These are scenes from along the trail to Romero Pools at Catalina State Park in Oro Valley. The hike took us about four hours round trip, with some challenging spots where we had to navigate some uneven jagged rocks but overall it was fairly easy. And lots of classic dessert scenery. Dinner was at vivace, a reliably good Italian restaurant in st. Philips plaza. Good Veal Piccatta, seafood soup, yellow snapper with crabmeat special.
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We have tried many Mexican restaurants in Tucson over the years and rarely remember them. Rosa’s (on East Fort Lowell at Campbell) we will remember. There’s a reason it’s been around since 1970 and why it was packed during lunch on a Monday. The food is really good and although I’m no expert, I’m told its quite authentic too. I rarely find carne seca – which I associate with the famous El Charro restaurant here – but Rosa’s made a darned good carne seca. It’s different than El Charro’s – with grilled onions and peppers that gives it a slightly different flavor and makes it a little less dry beef. The refried beans were different than others I’ve had too – starting with the color, a rose-colored red. Creamier. Good flavor. And the guacamole was also creamier, paler, more seasoning. The salsa was runny but packed a punch. Good limeade too. And tacos that have deep-fried shells. We’ll be back.
For years, we have hiked at Catalina State Park (the photo above with my son Noah and sister-in-law Heather is from around 2008, the one below with my husband is from around 2009) which has a very easy, very scenic loop through classic dessert terrain (I can still hear my mom’s voice telling us which plant is saguaro, agave, ocotillo, pale verde or cactus paddles). Sadly, a young guy from Minnesota was missing when we arrived – he hadn’t been seen since the previous morning when he set off on a solo hike. Television trucks were camped out in the parking lot and an occasional police van drove past us on the trail. A helicopter flew low above us. Last year, I hiked at the park on my own for the first time and remember being a bit nervous. I stuck to the main loop trail which has lots of hikers and ended up meeting a woman who I hiked half of the trail with. We woke up this morning to the welcome news that the hiker had surfaced north of the state park and was ok. Today returned to the park and took a four hour hike to Romano pools. Classic dessert scenery. 
We arrived late Saturday in Phoenix by plane and then drove 1.5 hours south to Tucson where we awoke the next morning to bright blue sky, mountains, warm sun – a nice change from cold snowy Iowa. Eager to be outdoors, we rode along “the Wash” in north Tucson for about 14 miles, stopping at St. Philip’s Plaza on Campbell ave. to browse at the weekend farmers market (most interesting item: worm compost, a strange grey-colored bag of dirt) then lunch at what was first called “Chopped” but is now known as “Choice Greens” – a design-your-own salad place that remains good, whatever its name. On today to hike at Catalina State Park up the road in Oro Valley.
Nice of the NYTimes to offer us another dining option when we pass through Kansas City – which we do at least twice a year en route to Wichita or Dodge City to see my in-laws. Port Fonda is a hipster Mexican place whose roots – like many good hipster places these days – are in the food truck world. Word has it the place will start serving lunch this month!
This dish sounds great: sopa Port Fonda, inspired by Vietnamese pho,: pork belly, braised pork shoulder, grilled and roasted vegetables, chochoyotes (masa dumplings) and a fried egg — all soaking in a spicy bacon-chile broth.
Port Fonda, 4141 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.; (816) 216-6462; portfondakc.com. The average price for dinner for two, not including drinks and tip, is about $35.
Other items mentioned: lengua tacos and tomato-braised octopus. margaritas flavored with blood orange liqueur and hibiscus syrup. tacos, tortas, chilaquiles, menudo (a traditional soup), tripe is braised until tender and smooth; other pieces are cut into ribbons and fried. Another popular dish, chilaquiles, is topped with house-made mashed green chorizo and a sauce brightened with Dos Equis beer.
Port Fonda, 4141 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.; (816) 216-6462; portfondakc.com. The average price for dinner for two, not including drinks and tip, is about $35.
Filed under DINING, Kansas City
We are not flying American anytime soon (our next flight – to Phoenix on Saturday is on Delta) but between the pending merger with US Airways and the potential budget cuts if the sequester situation isn’t dealt with by Congress, it’s hard to know what to expect. A recent USA Today story about the effects of the merger (not the sequester) offered this info:
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There’s been a lot of talk about NYC-based Time-Life magazine people possibly having to move to Des Moines should this deal between Des Moines-based Meredith and Time-Life actually happen – so it seems a good time to make a pitch for Des Moines. When I moved to Des Moines 21 years ago – to take a media job, not in magazines but at the Des Moines Register – the city wasn’t high on my list of places to live. I had to look at a map to place it (and I was moving from Kansas City, only three hours south of Des Moines, and before that Wichita, six hours south.) I remember my cousin in New York City saying to me “Where do you find these places?”
