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Tag: Tucson food

  • Pride in Tucson Runs Through the Kitchens

    Pride in Tucson Runs Through the Kitchens

    Pride in Tucson doesn’t look like Pride in bigger cities. There’s no corporate float parade down Congress Street in June. Instead, there’s a month of drag brunches, bar crawls, night markets, and small-town parades. Restaurants and bars in Tucson and Southern Arizona Pride host them. They hold this community together, the other eleven months too.

    That’s not an accident. It’s how it started here.

    Pride Began from Violence in Tucson

    Tucson’s Pride didn’t begin because of New York’s uprising. It began outside Stonewall Tavern in June 1976 in murder as 21-year-old Richard Heakin, a tourist from Nebraska, was a victim of a hate crime by four teenagers. The name “Stonewall” is a coincidence. This Stonewall had nothing to do with the 1969 riots in Greenwich Village. Unfortunately, the killers were tried as juveniles and got probation.

    Tucson, as a community, responded fast. By 1977, organizers had pushed the Tucson City Council to pass one of the first anti-discrimination ordinances in the country to protect gay and lesbian residents. That June, the Tucson Gay Coalition held the Gay Pride and Richard Heakin Memorial Picnic at Himmel Park. About 50 people came, and it marked Arizona’s first Pride event. Phoenix wouldn’t hold one for more than a decade.

    And to be truthful, that ordinance didn’t come from nowhere. Tucson sits in the homeland of the Tohono O’odham and the Pascua Yaqui. The first peoples resided in this basin for more than 4000 years, making room for those who lived outside the gender binary long before any government could vote on it. The two-Spirit has long been an Indigenous identity that predates colonization. Indeed, the Tohono O’odham Two-Spirit community is still here, hosting its own Pride gatherings on the Nation. So when the city acted in 1977, it wasn’t inventing acceptance but rather honoring the character of the land on which it was built.

    For almost fifty years, Tucson’s queer history could be found in places where people shared food, so it stood to reason that, from that picnic, a festival would emerge that lasted nearly five decades. In 1982, marchers walked from Tucson to Phoenix to turn Pride into a civil rights march against discrimination across the state.

    Unfortunately, this year is different. Tucson Pride, the organization, dissolved in early 2026 after 49 years. However, new groups are forming to carry into the future. Today, Pride has returned to restaurants, bars, and patios where it was in 1977. It’s the simple act of gathering together.

    Tucson has been an Arizona trailblazer for nearly half a century. It was among the first cities in the nation to ban anti-gay discrimination, and it consistently earns a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index. The city provides explicit protections in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Phoenix and Tempe hold perfect 100s, too, on the strength of inclusive employment policies, non-discrimination ordinances, and LGBTQ+ liaisons.

    Those are pockets, though, not the whole state. Advocacy is still necessary. The State of Arizona does not protect LGBTQ people across the board. Unfortunately, a bill that would create one keeps dying in the legislature, specifically over faith-based exemptions and transgender rights. Thus, belonging is still contested; the answer a restaurant gives at its own door matters. None of these places requires a membership card.

    Chela’s Latin Cuisine

    Disco Divas Drag Brunch, Sunday, June 28, noon. 256 E. Congress St. $20 to $25.

    The Divas Illusion Show marks two years of brunches at Chela’s. The Latin restaurant on Congress has quietly become one of downtown’s most reliable stages for drag. Two years isn’t a one-off Pride gesture. It’s a standing commitment, renewed monthly, in the middle of the city’s busiest dining corridor. Come for the performances. Stay for the food. It holds its own without the show.

    HighWire

    Drag Brunch at The Grand, Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 33 S. Sixth Ave. $60.

    HighWire built its name on molecular mixology. Its annual Pride drag brunch returns with a buffet, HighWire Craft Spirits cocktails, and performances from Mya McKenzie, Chris Mort, Onika Grande, and Ezmerelda Felix. This one sells out. Buy tickets early.

    Tito & Pep

    4122 E. Speedway Blvd. Dinner nightly, brunch Saturday and Sunday.

    Chef and owner John Martinez built Tito & Pep into one of the city’s best-known tables (NY Times, Arizona Highways), with Southwest cooking and a cocktail program to match. It’s an inclusive, Latinx-owned dining space that runs a gender-neutral restroom and is listed as a transgender safe space. A restaurant doesn’t put that on the record by accident. It does it because it decided, on purpose, who gets to feel at home at the table. Go for the food, but linger because of how it treats you.

