Ten Courses For Ten Years, Pt. 2

Time to resume my chronicle of our marathon ten-course, ten-year anniversary dinner. MOVIN' ON!

When Last I Wrote: Nate and I were walking off our first three courses at the Reid Park Zoo. We spent about 35 minutes there, then headed off to resume our goal of eating ten courses at ten different Tucson restaurants. Here are our next four courses!

Course 4: Eegee's--1105 S. Craycroft Road; Tucson, AZ 85711

 This is one of the larger chains we visited on our trip; however, it's a restaurant that's original to Tucson (there is one Eegee's in Casa Grande; all other stores are found in Tucson itself). For the uninitiated, Eegee's is a sandwich-and-sides type of restaurant; they mostly make sub-style sandwiches, but they also offer hot dogs, BLTs, and the like. They have a fairly large selection of sides (fries, pretzels, etc.), and salads. However, it's probably best known for the "eegee" itself:

(from eegees.com)

It's a Slurpee-type frozen drink concoction, made with real fruit and no high fructose corn syrup. It's still plenty sweet though...I suspect lots of sugar of some kind is involved. Anyway, Nate & I especially love a cool icy eegee in the summertime when it's very hot outside--but we enjoy them throughout the year as well! Today, however, we were after another of our favorites foods served here...

What We Ate:

 ...Eegee's ranch fries.  Something about these delectable little fries really hits the spot. The crinkly cut reminds me of fries from school lunches of my youth; despite that, they're pretty delicious, and they are crisp without being too oily. But it's the homemade ranch dressing slathered over them that makes them ridiculously yummy. And, of course, the bacon bits put it over the top; this dish furthers Nate's hypothesis that bacon makes almost anything taste better.

Full Factor: Not too bad! For one thing, we'd just taken a nice long walk through the zoo. For another, we split one serving of fries, so we weren't trying to cram too much down. In retrospect, though, I wish Nathan & I had split an eegee's instead of a serving of fries (yummy as they are). Having a "beverage" course would have been a little easier to fit in the tummy than other food. However, we finally decided that the "beverage" course (even one as hearty as an eegee!) would be cheating, so we stuck to the fries.

Verdict: This particular Eegee's was on Craycroft, just north of 22nd, and it was quite the hole in the wall. Some Eegee's locations are larger restaurant-style places that, while not cushy, are at least comfortable enough to sit for a while and eat. Here, there were maybe 8 cramped-together tables; the store's motto seemed to be, "Get your food and get out!" Oh well...the food was yummy as usual! The sandwiches at the store are hit and miss; however, the fries always make up for it!! It's such a pleasure to eat the last few, ranch-dressing-soaked fries in the bowl. I hope next time I'll be able to get an eegee's as well...

Course 5: Mama Louisa's Italian Restaurant--2041 S. Craycroft Rd.; Tucson, AZ 85711

 We used to drive by this place all the time (it's located just north of Davis-Monthan AFB, a former "neighbor" of ours), but we'd never been inside until tonight. I remember a few friends in my previous ward in Tucson singing the praises of Mama Louisa's, but when Nathan & I went out to eat, it was almost always to Mexican food, not Italian. Well, it was time to add some Italian food to our diet!

What We Ate:

 Mama Louisa's bruschetta--we split this appetizer. It certainly looks tasty, doesn't it? Yummy buttered toast topped with tomatoes, green peppers, and LOTS of mozzarella cheese. I was little underwhelmed though, probably because it's not how I like my bruschetta. I prefer it with a little bit of olive oil, drizzled over bread topped with tomatoes, onions, & herbs. This version, while undeniably cheesy & tasty, felt too much like American pizza for me--not "authentic" enough. However, this may be only one aberration; I certainly can't speak for the whole menu.

Full Factor: Sigh. Due to the aforementioned heaps of cheese, this bruschetta filled Nathan & I up much more than we had bargained for. We got the appetizer in the first place because we thought it would be lighter. Oh well...that sure didn't work. This was the first restaurant where we actually couldn't finish what was put in front of us (we got the rest of the bread "to go").

A beautiful picture of me stuffing my face at Mama Louisa's

Verdict: In spite of my snootiness about the bruschetta, it was quite tasty (hence our getting the rest in a take-out box!). In addition, Mama Louisa's was both the biggest and the cleanest restaurant we had yet visited. It was spacious and bright, and though I wouldn't call the decor stylish, it was certainly inviting; checkered tablecloths, lots of floral arrangements (both real & fake) throughout, and large colorful landscape murals on most of the walls. The service was very polite, and it was overall a good experience. If I need an Italian food fix, I will definitely give this place another try.

Course 6: El Guero Canelo--On 22nd Street, between Craycroft and Sahuara Ave. Tucson, AZ 85711

My most anticipated restaurant of the adventure! Well, I say "restaurant," but El Guero Canelo is really little more than a jumped-up hot dog stand. That's not a criticism, though...it's a sign of a business on the rise. "El Guero Canelo" is the nickname of the restaurant founder, who got his start by selling hot dogs out of a roadside stand, just like many other entrepreneurs in Tucson. However, 18 years later, that hot dog stand has expanded to four restaurants plus a delivery service, and it's still growing. Because their food is just that good.

Viva El Guero Canelo!!

 Despite hearing many rave recommendations for this place over the years, Nathan and I first visited it only within the last year, and we now intend to make up for lost time! This was the second time visiting El Guero Canelo; it was Nate's fourth time.

