THE INSIDER
Tucson was the first U.S. entry on UNESCO’s City of Gastronomy list. Katie Bridges navigates the interconnected web of artisans to find out why.
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T A TIME when most of us are cursing our Canadian weather, the sunshine-filled American Southwest looks pretty darned appealing. While Arizona tourism is hotter than, ahem, the desert right now, Tucson had managed to keep a low profile. In 2015, the Old Pueblo emerged from its cocoon as the first North American city with a UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation. Sure, Tucson, has great food, but the distinction goes way beyond best bites, honouring the destination’s culinary history and Mexican and Native American traditions. While its agricultural heritage stretches back more than 4,000 years, in many ways, Tucson’s food story is only just beginning. The designation has triggered a gourmet boom, with breweries like Crooked Tooth Brewing Co. serving up sours in a 1950s-style body shop. From carne asadas cooked over
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mesquite flames to El Guero Canelo’s James Beard award-winning Sonoran hot dogs – a pimped-out sausage loaded with pinto beans, tomatoes and jalapeno sauce – the city’s past and future are intertwined in a myriad of delicious and surprising ways. As you go from restaurant to bar, you’ll notice that Tucson’s community ties are closely linked – taste Monsoon Chocolate’s coffee truffles, made with Exo Roast Co.’s blend, or order a sandwich inside the iconic Hotel Congress and bite into Barrio Bread. When you finally decide to throw the napkin in, you’ll find plenty of ways to burn those cultural calories against a mesmerizing backdrop of succulents. The southern Sonoran Desert has enough cacti to fill every hipster café in Toronto, but that’s as prickly as things will get during any hospitable southern sojourn here. f For more great travel content, check out our sister magazine, escapism Toronto. escapism.to
GETTING THERE
There is no direct route to Tucson, but flights with a short layover in Denver (United Airlines) or Dallas (American Airlines) mean that you can do the full stretch in under seven hours. Find flights for under $300 if you book in the “winter,” a.k.a. t-shirt weather for us snowbirds.
