REAR VIEW

The Last Letter to Ducey

Dear Governor Ducey,

What seemed impossible has now been made fully possible by the 2022 midterm elections. As of January, 2023, you will no longer be governor, which I have been trying to make happen since 2015 by writing letters to you. True, you did get term-limited out. And true, my letters did nothing to oust you from the job. I haven’t even written you a letter in over a year. But still, you will be gone and dear Katie Hobbs will be governor. I like to think that some of the things I called you out on became so unpopular to voters in this state that it would be impossible for anyone to vote for a member of your political party. But it’s not so cut and dry, I guess. For some reason, people seemed to have voted against the incumbent Superintendent of Schools, Kathy Hoffman, who did such great work protecting public schools and students these past four years. She has a one-yearold baby! Who votes against someone with a baby? Especially someone with a baby who has been a teacher, who loves our schools and wants education to work for all families?

This summer and fall, I spent a lot of time visiting people in Flagstaff, talking to people about my husband who was running for school board. We knocked on doors with Kathy Hoffman, asking people what they thought was important for schools, agreeing with them that supporting students as they rebounded from Covid’s deleterious effects on learning, trying to protect them from dangers that we couldn’t have imagined in our own childhoods’, making sure that they were fed and safe and able to find a path in public education that worked for each student. Kathy Hoffman had good support here. My husband did incredibly well in his bid for school board. They both worked so hard. It’s crushing to know that work doesn’t always translate to a win. That my husband won is such a relief as he ran against a couple of people who claimed that public schools spend too much money but it’s such a bummer that he won’t have Kathy Hoffman’s support and experience. Flagstaff is a pretty great place to campaign—the audience here is friendly even if not always likeminded.

What I loved about my previous column, Letters to Ducey, was that although you were never my audience, I could direct my grievances toward you. I felt that if nothing else, I was marking every instance of frustration I had against how our public schools and universities became, over the past 8 years, more strapped for cash, more harangued to do ‘more with less, ’ more belittled. Each letter I wrote (over 500 of them in the end) meant that, somewhere, your work to disembowel public education was recorded.

Sometimes I get invited into public schools to host workshops about how to write letters to the editor, since I had a lot of practice writing those 500 letters to you. I offer a few different bits of advice: use some dialogue, include a body part, make a metaphor. I usually read to them from a particular missive I wrote you a while ago as an example. In that piece, I imagine that each letter I send you, even as you stuff them in your desk drawer, unread, starts to pile up. Like snowflakes, letter upon letter builds an unstable snowpack. Eventually, with enough letters, that wall of snow falls down. An avalanche strong enough to change the shape of the room, to change the hard minds of people bent on making the rich richer and the poor poorer, headline: Governor Ducey, persuaded, reinstates the $110 million he took away from universities! Headline: Teachers now have salaries above poverty level!

Voting is a lot like letter writing. It is slow and grueling and it doesn’t seem like one vote does a whole lot to move the mountains you know you have to move to make any meaningful change. But if you believe in accumulation, if you can be patient and play the long game, you might finally pack that snow deep enough that the wall falls down.

Dear Governor last-time-I write-thesewords Ducey, I think of the shape of your office and what it will look like without you in it—with Katie Hobbs opening and closing those desk drawers and instead of thinking how best to make public schools pay for your wealthy friends’ special projects, she’ll think, do you know what this office is for? Making the state a better place for everyone. And, because she’s not afraid of snow, she’ll leave her office and go around the state, talking to people up in these colder nether regions. She’ll talk to us one on one like we are regular people. She’ll say, oh, it looks like y’all in Flagstaff know about the effectiveness of knocking on doors. She’ll see what a town can do to door by door, letter by letter, vote by vote. She’ll be impressed with our patient, slow work. Maybe so much that she’ll find a way to get Kathy Hoffman’s job back.

Nicole Walker is the author of seven books, most recently Processed Meats: Essays on Food, Flesh, and Navigating Disaster. She teaches at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. The words here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer.

Masters of Brewtality welcome winter with a slate of toasty recommendations

Winter is in full effect, boils and ghouls, and this month, the freaks and geeks of the Masters of Brewtality crypt are bringing you the quintessential guide to staying nicely toasty and toasted through these coldest of times here in beautiful Flagstaff. First off, style is everything. Winter craft beers have traditionally been defined as rich and malt foreword, foregoing the bright, crisp hop flavors we tend to associate with spring and summer. Down here in the crypt, we’re proud long-haul drinkers but never shy away from getting good and hammered, so we’re going to spotlight some high and low ABV styles to cover all your bases. Starting off on the lighter side, you can’t beat a good Extra Special Bitter. One of the most approachable of the winter styles, it’s known for a solid balance of hop bitterness and rich malt flavors and runs in that sweet, seasonable 4.5% to 5.5% ABV range. It’s always nice to post up beside a roaring fire for two or ten of these on a snowy afternoon.

