How's that for a non-specific blog posting title? I don't really have anything startling to report, but wanted to do a quick update.

I just did my second post at Circle of Food on the difference between baking powder and baking soda. Did you know that baking powder is baking soda plus an acid and a filler? Well if you didn't, you do now. My first post was on a subject near and dear to my heart: beer. I guess that's actually a lot nearer and dearer to my liver, but who's going to call me out on that? It's funny, but I'm enjoying the blogging and the tweeting. If you would have asked me six months ago, I probably would have said I wasn't really interested in either.

My honey and I have had a couple of food/beverage outings of note. We went to Vistas at the Tucson Hilton East and it was just plain weird. The bar didn't have a wine list, the bartender didn't seem to have a good grasp on what she was doing, and the restaurant was deserted when we arrived. A couple of people showed up for dinner before we finished our wine, but it was still kind of odd. But we seem to thrive on those kinds of things, so it's all good.

We also went to Ric's Cafe for dinner. As a member of Tucson Originals, they have a $20.09 special that we wanted to try out. Their offering is all-you-can-eat baby back ribs served with mashed potatoes and a squash medley. It also came with a pint of Fat Tire, which was just fine with me. The ribs were a little tough, a little fatty (they were trimmed sort of oddly), and the sauce was put on after they were cooked. I know that some places do that, but I like them to cook at least a little bit with the sauce on. But they were ok, as was the veg. The mashed potatoes were really good, though. They had a nice garlic kick to them, which I enjoyed. As for the AYCE part of the dinner, I didn't manage to eat more than the full rack they brough out initially. I really wanted to order more (because I like to maximize those kinds of things), but didn't have the room.

Let's see, what else? The girls took me to Beyond Bread for Father's Day lunch and it was fabulous as usual. They made me a scrapbook of pictures of when they were very young - it was just too sweet.

That was followed up two hours later with Father's Day dinner with KW's family at Zona 78. You might guess that I wasn't hungry, and you'd be right. By the time we were paying the bill, I was starting to want a little something to nibble on. Figures.

So I think that kinda sums things up for the last week or two. There'll be more to come soon!

-TFD

Hello, visitors!

I'm still going to be doing some posting here, but I'm also doing some guest blogging at Circle of Food (www.circleoffood.com). It'll mostly be about the science of cooking, with some more random things thrown in as well. If you'd like to check out my blog there, head on over to http://www.circleoffood.com/blog/food/tucson-food-dude/

Thanks!

I spent a good portion of my day on the University of Arizona campus yesterday. I was a little hungry and trying to figure out what restaurant to head to for lunch when I decided to just go to the student union to see what's changed since I graduated oh so many years ago.

Turns out a lot's changed. It's a whole new building, in fact. Louie's Lower Level is gone, The Cellar is still there, but the main attraction is now Dance Dance Revolution. The selection in the food court is a little different with the exception that On Deck Deli is still there: Burger King has replaced McD's, and there's now Chik-fil-a, Panda Express, Papa John's, and a place called IQ Fresh that does wraps and smoothies. I didn't make it upstairs to check out the cafeteria, but I hear that it's a bit different as well.

IQ Fresh had the most appeal to me. The concept and restaurant itself are acutally an outgrowth of a student project in the Business College. Kinda cool. They had a wide selection of smoothies with the usual add-ins (protein, vitamins, etc), and with yogurt or sherbet. You do your ordering on a piece of paper and then take that up to the counter. Pick your wrapper (whole wheat, chipotle, spinach, white, etc), and type of wrap. I went with the Thai Chicken Lettuce in whole wheat: grilled chicken, lettuce, carrot, cuke, and bean sprouts with a peanut sauce. I would have ordered extra of the sauce, as it was a little dry inside. Overall, it was very tasty. The standout of the meal, though, were the sweet potato fries. Very crispy outside, light and creamy inside, and not greasy at all. They were really, really good, and worth the trip there.

So where's that nostalgia that I mentioned? It sounds like everything's changed, right? Well, yes and no. It was being around all of the students that really did it. Thankfully, there weren't as many as during the semester, but still enough to cause a buzz everywhere. There was also a mix of college students, admin types, and middle/high school students there for summer programs. It was a lot of fun just being around that energy and excitement, and I was glad I went by there.

If you find yourself near campus around lunchtime, stop in at the student union for a bite. Even if you're not an alum, it's a great atmosphere for a little recharge.