Iron Chef Tucson 2012 Recap!!!

The Iron Chef of Tucson Competition has been pitting chefs of different backgrounds and genres against each other since 2007. Chefs like Albert Hall of Acacia and Steven Shultz of  Red Sky and Luna Bella have competed in the Tucson version of the classic Kitchen Stadium at Lowes Ventana Canyon. This year, returning champ Chef  Ryan Clark, of Lodge of the Desert, competed against the challenger Allen Yap of OM Modern Asian Kitchen for a chance to win the Trophy provided by Stella Artois and to claim the title of Iron Chef of Tucson!!!

  

The Competion was hosted by Marty Bishop of 94.9 MIX FM and Johnathan Landeen of Johnathan's Cork. He also particapted in the competion's debute back in 2007. The competers were able to bring one kitchen device and some desired ingredients. They asked Whole Foods, the vendor, to supply additional oils, spices, and stocks. The kitchen device Chef  Yap brought was a pressure cooker, which allows food to cook  at a high tempertare in a wet enviorment without air or liquids escaping. A good way for him to cook his rice. Chef Clark brought a sous-vide, a machine that sucks the air out of bags filled with foods to presverve flavor and placed in water baths to speed up cooking time. A good way for Clark to shorten the cooking time on meats.

 

Each competitor had to make four dishes made with the secret ingredient.  At least one dish had to include beer from the sponsor Stella Artois. The time frame given was just one hour. The Chefs dishes were judged on presentation, taste, creativity, and use of the secret ingredient. This years secret ingedinent was the highly prized Chelian Sea Bass, worth approximently $32 per pound.

  

Right when the competition started, the Chefs and their Sous chefs were scrambling around the kitchen slicing and dicing veggies and the sea bass. In order to make an excellent four course meal for the panel of judges. The judges this year were Excutive Chef for Lowes Ventana Canyon, Ken Harvey, Certified Executive Chef, Alan Zeman, and Executive Director of the Tucson Children's Museum and writer of ''Meals and Entertainment" for Inside Tucson Business, Michael Luria.

Both competitors had to use as much of the bass as possible. Asian flavors were featured by both Chefs. Chef  Allen Yap used varied techniques such as frying in tempera batter and searing. Featured in one of his dishes, Chef Yap won the heart of Judge Alan Zeman with fried skin (cheecharones) from the Bass itself. Chef Clark decided to go more on the lighter side and prepared more varied  flavors using other  ingeredints such as mango and prickly pear.

It came down to the wire in the end, to the closest scoring in Iron Chef of Tucson history. Then Chef Ryan Clark came out on top, winning the Iron Chef of Tucson title for the sceond year in a row.

                                                          

Gyro the Best

   Honar Mahmoud is a passionate chef that loves his food and his customers.  As a child he worked in a candy store in Iran with his father and brother. Later he opened up his own gyro place in the middle east before coming to Tucson in the early 2000's to open Gyro Cafe with his brother.
   When My Mom and I walked through the doors of the place it was really cool and small. We walked up to order and there were giant pitures of  food. There was also a wall filled with gyro cafe accomplishments from the local newspaper and the internet.
  For our appetizer we ordered the Tabouli ($4.99). The Tabouli was composed of cracked, wheat, parsley, cucumber, green onion, tomato, red onion, lemon juice, and olive oil. It also came with pita bread. It was very light and delicate. You could taste the flavor of the fresh veggies and a little bit of the bitterness from the lemon. It was great.
   For my Mom's entree, she ordered the Greek Salad with Gyro Meat ($8.99). The salad had lettuce, tomato, red onion, greek dressing, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and lamb. The lettuce and tomatoes were crisp. The lamb was tender and juicy. Mom enjoyed the dressing.
   My entree was the Chicken Gyro ($7.99). It was like a regular lamb gyro but with chicken. The chicken was tender and nice.
  The Kurdish Pizza we both shared was absoultly "savorlicious". The pizza was composed of homemade dough baked to perfection with a perfect mix of spices.  It was topped with feta and mozzarella cheeses as well as greeen bell peppers. 

   For desert we had one of the 10 diffrent types of baklava Gyro Cafe had. My Mom had the Apricot Bakalva ($2.50) and I had the Chocolate Bakalva ($2.50). The Apricot Bakalava was flavorful and fruity. My Chocolate Baklava  was flaky and chocolatey.
  Check out Gyro Cafe if you want great Mediterranean food.

Gyro Cafe:                                             Hours:
11143 N. La Canada, Suite 101        Mon-Sat 7am-8pm
(520) 742-2923                                   Sun 8am-2pm
www.tucsongyros.com

 