Next up, we’re going to swing the pendulum all the way to the other side with the often mortifying barley wine. These have wrecked many a morning for the MOB staff, and we’re as professional of drinkers as you can find in any of the realms. These rich red or coppery colored brews usually present toffee, caramel, and fruit-forward flavors with a barbaric 8.5% to 12.2% ABV. Proceed with caution, dear reader, these are guaranteed to send the night sideways if not treated with respect!

And what winter beer column would be complete with the noble stouts and porters? Stouts were one of the first strong beers on record, with references dating all the way back to 1677. Porters made their way into the craft vernacular shortly after 1721 when used to generally describe dark brown beer. Strengths vary widely based on brand and recipe, with most bottoming out around an impressive 7%. When porters hit the scene, it was almost immediately one of the most popular styles in the entire history of drinking, thanks largely to the higher ABV allowing the beer to be kept in storage longer and thus travel farther. Large volumes made their way to Ireland, where in 1759, Arthur Guinness started the Guinness Brewery at St. James Gate Brewery. Fun fact, the initial lease on the brewery was for 9,000 years because why not? There’s a multitude of styles from milk stout to oatmeal porter to both Irish and American stouts and each have their own special nuisances, so spend a little time this winter sampling the different expressions of this historic brew!

Our last spotlighted style is going to be the iconic Dubbel. Like many of the best beers in the world, this one traces its roots back to Belgium. Rich malt flavors, dried fruit esters, and just enough alcohol bite, the Dubbel is an immaculate choice for the winter season. Dubbels are close to the beloved brown ale but higher on the ABV scale, usually running between 6%-8%. Expect some sugary flavors as well, making a perfect pairing for any dessert.

Of course, these are just a smattering of our favorites, but we’re wanting to wrap this frigid month up with a few hot cocktail suggestions to pair with some of downtown’s patios that feature outdoor fire pits! Our first choice for fireside cocktails is undoubtedly going to Annex. They’ve won best cocktail in Flagstaff year after year and their giant round, propane fire pits make the chill in the air seem like a distant memory. From their Warm and Cozy menu, we’re going to recommend their Queen Mother, a delicious heated cocktail combination of red wine, apple and pear brandy, aquavit, allspice dram and citrus.

Any article not spotlighting Flag’s most essential patio at Flagstaff Brewing Company shouldn’t be written, so here they are! This winter, FBC is featuring their take on the oh-so classic hot toddy made with Buffalo Trace. They’ve got a large propane fire pit and two mobile heaters to stave off the cold and compliment this delicious cocktail. Plus, they’ve got some of the best bar food in the town! Racing neck and neck with FBC, our newest downtown patio at Dark Sky Brewing is also bringing out a seasonal hot toddy but being the group of eccentric Mike weirdos they are, have flipped the original Williams recipe on its head. Locally-sourced honey and lemon juice is a given, but they’ve kicked it up a notch with the addition of Old Barrel’s Bourbon Pecan Pie artisan tea and Colorado’s own Peach Tree fiveyear-aged whiskey. We can’t endorse this enough, it’s incredible. While we do enjoy propane down here in the crypt, there’s nothing that beats an actual wood burning fire pit and one of our favorites would have to be located at the downtown Mother Road. While they’re not offering anything hot beyond outdoor organic flames, they are planning over a dozen different beer releases this winter, so they’re definitely a spot to keep coming back to. Finally, for all you party animals out there, the Mayor has a whole mess of games and fire pits on their scenic rooftop patio. We called for the scoop on what hot cocktails they’ll be rolling out for the winter season, but, unfortunately, that menu was still in the works as of this article’s submission. But, if the Mayor’s track record of pouring out gallons of Flagstaff’s most hedonistic drinks is any indicator of what’s coming during these cold months, they’re definitely worth checking out. That’s all for now, happy holidays from America’s #1 occult-themed craft beer column! May the drinks never stop and that family member you hate never been seen again!

RACHEL GIBBONS, ARIZONA DAILY SUN Jeff Fitzgerald clears an alleyway in downtown Flagstaff earlier this year.

