The New York Times Mentions Saguaro National Park

Tony Ray Baker
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The New York Times Mentions Saguaro National Park

The New York Times recently released an online, interactive list of 52 places around the world where travelers can be a part of the solution, rather than a problem. Because you know us, you know that we are only bringing this to your attention because they mention Tucson! Yep, the good Old Pueblo is in the media yet again. Okay, okay, more specifically they mention the beautiful Saguaro National Park.

This national treasure can be found on both the east and west sides of Tucson. Nearly 2 million of the namesake cacti call these 2 parcels of land home and give our desert its distinctive look.

A plaque at the Saguaro National Park displays the cacti growth
A trail plaque from the Saguaro National Park.

As alluded to by the NYT article all 52 places on their list must have a problem to need a solution. In our case, the problem is that we have very few new saguaros, a species that is a notoriously slow grower. Think 75 years old to get its first arm, and not reaching its full height of 45 feet until 200 years old. So, a declining population of these stoic giants is a problem, not just for Tucson but for an entire ecosystem.

The article highlights a local conservation project where volunteers work year-round pulling buffalo grass. Why does 1 weed need so much attention you might ask? There are a couple of reasons. The first is because it’s a non-native species that takes much-needed nutrients to other native plants. And secondly because due to climate change, we’ve been experiencing hotter summers. These withering temperatures dry out the buffelgrass and provide ample kindling for wildfires.

Saguaro National Park volunteers put on backpacks
Saguaro National Park volunteers get ready to tackle buffalo grass. Emma Gibson/AZPM

You can help mitigate the buffalo grass by volunteering with the Saguaro National Park. They organize clear-ups year-round. If you don’t want to be outside but still help out, that’s ok too! Find all volunteer opportunities here.

50 Over 50 Accomplished Women

Tony Ray Baker
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50 Over 50 Accomplished Women

Congratulations to Carlotta Flores who made this year’s “50 Over 50: Vision“ in Forbes Magazine! Carlotta is the visionary owner of El Charro Café in downtown Tucson. You may have heard that Tucson is a Unesco City of Gastronomy. Carlotta Flores is a big part of what makes us the best 23 miles of Mexican Food in the States.

Flores took the reins from its founder in 1972 and grew the business from a single café to multiple restaurants, over 400 employees, and a licensing and branding deal with MGM Grand in Las Vegas! That takes vision, dedication, and planning. In addition to all that Flores is an integral part of the Tucson community.

She has a pay-it-forward mindset and according to her son Ray she reminds people that “sometimes you need to give more than you get to get somewhere.” Flores has been volunteering for over 20 years in Tucson and has served on several boards. She met the woman who nominated her, Rosalie Crowe, through the University of Arizona’s Chicano/Hispanic Student Affairs & Resource Center.

Unbelievable

El Charro Cafe
El Charro Cafe

Flores told the Arizona Daily Star that even though she spoke with the editor of the list, Maggie McGrath, a couple of days before the announcement she still didn’t believe it. Flores kept waiting for someone to ask for money to finalize the nomination but it never came. When the 50 over 50 news hit Tucson social media it began to sink in that the honor was actually real.

No one around Flores has any doubt that she deserves the award. In 2019 the heart of the operation, El Charro Café, was a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Award. That award recognized exceptional talent and vision in the culinary world. She may not have won that one (even though we believe she should have,) being on the Forbes list of 50 over 50 is nothing to slouch about.

Congratulations Carlotta, you deserve all the goodness that comes your way.

Download A PDF Copy of the Article “50 Over 50: Vision” From Forbes.com

Tucson Ranks #7 as Best Music City in the U.S.

Tony Ray Baker
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Tucson Ranks #7 as Best Music City in the U.S.
best music city
Tucson Ranks as Best Music City in the Country!!

If you ask Tucson music fans and artists alike they will tell you: Tucson is a great music town.

Best Music City: Tucson, AZ

A national survey released in 2016 shows that we’re better than great: We are really, really great.

In the list of top music cities in the United States, Tucson comes in seventh overall. Yay Confetti!

In the regional rankings, Tucson is second overall, right behind Austin, Texas — to which Tucson is often compared to.