Italian Classics

    Piazza Gavi is an Italian restaurant in the Catalina Foothills. Since 1992 Gaeteno "Gavi" Colaleo has been tantalizing Tucsonans taste buds with his fine Italian cuisine. Gavi was born and raised 30 miles inland, in the heel of the boot of Italy. He learned how to cook culinary masterpieces from his Aunt and through a lot of trial and error.
    The ambiance of the place was upscale casual. It had a bit of a Renaissance theme to it with all the jesters and colors. The out door patio was very intimate, but since it had just rained and was a bit chilly, my mom and I decided to sit inside. They had a wide variety of seafood options to make any seafood lover smile.
    For our appetizer we had Sauteed Mushrooms ($9). It was composed of crimini mushrooms in a white wine sauce with red bell pepper chucks and onions. The mushrooms were tender and the white wine sauce was light. It came in a large portion. It was so good it was temped to use my spoon.
    For my Mother's entree she had the Funghi ($16) with her choice of  house-made pasta, she chose mostaccoli. It was composed of fresh mushrooms in a white wine sauce. Similar to our appetizer, with the white wine sauce and mushrooms. The mostaccoili collected the white wine sauce it which my mother enjoyed.
    I, Foodie the Kid, got the "3-P" ($15). It was composed of proscitto and peas in a Panna sauce. I chose fettuccine pasta because I thought it would be more traditional with the creamy sauce. The proscuito was cut into cubes. The saltiness of the proscuito mixed nicely with the sweetness of the peas.
    For our dessert, we shared the Tiramisu ($6.43). It was an excellent combination of chocolate and espresso. The nice fluffy lady fingers were perfectly infused with the flavors of the espresso and brandy.
   Check out Gavi if you want a relaxing Italian meal.

Piazza Gavi:                                 Hours:                    
5415 N. Kolb Rd.                        Sun-Thurs 7am-9pm
(520) 577-1099                            Fri-Sat 7am-10pm

 

www.gavicucina.com

Just Perfect

  Yamato is a resturant in the Old Pueblo that serves up authentic Japanese cuisine. Chef  Noboru was born and raised in Nagano, Japan. He started working as a dishwasher in his uncle's restaurant, along with his brothers and other uncles. He came to Tucson in 1982 and in 1988 he opened Yamato with his wife Maria Kaneta.
   When I went with my mom the place was small and intimate. In the back you could see Chef  Noboru making sushi at the sushi bar talking to his regulars. There was an amazing collection of paper lanterns encircling the room. The were of course, there standard geishas and lucky cats too.
   For our appetizer we had the Yakatori Beef ($3.95). The beef was char braised, skewered, and in teriyaki sauce. The beef was very tender and the sauce was sweet.  There were also a hint of smokey flavor. It was an excellent way to start a meal. 
   My Mom, for her entree, ordered the Yakasoba ($8.50).The Yakasoba was composed of  pan-fried beef, steammed vegetables, and noodles in akisoba sauce. The beef was tender like the Yakatori Beef in the appetizer.  There was a slight peppery note to the sauce. It was further enhanced by the Siracha my mother put on.
   For my entree, I ordered the Salmon & Ikura Don (14.95). It was composed of thinly sliced, fresh salmon with salmon roe served over a cooked rice.  It was a wonderful dish. The salmon was fresh and  light. The salmon roe were like little burst of flavor in every bite I took.
   For dessert we ordered the Strawberry Mochi ($3.25). The Mochi was very smooth and had a fruity and pleasant flavor. It was a perfect way to end the meal.
   Come to Yamato if you want a tradition Japanese fare.


Yamato:                                       Hours:
857 E. Grant Rd.                         Mon-Sat 9am-9:44pm
(520) 645-3377                             Sunday (closed)

Flavorfull Comfort

   Owned by  Kade Mislinski, an eagle scout who comes from a long line of restaurateurs. Hub Restaurant and Creamery opened on February 12, 2011. Hub is a great place to gather for some familiar food with an updated flare. The Executive Chef, Leanne Hernandez, began cooking along side her grandmother at the ripe old age of three. She brings a passion and dedication to making great food, striking that emotional cord in all of us with her seasonal menu choices. Craig Dibbern, who oversees Hub and is Head Chef at Playground Bar and Lounge nexted door, learned how to cook out of necessity because because according to him, his parents didn't cook. (I hear that my Mom only makes five things!).
   The ambiance was very simple and interesting with the hardwood floors, exposed brick, and upsidedown hanging lamps. 
   My Mom and I shared The Glory ($8) for our appetizer.  It was cheddar cheese curds served with a Siracha ketchup.  I found them to be very gooey and ''savorlious"! They were flash-crisp so they were not heavily breaded and surprisingly non-greasy. The Siracha ketchup added a nice kick to the dish, which I enjoied.
   For my Mom's entree, she had the Corn and Poblano Chowder ($6) and a Classic BLT ($9).The consistency of the chowder wasn't heavy and was perfect for a summertime soup.  The poblanoes provided a nice bite to the chowder. The BLT had thickly sliced tomatoes and tons of bacon! It was definitely reminiscent of her mom's BLT but, better.
   For my entree, I had the Hub Burger ($12) with a side of Hub Fires. There was salami, cheese, and cole slaw on the burger. The salami added salty notes to the burger that amplified the flavor of the tender beef. The cole slaw was a tastier take on lettuce. The Hub Fries were thickly cut.  All around it was a great burger and fries.
  When we ordered dessert, we chose from over 50 flavors handwritten on a piece of fun paper.  The flavors are rotated every 2-3 days. My Mom had a 4oz Berry Melon Sorbet ($4) and I had 8oz. My Mom's was very flavorful and she could taste both the Berry and Melon.  The 8oz. Nutella Ice Cream ($5) I had was excellent, not just because it had the nectar of the gods, Nutella, because it had slight hint of hazelnut. It was a better version of Chocolate Ice Cream.
   Check out Hub Restaurant and Creamery and don't forget parking in the back.


Hub Restaurant and Creamery:                 Hours:
266 E. Congress St.                                   Sun-Wed 11am-12pm
(520) 207-8201                                         Thurs-Sat 11am-2am
www.hubdowntown.com