    The Royal Room

    450 N. Sixth Ave. Open 7 days a week, happy hour 4 to 7 p.m.

    Sitting at the corner of Sixth and Sixth, on the border of the Fourth Avenue district, guests will discover craft beer, a rotating cocktail list, Sunday trivia nights, and, from the patio, El Taco Royale’s outdoor street tacos. Pride flags decorate the space, while a go-with-the-flow group occupies the seats, as good neighborhood bars always do. It’s the kind of local hangout where everyone is welcome, no matter the color or gender. Grab a table after work, before a show at Rogue Theater, or hang out sipping something refreshing while reading an analog book. They all work.

    The Official Pride Bar Crawl

    Saturday, June 20, starting at 4 p.m. Multiple downtown venues.

    A multi-stop crawl through downtown bars. Drink and food specials at participating venues, drag shows along the route, and an after-party. Twenty percent of proceeds go to the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Your bar tab supports queer-owned businesses across the region. Tickets at crawlwith.us/tucson/pride.

    Tucson Hop Shop

    3230 N. Dodge Blvd.

    The beer garden in the Dodge Flower district opened in June with its Summer Queer Bazaar, a night market with more than 30 vendors, a DJ, food, and aerialists. That event has passed. The welcome hasn’t. Hop Shop runs one of the most come-as-you-are patios in the city, with rotating food trucks most nights. Bring the dog. Order a local hazy. This is the low-key option.

    IBT’s

    616 N. Fourth Ave.

    IBT’s (”It’s ‘bout Time) stand the test of time as being  a long-running Tucson gay bar of record for more than 40 years. Drag shows, karaoke, and a patio built for summer nights. It anchors the north end of the avenue the way a courthouse anchors a town square. Every Pride event in this city traces back to this room.

    Venture-N

    1239 N. Sixth Ave.

    Tucson’s leather bar is also one of the city’s friendliest. It’s a straightforward (lol) bar with pool tables, a patio with a fire pit, strong drinks, and a regular event calendar of theme nights. The crowd skews older. The welcome extends to everyone who walks in. That combination is rarer than it should be.

    Sky Bar

    536 N. Fourth Ave.

    A solar-powered cafe serving coffee and breakfast calzones by day; at night, it turns into an astronomy bar with telescopes so that you can have a signature Lunar Lemonade or a Cosmic Mule while gaping at Saturn and the moon.  Occasional events that focus on the LGBTQIA crowd, but it’s more about the inclusivity.

    Bisbee Pride

    Friday through Sunday, June 19 to 21. Old Bisbee.

    Bisbee Pride turns the whole mining town into a festival every Father’s Day weekend. The restaurants and bars of Old Bisbee are the infrastructure that makes it run. The parade steps off Saturday morning at the Cochise County Courthouse and winds down Tombstone Canyon and Main Street, past the cafés and saloons that feed and water the crowd all weekend. There’s a pool party. There’s a doggy drag show. There’s history. Bisbee was the first municipality in Arizona to pass a civil union ordinance, before marriage equality became federal law. A town of fewer than 5,000 got there before the state did. Book a room now or plan to drive back, because Bisbee gets busy!

    One More Thing

    There’s no official festival this fall. Not yet. The organization that started with a picnic in Himmel Park is gone, and the groups forming to replace it are still finding their feet. So, this year, Pride in Tucson is what it was in 1977. People showing up for each other at tables, on patios, in bars. Honestly, forty-nine years later, that still works.

    Eat well. Make sure to tip your queens, kings and everyone in between.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When is Bisbee Pride 2026?

    Bisbee Pride happens June 19 to 21, 2026, over Father’s Day weekend. The parade steps off Saturday morning at the Cochise County Courthouse in Old Bisbee. Restaurants and bars across town host events all weekend.

    Where are the best Pride events in Tucson in June?

    This year — 2026 — Tucson’s Pride is in its restaurants and bars. Chela’s Latin Cuisine and HighWire host drag brunches. The downtown Pride Bar Crawl runs June 20. Tito & Pep, Tucson Hop Shop, IBTs and The Royal Room welcome the community year-round.

    Does Tucson have a Pride festival?

    Unfortunately. Tucson’s longtime Pride organization dissolved in early 2026 after 49 years due to financial issues. Successor groups are forming.

    When did Tucson Pride start?

    Tucson held its first Pride event on June 26, 1977, a sweet picnic at Himmel Park. Organizers began planning after the 1976 murder of Richard Heakin outside a local bar. That same year, the city passed one of the first anti-discrimination ordinances in the country, protecting gay and lesbian residents. It was Arizona’s first Pride, more than a decade before Phoenix’s.