The Value Penguin does demographically-based consumer lists and this is what they found about music cities in the U.S.:

• Tucson Ranked 7th Overall Nationally

  1. Nashville, Tennessee
  2. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
  3. Seattle, Washington
  4. Madison, Wisconsin
  5. Austin, Texas
  6. Albany-Schenectady, New York
  7. Tucson, Arizona
    *Phoenix-Mesa landed at 103rd overall.
 • Tucson ranked 2nd regionally, right behind Austin and before Tulsa, Oklahoma.

• Tucson tanked to the bottom of the pile though, for having the most radio stations, coming in at 104 on the list of 200 cities

• We are number 39 for the number of record stores.

• Tucson came in 31st for the percentage of the population with music degrees.

The Value Penguin study evaluated 200 metropolitan areas using statistical data from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Thrillist, the Burau of Labor Statistics and several media surveys including USA Today and Travel & Leisure.

Here is a PDF of the original article if you’d like to see it.
https://www.valuepenguin.com/2016/best-cities-music-fans

The Tucson Music Scene, from a Local’s Perspective

To expand on this article’s findings, as a Tucsonan, I can provide you with some first-hand feedback about the music scene. If I were going to describes Tucson’s music scene with a movie title I’d name it, Boogy Nights.

From local musicians – to emerging underground artists – to the biggest names in music, you will find it all here.

Geography

Simply thinking about geography, Tucson is a convenient travel stop next to L.A., San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Tucson ranked best music city in USA
Tucson ranked best music city in USA

Artists Love the Crowd at Tucson, Unless they Tell that to Everybody…

Not only is Tucson a convenient stop, but artists say they love coming to Tucson because the crowd gives them all “the feels”.

This isn’t a surprise to me — Tucsonans are friendly, energetic and love to dance. It’s a pleasure to be a part of a good community and then to show artists and visitors what we’re all about.

Intimate Venues

If big crowds aren’t your thing and you are more into the private party style vibe, you’ll appreciate how the style is in Tucson. You won’t have to fight LA style crowds here and smaller venues = better views.

Tucson Music Venues

One of Tucson’s most popular music venues is the Rialto Theater, and it has a capacity of 1,200 people making it a small-big venue. This historic venue is congruent with Tucson in the same way that  Tucson is a big city with a small-town vibe (Tucson’s population: 500,000 people).

There are many popular Tucson venues that are a lot smaller than The Rialto, like Hotel Congress, The Rock, Flycatcher, Solar Culture, 191 Toole and many more. Bigger venues are also present in Tucson like the Fox Theater, Tucson Convention Center, Casino del Sol and The Pima County Fairgrounds.

Proximity to Other Happening Places

Did you know that Phoenix is the 6th largest city in America? The drive to get there is easy and simple, a nice straight-shot up I-10 for about 75 minutes will open up another world. Enjoy the happenings and amenities of this big city and then return home to your quiet, safe, better-weathered community (Yes, Tucson has better weather than Phoenix, it’s cooler.). When the moment strikes for different adventures, you also have Vegas, San Diego, and L.A. all in close proximity for a road trip or a short flight.

Smaller Town Lifestyle with Big City Amenities

This is what Tucson is known for. It’s easy to have the best of all worlds living in Tucson. You get small town community with all the big city action coming straight to Tucson and nearby.

Do you want to learn about upcoming concerts in Tucson? Here’s a music meetup group and you can also check our events calendar.

Are you wanting to know even more about Tucson? Do you think Tucson might be a good place for you to live? I am a Tucson realtor with a passion and appreciation for this city. There are many articles on this site for you to go through to learn more and I am happy to help you learn more about Tucson and maybe even help pick out the perfect home for you. As one of the most affordable places to live in the country, home prices are low, making the point-of-entry to own a home actually accessible. There really are some great reasons why you should consider Tucson to build your life, home and business. I’d love to talk with you.

Take care of yourself and if we don’t speak on the phone soon, I will see you on the dance floor.

