Phoenix is terrific. But if it’s a real deep desert experience you’re after, head to southeastern Arizona and make a trek to Tucson. Food, drink and music abound out in the clear desert air. Consider:
The Live Acoustic Music Association’s forthcoming Saturday evening concert series. Set for Sept. 8 – Nov. 17, bluegrass, country, folk and blues performers pick and grin at the Abounding Grace Sanctuary on the southwest side of town. Among the performers is Michael J. Ronstadt, younger brother of superstar Linda. Revel in the ballads and story-telling of troubadour Ted Ramirez as he summons up stories from the soul of the southwest.
The second season of Tucson Food Tours gets underway Sept. 1, after the summer sun has burned down a bit. Three-hour guided tours encompass tastings at some half-dozen restaurants in the historic downtown area. They start at 11am and cost $44. During the tour’s first season, restaurants such as Maynard’s Market, Sparkroot and La Cocina participated. It’s a great way to sample the local cuisine and do a bit of contrast and compare at the same time.
Where there’s food there’s got to be great drink. Take the Tucson Brewery Tour and get a brewmaster-led insight into how some of the southwest’s best meld malt, hops and such to slake desert thirsts. The trip takes you to a trio of microbreweries: Barrio Brewery and Nimbus Brewery are both south of downtown and the University of Arizona. Dragoon Brewery recently opened up its doors on Tucson’s west dies. A four-hour exploration and lunch will run you $120 per person. They’re offered Mondays and Tuesdays. More beer? After a 121-year absence, they’re brewing beer again in Brewery Gulch, a place where brothels, bars and breweries abounded in the 19th Century town of Bisbee. Nowadays, the state-of-the-art Old Bisbee Brewing Company does the deep desert libation right.
(Image: RickC)