I’d also lived in London, Boston, the New York City metro area and Iowa didn’t excite. Des Moines today is still a far cry from those big cities. And yes, the airfares are relatively high here and you have to get used to missing connecting flights. You can feel isolated from the rest of the world, especially on a snowy February day like today. But in the past 10 years, Des Moines has become a far more interesting place to live, with more big-city attractions but without the big-city hassles. (And Chicago is a 5 1/2–hour drive away, Minneapolis is four hours, Omaha is two hours and I also love exploring in-state places like Iowa City, Mount Vernon, Decorah and northeast Iowa, Dubuque and other Mississippi River towns.)
Perhaps Des Moines biggest selling point is that it’s a great place to live a relatively stress-free life, in general, and to do the work-family thing, in particular. It’s also become more welcoming for young single career types. When I moved here two decades ago at age 30, I used to get blue that there was nowhere to go for a late dinner after a Saturday night movie – but that’s no longer the case. There are many more interesting restaurants, cafes, bars and shops now – and an entire urban-esque neighborhood, the East Village that didn’t exist when we arrived. Des Moines’ East Village is not NYC’s East Village – closer to NYC’s West Village, if anything, with interesting boutiques, galleries, music clubs, restaurants and bars. And in the burbs, we now have a Costco, a Trader Joe’s, even a Whole Foods, although frankly, they’re no longer as needed since we also have a great independent gourmet market near downtown, The Gateway Market.
All this, on top of the fact that this is a place where you can live comfortably without going broke. You can buy a beautiful old home – or a new one – for under $250,000. I get a kick out of telling my friends on the east coast or the west coast or even in Chicago how little we paid for our lovely 1930s French eclectic style home. If that doesn’t appeal, there are lots of new lofts and apartments downtown. And no need for private schools here – the public schools are still going strong. Those lines you have to stand in to get your kid in a summer camp or a swim program in Brooklyn? That won’t happen here. Even with all the new hip stuff to attract the young creative class, this remains an exceedingly family-friendly community with a lot to offer. Kids really do play outside in our old leafy neighborhood. They ride their bikes and walk to school, just like I did as a kid in 1960s suburban Detroit. Because there’s about a 20 minute rush hour – if that – and work is close by wherever you live in the metro area, we easily managed sit-down family dinners when our kids were living at home.
As far as culture and recreation, we’re in good shape too. There’s a lively music and theater scene, with diverse venues that bring in a range of performers and shows from around the country, most recently “The Book of Mormon” and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. (The ticket prices also are much cheaper than you’ll find in Chicago or NYC.); a fantastic contemporary art museum (with free admission) and a fabulous downtown sculpture garden ; a jam-packed farmers market downtown on Saturdays from spring through fall; a two-day independent music festival every summer; an outdoor concert series at an amphitheater along the river; a still-very-alive-and-kicking symphony orchestra. And within a half hour you can be out in the countryside, riding your bike or walking your dog on one of the many recreational trails in Central Iowa. Then there’s the people – warm, welcoming, interesting, civic-and-community minded. Some are native Iowans – a lot moved here, like us, for jobs. We’ve made wonderful friends. You can too!
Filed under Des Moines, DINING
While my sister and I were eating Spanish food in Chicago last Saturday, other members of my family were eating Colombian food in the Lincolnwood neighborhood at Pueblito Viejos at 5429 North Lincoln. They loved the skirt steak, plantains, empanadas and the silk flowers covering the ceiling and tv screens beaming out crazy columbian music videos. There’s also an outpost in Miami!
Word has it this is a good year for sap in Iowa – the kind that is used to make maple syrup. And there will be two festivals in late early March when a lot of us Iowans are climbing the walls, desperate for spring and short of that, distractions. So here’s the sticky scoop: Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids and Harman Reserve Nature Center in Cedar Falls are each having a two-day festival Saturday March 2 and Sunday March 3. They’re about an hour apart from each other.
Indian Creek Nature CenterTelephone: 319-362-0664
Hartman Reserve Nature Center – You can try tapping a maple tree, watch syrup processing and, of course, eat pancakes with the real deal maple syrup!
657 Reserve Drive
Cedar Falls, IA 50613
(319) 277-2187
Fax: (319) 277-4420
A sugar maple tree
Filed under Agritourism, Iowa
On a sloshy February day, we were cheered up by a superb lunch at Andy’s Thai Kitchen, a brand new cheerful little storefront beside the Wellington Street Brown Line El stop in Lincoln Park. I went with some tough customers from the foodie hotspot of Brooklyn ( soon to be from the foodie outpost of Los Angeles) and even they were impressed. Everything we ate was delicious – and often unique. My favorite entree was basil crispy pork, which was a mound of rice with thick crunchy bits of salty pork in a slightly sweet sauce, with withered basil, sliced mushrooms, garlic and chili. We also enjoyed the pork neck (sounds icky but isn’t), slices of marinated grilled pork that is served with a brown lime dipping sauce. Other good picks, Thai spring rolls, panang curry, pad Thai, pad see ew with perfectly cooked tofu, crispy on outside and moist inside. Good service and cheerful unassuming ambiance. The restaurant is near several others at Wellington and Sheffield, including Fish Bar and DMK Burgers.
TakeBetsywithyou