Mike Williams (your titular Master of Brewtality) is a humble tattoo artist, egotistical writer, relentless beer drinker, unrepentant Hellraiser and connoisseur of all things Doom Metal. You can find him slinging ink at Flagstaff Tattoo Company or at some bar downtown.

LA and homemade

El Tamaleroo Mann brings a revitalized classic to Flagstaff

MATTHEW HAYDEN

Gray skies and snow flurries are a far cry from the sun-soaked streets of Los Angeles, but there is a pop-up taqueria just off San Francisco trying to bring the heat of LA, home.

Temporarily located in the Southside Tavern, El Tamaleroo Mann bustles with energy. The scent of birria tacos, mulitas and quesadillas cooking on the griddle treats their eager customers with a hint of what’s to come: satisfaction. Owner Valeria Alcoser experiences a similar feeling as she looks at the scene before her, but as she will tell you, the success that they have achieved today did not come easily.

“We were struggling to make ends meet,” Alcoser says as one of her employees prepares an order. “Before we moved out here, I was working for an environmental company... doing accounts payable, and [Lalo] was doing plumbing at that time.”

The decision to move from LA to Flagstaff was originally suggested by an uncle who lives in town and owns the tire shop that El Tamaleroo Mann was originally located in front of. “He told us how much potential Flagstaff has to grow a business…”

Alcoser, however, was unconvinced.

“It took like five times for them to convince me to move out here,” she chuckles. “I was born and raised in LA, so it was my whole life out there.” But after some persuading, Alcoser agreed.

In the beginning, El Tamaleroo Mann was a much smaller operation. It was only open on weekends and tamales, as their name suggests, were the only thing on the menu, but even the soft opening presented the young entrepreneur with problems.

“We couldn’t find the husk leaves, there were times where we couldn’t even find the meat in Sam’s Club, so we were like, ‘We have to do something else,’ because we were struggling… There was a point where the

Photos courtesy of El Tamaleroo Mann.

Birria quesotacos sizzle on the griddle at their temporary location in the Southside Tavern.

tamale system slowed down, and we weren’t selling enough to cover our expenses.”

Alcoser needed to get creative, so she decided to bring a delicious LA staple to her Flagstaff taqueria: birria.

This savory stew is a standalone classic in Mexican cuisine, but it can also be used to elevate and revitalize other classics like tacos and quesadillas. By dunking tortillas in the birria broth and stuffing them with the stew meat, a totally unique and wonderful palette of flavors is unlocked.

Alcoser knew the potential that birria had from her time in LA, but she first needed to learn how to make it.

“[My business partner] wasn’t sure exactly how to do it or how the red sauce was made,” Alcoser said. There was a lot of trial and error with the stew, and even after nailing the first batch, making the birria quesotacos proved even more difficult. “At first, the quesotacos came out really bad. They were burnt. Very thin. We kept redoing them until we got the right color, the right meat portion and the right cheese.”

The effort that the team puts into perfecting their food shows in sight, sound and especially taste, but Alcoser wants El Tamaleroo Mann to be more than just a place with good food.

She says, “My goal is to make a staple, to mark history in Flagstaff. It’s not necessary to have a lot of things on the menu, and when you put passion and love into an item, it has the potential to grow.” The passion and love that Alcoser has for this business and for LA culture drives her mission to create a memorable yet always familiar experience. “We want to make everyone feel welcome when they come to us and eat here with us, that they feel like they’re at home.”

She is grateful for the support they’ve received during this strange and rewarding venture, and she is hoping to share their food with more people in the state of Arizona by expanding outside of Flagstaff and throughout Northern Arizona. But until all these exciting new changes go through, they’re introducing a variety of happy hour combos and family packs to the menu to tide their loyal patrons over until the next big thing.

El Tamaleroo Mann is as delightfully appetizing as their social media posts suggest, but their true success lies in their ability to make anyone feel at home, to create an environment as warm as the streets of LA and to revitalize a classic Mexican dish in a myriad of ways.

As Alcoser says, “There’s a lot of flavor, there’s a lot of love and passion as well… Come and try our food… You won’t regret it.”

El Tamaleroo Mann is open Wednesday through Sunday from 12—8 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and from 12—10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday—or until sold out. Their current location is on 117 S San Francisco St. inside the Southside Tavern.

You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram at @tacosetm19.

El Tamaleroo Mann’s November special: Asada special with cheese, cilantro mix and limes on the side.