Under $30: Shot in the Dark hits target with tasty fare Downtown
By Valerie Vinyard
vvinyard@azstarnet.com
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.09.2009
A Shot in the Dark is a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso.
It's also a cafe in Tucson's Downtown that's open 24 hours every day — even on holidays — serving its full menu that includes egg scrambles, burritos, sandwiches and salads.
The cafe opened in July 2004 and went 24/7 in October 2007. It's owned by a collective of its 15 or so employees, said Eldon Katz, 26, the manager and part-owner. Katz likes the good ideas and energy created by so many employees, and he said they vote on proposed changes.
The vibe
During lunchtime on a recent weekday, a steady stream of patrons came and went. Some brought laptops and used the free Wi-Fi (the eatery also provides a couple of computers), and others perused the newspapers and magazines scattered around the tables.
Some of the meal and sandwich names are clever, from The Leadbelly burrito ($5.78) to the Boss Hog ($6.48) egg scramble.
And the cafe's coffee and tea drinks are all-encompassing, from the Iced Red Eye ($2.54-$3.24) to the Dirty Chai ($3.70-$4.63). An Iced Red Eye is a combination of espresso, iced coffee and ice, while a Dirty Chai is chai latte with espresso.
Build-your-own yogurt smoothies ($5.09), frappes ($4.39-$5.09), bottled drinks ($1.39) and canned sodas ($1.16) round out the libations.
FYI: The somewhat silly-looking prices end up at 25-cent increments after tax.
There's a variety of live music, often on Fridays and Saturday evenings, although no set schedule. There's never a cover, and the musicians play for tips.
One of the two rooms is an enclosed smoking area, described as an indoor smoking patio.
"We kind of take pride as being the only place close to Downtown where there isn't booze around," said Katz, whose 15-plus years of food service includes stints at McDonald's, Taco Bell and Downtown's Grill.
The food
The Cornucopia ($6.48) is a breakfast lover's dream. Three eggs were scrambled with a generous helping of avocado, tomato, mushroom, spinach, onion, red bell pepper and cheddar cheese. A side of wheat toast and orange slices make you feel slightly less guilty about the protein bomb you just ingested.
But wait. A side of perfectly crisp and greasy homefries accompanied those "healthy" sides.
We also went with the Pillaging Pilgrim ($7.63), a mountain of thinly sliced turkey, with cream cheese, dried cranberries, onion, lettuce, tomato and sprouts on whole wheat bread, cut down the middle.
The turkey/sprout/cream cheese combo is not original. Baggin's has a sandwich just like it. But, man, was it tasty. The thick cream cheese flavor dominated the dish, and the dried cranberries gave the meal a distinct tang.
One lowbrow move is charging 46 cents for iced tea and coffee refills, especially when a large iced tea or coffee costs $2.78. For people eating lunch or dinner, it seems stingy. We would have saved some money had we read the menu more carefully and noticed that there's a bottomless cup of coffee and tea for $3.47.
Shot in the Dark has won kudos for its veggie burger ($7.17), a Katz recipe that contains more than 30 ingredients, including mushrooms, rice and garbanzo beans.
Another member of the collective bakes ever-changing desserts that include $1.50 cookies and other treats up to $4.
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