Coming Soon: Casa Marita
Grilled meat, and lots of it, will be the focus of a new restaurant opening on the westside. Vicente Sanchez, who owns Spanish restaurant Casa Vicente at 375 S. Stone Ave., says he's naming Casa Marita Restaurante Argentino after his wife, Marita Gomez, and that it will specialize in the cuisine of her birthplace, Argentina. Expect imported Argentinean beef and local grass-fed beef cooked slowly over mesquite wood when the restaurant opens early next year. Casa Marita is one of several businesses coming to the new Mercado San Agustin at 100 S. Avenida del Convento, near Congress Street and Grande Avenue.
Tucson Firefighters Chili Cook-off
"It varies from mild to extremely hot, and you can see everything from hamburger and chiles to roast beef in there," says Gerry Bowlin, chairman of the Tucson Firefighters Chili Cook-Off. He went on to say that 32 groups have signed up for this year's event, and that past events have raised nearly $60,000 for charity. Chili goes for $1 a cup, and the proceeds will help provide food and clothing to needy families during the holidays. The cook-off takes place from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday, Nov. 5, at El Presidio Park (160 W. Alameda St.); www.tucsonfirefighters.com/chili_cook-off.html.
Mobile Food
The 17th Street Market (840 E. 17th St.) now has a food trailer in its parking lot that serves fish tacos, bánh mi sandwiches, burgers and other items from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. Check out the 17th Street Grill's menu at www.seventeenthstreetmarket.com. Call 792-2588 for more information.
In other news, Planet of the Crepes is back after spending the summer on Mount Lemmon. Gourmet crepes by owner Jessica Kraus—the former pastry chef at Hacienda del Sol, Harvest Restaurant and Zona 78—are now available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, on the corner of Tanque Verde Road and Camino Principal.
Openings
Don Pedro's Peruvian Bistro is open at 3386 S. Sixth Ave., Suite 120. ... Flavor of India, the new restaurant by the three brothers behind Gandhi's Cuisine of India, is open in Oro Valley at 12112 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd. ... The Abbey Eat + Drink, the new restaurant by the owners of jaxKitchen, is open at 6960 E. Sunrise Drive. ... Tucson's second Guadalajara Grill location is open at 750 N. Kolb Road.