    Is Tucson LGBTQ friendly?

    Tucson earns a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index. The city protects against discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. The State of Arizona has no statewide law covering public accommodations.

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Brian Garrido is a Tucson-based food and culture writer and editor of i8tonite

  • Sonoran Shrimp Salad with Chiltepín, Crema, and Lime

    Sonoran Shrimp Salad
    Small shrimp mixed with crema, chiltepin and a side of chips

    Shrimp from the Gulf of California is some of the best in the world. Sweet, clean, and deeply tied to the Sonoran Desert. The Gulf helps create the Sonoran Desert’s five seasons, including the brief season when monsoon rains move into the arid landscape and everything responds by getting a little greener. It’s that connection between the sea and the desert that makes Sonoran and borderlands food so distinctive.

    Thus, when Nick mentioned we were traveling to Phoenix from the Old Pueblo, for a family gathering of Midwest transplants featuring his cousins and a former childhood next-door neighbor from Wisconsin, I wanted to bring to the potluck something that felt inclusive of our new home. Knowing that the Gulf and the desert are like Lake Michigan is to the Midwest, I wanted to craft a shrimp dip with ingredients used in the borderlands that felt right and, of course, important. 

    Image of the Baja
    Image of the Baja (Stock)

    Using small frozen shrimp, chiltepín pepper, crema, lime and hints of the deep south, dill, instead of cilantro (because not everyone loves cilantro) seemed simple, spoonable onto a chip and delicious. While the main ingredient focused on the small shrimp, the Mexican crema added creaminess, the lime provided citrus notes, a dash of agave to temper the acidity, and the chiltepín added a burst of borderlands warmth. 

    What’s interesting about Sonoran food, and about the Indigenous nations who have cooked here for centuries, is how much power there is in these foods. Chiltepín isn’t just a pepper; it’s considered the mother of all peppers. But not for its heat, but because botany experts believe it’s the original wild chile.  An indigenous ingredient that still grows wild along ravines and canyons, underneath shade, shielding it from the brutal desert elements.  It shows up in cooking every day, bringing the desert, the border, and the table. It doesn’t ask to be explained. It simply shows up as a reminder of what came before and is generous to those who pay attention.

    Now that the holidays are over, I can really lean into the regions where there are fewer excessive dishes and more food that makes sense where I am.

    Saguaro
    Saguaro Cactus in the Rincon Valley

    I’m especially grateful right now to explore food and ingredients that began in North America but not as something chic, but as food history. Ingredients that are shaped by desert climates, with Indigenous knowledge and surviving milleniums. In the borderlands, ingredients move across borders, kitchens, and of course, across generations. No matter how much we try to maintain a foodways map, it does work that way. 

    So I wanted something familiar enough for guests from the Midwest, but shaped by the desert and the borderlands.

    Shrimp Salad with Chiltepín, Crema, and Lime
    Serves 4–6 as a small plate or appetizer

    Ingredients

    •  1 pound small shrimp, peeled and deveined (frozen is fine), cooked and chilled
    •  2–3 tablespoons thick Mexican crema (or crema espesa)
    • 1–2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, plus lime zest if desired
    • 1-2 teaspoons, chopped dill or cilantro. Nick doesn’t like the latter, so you improvise. 
    • One stalk of celery, cut in half lengthways, and then diced. Add two if you want more crunch. 
    •  ½–1 teaspoon crushed chiltepín pepper, to taste
    • Salt to taste

    Optional: 1–2 teaspoons olive oil

    ½ teaspoon ground coriander

    1. Preparation
      If using frozen shrimp, thaw completely according to directions. Drain well. Spread the shrimp in a single layer on paper towels and pat dry thoroughly. For best texture, refrigerate uncovered for 20–30 minutes to remove any excess moisture.
    2. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl and season lightly with salt and the crushed chiltepín. Toss gently and let sit for about 5 minutes. If any moisture releases, blot again with another paper towel. 
    3. In another small bowl, whisk the crema until emuslified. Add lime zest. 
    4. Add the crema to the shrimp along with the lime juice, starting with 1 teaspoon. Save the remainder of the lime for an accompanying margarita. Just sayin’. 
    5. Toss gently to coat. Add olive oil, if using, for a silkier texture. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lime, salt, or chiltepín as needed.
    6. Serve immediately, or chill briefly and toss again just before serving.

    Note: Water may still accumulate while chilling. Use a slotted spoon or don’t mind that it’s not dry.

