French techniques to their fusion fare.
Chinese and Japanese — Quickly crowding out Mexican eateries in sheer volume.
Thai and Korean — A growing number are finding their footing.
Indian — An emerging niche that's gaining ground and respectability.
This year alone, the greater Tucson area gained an upscale Indian restaurant (Saffron Indian Bistro in Oro Valley); its first Japanese eatery with izakaya- style fare (Ginza Sushi in the Foothills); slick new digs for the city's lone Afghani restaurant (Sultan Palace in Main Gate Square); and its first Bosnian restaurant (Chef Alisah's Restaurant on the Northwest Side). Sabor Tropical, Tucson's only Colombian spot, opened in a Midtown shopping plaza in October 2007, although the sign above its doors still says Cabo Taco.
Coming soon: Amber Restaurant & Gallery, specializing in German and Polish food. It will move into the East Tanque Verde Road spot that was the longtime home of the Olive Tree Greek Restaurant.
"Tucson competes on a level with some of your bigger cities in terms of quality and types of cuisine," said Todd Hanley, president of Tucson Originals, an association of 38 locally owned independent restaurants that range from sandwich shops to upscale destinations. "I think it's all over the board. Look at Pho 88 on Campbell (Avenue) and right across the street is an Indian restaurant. Those are good restaurants."
"We're a million people so there are some voids, but I think there seems to be voids because everything is so spread out in Tucson," added Jane McCollum, general manager of Main Gate Square, which is owned by the Marshall Foundation. "When you think about the fact we have an Ethiopian restaurant in Tucson, that's fabulous. But I don't think people know about that."
The largest concentration of international restaurants stretches from Downtown, along North Fourth Avenue and University Boulevard, McCollum said. The businesses, which also pop up along the Broadway corridor, attract the UA's growing international student population as well as a customer base that has proved to be more adventurous when it comes to dining, she said.
That's what Seattle transplant Vila D. Jarrell was banking on two years ago when she opened Vila Thai Cuisine in Main Gate Square. The second-floor location, which has limited signage visible from street level, had not been kind to past restaurants, with most lasting mere months there.
Vila Thai is Jarrell's first restaurant venture and one that she spent seven years planning and preparing. She initially set her sights on Scottsdale, but the exorbitant rents would have given her little breathing room for her restaurant's demanding make-or-break first year. At the invitation of a friend she visited Tucson and was hooked by the mountains and landscape.
She arrived when Tucson had four or five Thai restaurants, each struggling to find an audience. She figured with a population of a million people, one more in the mix could survive.
"I witnessed sushi," said Jarrell, estimating that dozens of places serve sushi in Tucson. "It's amazing. Sushi was doing really well, and what it says is customers in Tucson are really flexible and willing to try new things."
Her restaurant celebrates its second anniversary early next month. She and her executive chef husband, Redman, hope to one day open Tucson's first upscale Thai restaurant.
"Tucson is a place where international food is a little bit of a challenge. You have to work for it," said Rosa Scheopflin, who co-owns the city's lone Peruvian eatery, Candela Restaurant, with her siblings. "Tucson is a small place and people are not afraid to try it."
Today we take a closer look at eight local restaurants from all over the world map. We're talking Cuban, Malaysian, Peruvian, Bosnian, Afghani, English, Ethiopian and Lebanese.
0 Comments on this story