What We Ate:

An absolutely delicious Sonoran hot dog. I know it may not look like much, but trust me. So. Freakin'. Good.
For those of you who may not know, a "Sonoran-style" hot dog is a hot dog (bacon-wrapped!) tucked inside a soft Mexican roll, and topped with pinto beans, chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeno sauce, cheese, mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard. There are several variations out there (and I've had a few), but El Guero Canelo's are widely considered the best around. I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best hot dogs I've had in my entire life. A bacon-wrapped hot dog is always a good thing; the zesty toppings work well together; and the warm, buttery bun holding it all together makes it just heavenly.

Full Factor: Getting uncomfortable now. Oh, that we had gone to El Guero Canelo FIRST! This hot dog doesn't look that big (and it isn't), but Nate and I still had to split one--and even then, we winced a little with each bite. So sad to waste such perfection on a (mostly) full stomach! We managed to finish it, but just barely. At least this course was light on our wallets...El Guero Canelo charges a first-class-deal $2.49 for its Sonoran dog.

Verdict: Mmmmmm....... *insert vacant-eyed, drooling, euphoric expression here* The restaurant itself isn't much to look at from the outside, and it's almost shockingly utilitarian inside. All the tables are stainless steel, and there are only backless benches to sit on. However, it has a well-stocked condiment table, and despite being frequently busy, the service was friendly, efficient, and prompt. I've had their tacos as well and thought they were also quite yummy. I'm secretly thankful I have to drive to Tucson to eat at El Guero Canelo...if there was a store here in Sahuarita, I'd be seriously tempted to go three to five times a week!

Break #2: A leisurely stroll through the Park Place Mall (no pictures, sorry)

 Most people I know prefer the Tucson Mall (in the north part of town) for their shopping "fix." However, I used to live a scant few miles from the Park Place Mall, so it will always have a special place in my heart. We didn't really buy anything (certainly not food, at any rate!!); we merely window-shopped and moseyed, occasionally sitting on a bench to feel our bellies expand. It was also nice to see all the holiday decorations still left over from Christmas; since our computer had died on Christmas Day, we didn't have any holiday music and this helped me get my last little holiday "fix" before the new year. This particular break lasted about an hour; it was about 5:45 pm by the time we finally steeled ourselves for our final four courses.


Course 7: Chuy's Mesquite Broiler--7101 E. 22nd St.; Tucson, AZ 85711

As it turns out, the background story on this restaurant is actually much more interesting than what part it played in our anniversary meal. For starters, we are cheating just a bit by including Chuy's in our celebration. The Chuy's restaurants in the Tucson area all appear to be franchised offshoots of a chain of Baja-themed Tex-Mex food that originated in southern California. But if you click the link above, you'll see that this particular Chuy's is independently owned & operated, and appears to be trying to make its own way, apart from its restaurant brethren.

Why distance themselves? Well, this is where it gets more interesting. For the last several years, there have been several different Chuy's restaurants all over town--at least a half dozen at any one time. However, as of this writing, only two remain. In April 2011, several of the Chuy's in town were raided for employing illegal immigrants; by October, all these eateries were closed permanently. Apparently the owners of these restaurants had been paying these illegals under the table for more than two years. Now the owners are in jail, charged with a variety of criminal violations, including unlawful hiring and harboring of illegal immigrants, conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, and tax evasion. Um, whoopsie!!

So, long story short, the Chuy's we visited on this night was one of the few in town that was independently owned and operated--and thus, still open for business. Sad story. We visited Chuy's many times back when we lived in Tucson, and found it a fun, casual place with a few really delicious meals. Now they're a casualty of the war against illegal immigration. Honestly, although I'll miss the food, I don't feel that sorry for them. But that's because of my feelings regarding the illegal immigrant issue, which is a post for another time.

What We Ate:

The Chuy's Famous Chicken Salad. It's a fairly typical Tex-Mex chicken salad: marinated chicken strips on a bed of iceberg lettuce, with tomatoes, avocados, cheese, pinto beans, and tortilla strips, with a "Taco French dressing" on the side. The presentation left a lot to be desired; it was pretty much thrown in a heap into a paper bowl. Also, the lighting of this Chuy's was pretty harsh; it was glaring and yellowish, so that's why the picture looks so freaky. However, when all the salad's elements were mixed together, the result was pretty pleasant; flavorful but not too heavy.


Full Factor: What a welcome palate-cleanser! After a disproportionate amount of fried/cheese-robed fare over the course of the evening, it was nice to just munch on a bunch of greens (with some light protein thrown in). The dressing wasn't heavy either. True, we still had more food inside of us than before, but Nate and I both felt refreshed and rejuvenated by this salad.

Verdict: A flavorful, "lighter" addition to our massive eating endeavor, and it came at a good time. Being a Chuy's, the place was crowded, a little noisy, and a bit underlit, but it was nothing we haven't experienced before. At its heart, Chuy's is a sports bar; TVs were strategically placed throughout the restaurant, with several different sports being broadcast simultaneously. We got a tiny table all to ourselves, and enjoyed our food in peace. As for the future of Chuy's...we'll see. We've had many good times there in the past, so I still feel supportive of it. If the timing is right, I'll be happy to visit this Chuy's again and give it my business. If only I didn't live so far away from it now...

Next Time: Our restaurant odyssey reaches its shocking conclusion; plus, what we did afterwards!!