    1. Mesquite Shortbread Cookies with Pecans, Baked in Tucson

      Mesquite Shortbread Cookies with Pecans, Baked in Tucson

      Mesquite shortbread cookies with toasted pecans and dark chocolate dip on a baking sheet
      Mesquite shortbread cookies with pecans, partially dipped in dark chocolate.

      I’ve been baking and cooking with mesquite lately. It’s an ingredient you don’t see on many menus or listed in recipes except as wood used for burning meat. As a wood, it imbues an aroma and smoky flavor you’d associate with a campfire or a grill. That savory, romantic smell of open flame alone is part of the reason many pitmasters pair it with apple and cherry woods.

      But mesquite has a much longer history as an edible food. Across the Sonoran Desert, Indigenous communities have harvested not only the wood from the trees but also the pods, drying them and grinding them into flour for thousands of years. That flour was mixed with water or fat and baked into tortillas, bread, or porridge. Mesquite flour isn’t meant to be used as a substitute for wheat. Because it’s derived from a tree pod, it’s grainy in a way that feels closer to rough-hewn corn or barley than sugar. It works best when blended with another flour, such as almond.

      I decided to try my hand at gluten-free shortbread made with mesquite. I paired it with almond flour, folded in pecans, and dipped it in melted dark chocolate. Pecans feel like a natural choice. They’re the only nut native to North America and appear across Indigenous, Mexican, and American kitchens. Cacao, indigenous to Mexico and the Amazon, adds another layer,  chocolate, to the cookie. Shortbread made sense because it’s traditional and feels like a holiday, and it doesn’t need frosting or messy sprinkles to contend with. This cookie relies on butter and balance, creating a sturdy texture that holds up to being dipped in chocolate.

      When they are finished, they make a good Santa treat. How could the jolly man, after squeezing himself down a Tucson chimney, covered in Sonoran dirt, not find joy with these and a glass of milk?

      I like mesquite – I’m using it in sauces too –  because it connects Indigenous foodways, Mexican culture, and the American Borderlands kitchen that absorbed both, often without being acknowledged.

      Did I say these were gluten-free?

      Mesquite shortbread cookies with pecans, dipped in chocolate.
      (Gluten-free) Makes about 24 cookies

      Ingredients

      1 cup almond flour
      1/3 cup mesquite flour
      1/4 cup powdered sugar
      1/4 teaspoon fine salt
      1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
      1 teaspoon vanilla extract
      1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
      4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

      Instructions

      1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
      2. In a bowl, whisk together the almond flour, mesquite flour, powdered sugar, and salt.
      3. Add the butter and work it in with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse sand and holds together when pressed.
      4. Stir in the vanilla, then fold in the pecans. If the dough feels dry, add 1–2 teaspoons of cold water.
      5. Roll out the dough so it’s about a quarter inch thick, then cut it into. Cut into rectangles for a classic shortbread shape, then place them on the baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
      6. Bake for 14–16 minutes, until set and just lightly golden at the edges. Let cool completely.
      7. Melt the chocolate gently. Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate, then return it to the parchment to set. You can even paint the chocolate onto the cookie with the back of a spoon – which is what I did. I tried dipping a couple of times, but found the cookie broke under the weight. I didn’t wait for the cookie to cool completely.

      Aside: Because mesquite flour is naturally sweet, it doesn’t need additional sugar. These keep well for several days and freeze well, both as a dough and as a finished product.

      Leftovers

      Local: Tucson Foodie reported that brothers Erick and Jose Quintero have opened Kintoki Sushi House & Bar in the former El Berraco space on North First Avenue, bringing a modern sushi concept with subtle Latin influences to a longtime neighborhood location. The restaurant, which opened Dec. 5, retains the building’s recognizable exterior while introducing a new menu of sushi, small plates and cocktails, keeping the cultural focus of the brothers’ Tucson ties.

      Regional: According to KJZZ, winter vegetable growers in southwestern Arizona are preparing for another uncertain season as water constraints and rising input costs continue to pressure food production in the Sonoran Desert. The Yuma region, which supplies a majority of the nation’s leafy greens during the winter months, remains heavily dependent on Colorado River allocations, even as short-term conservation agreements provide some stability. Growers say labor costs, transportation expenses and long-term water security remain key concerns heading into 2026.

      National: Labor shortages across U.S. agriculture are continuing to strain the food supply chain, with growers warning that limited access to workers could reduce output and contribute to higher food prices, according to national trade publication, FreshPlaza.

      The end. Go eat.