Have a great day,
Tony Ray
(520) 631-TONY (8669)
Free relocation package and Tucson fun info

Download the Best Cities for Music Fans

Tucson Awarded City of Gastronomy

Tony Ray Baker
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Tucson Awarded City of Gastronomy
Tucson UNESCO Award for Creative City of Gastronomy
Tucson UNESCO Award for Creative City of Gastronomy

UNESCO Awards Little Ol’ Tucson as Creative City of Gastronomy

Darren and I have been saying it for years; Tucson has Outstanding, Amazing, Spectacular, Delicious, Unique, Hard to Find Anywhere Else, Marvelous, Take Your Breath Away, Extraordinary Food! Thanks UNESCO for agreeing, sort of.

UNESCO recently awarded Tucson with the highly prestigious honor of being the first and only city in the United States to earn the title of, “Creative City of Gastronomy.” Tucson has made the New York Times!

What is Gastronomy?

Gastronomy – gas·tron·o·my – ɡaˈstränəmē/ (noun)

No, it is not a hybrid of gas and astronomy. It’s true you can see the stars very clearly here from Tucson especially from Kitt Peak National Observatory which houses the largest and most diverse gathering of astronomical instruments in the world, and it’s also true we love our beans in Tucson– beans beans the magical fruit… very funny. No, GASTRONOMY is the practice or art of choosing, cooking, and eating good food and the cooking of a particular area.

After living here for most of my life, I have dined out a lot and here’s what I can tell you about Tucson food.

Tucson Food

We Love Calle Tepa, a Great Mexican Restaurant in Tucson, City of GastronomyFilled with mom and pop shops, one-of-a-kind eateries and unique hole-in-the-wall cafes, Tucson is a Foodie’s Paradise. This is especially true, if the delicious, hard-to-find-elsewhere, Southwest, Mexican culinary style lights you up! There’s no doubt about it, Mexican food is a specialty and treasure in the Sonoran Desert. The rich history of this area lends itself to many homemade restaurants (and Food trucks) that showcase traditional family recipes.

If that’s not enough, a surplus of quality places and a community of people who appreciate food has inspired people to be creative and innovative. No matter what preference, traditional or adventurous, all pallets can be satisfied in Tucson.

You can try all kinds different dishes here, many of which, explode with flavor from all the different kinds of chili peppers. Some of them are strange like eating nopalitos aka cactus and some of them are mouthwateringly bold and unique like our famous Sonoran Hot Dogs.

Note:

Do not try a Sonoran Hot Dog if you want to enjoy hot dogs the “ballpark way” again, these bad boys are wrapped in bacon, grilled and loaded with beans, grilled jalapenos, sour cream, salsas and I don’t even know what else but they are something to be experienced.

But that’s not all, you can pair your food with local off-the-beaten-path tequilas and agave-derived liquors or with wine from the nearby vineyards in Soniota, AZ just minutes South of Tucson.

As a whole the Mexican food in Tucson in unparalleled with any part of the country including Southern California, New Mexico and Texas, Sorry other states but Tucson does Mexican food like no other! As good as it is, Mexican food is not the be all–end all for this little foodie mecca. There are many other food styles to be enjoyed from a wide array of different styles of Asian Cuisines, a plethora of Indian food places, BBQ, nice Sushi Restaurants, Italian food, Steak Houses and some vegan and vegetarian places as well.

The UNESCO City of Gastronomy Award

Tucson has always been a city of gastronomy but it was officially designated a World City of Gastronomy by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and is the first city in the United States to receive such a designation.

There are eight Cities of Gastronomy worldwide—

  • Popayán, Colombia
  • Chengdu and Shunde, China
  • Östersund, Sweden
  • Tsuruoka, Japan
  • Jeonju, South Korea
  • Florianopolis, Brazil
  • Zahle, Lebanon
  • Tucson, United States

Some of Our Favorite Restaurants in Tucson

There are so many brilliant places to eat here and these are just some of our favorites:

We Love North, a Charming Restraunt in La Encantada Mall in Tucson, City of Gastronomy

ZinBurger

ZinBurger is one of the most happening restaurant development groups in town and all of their restaurants are wonderful. Specializing in burger sandwiches you can build your own creation with options such as organic beef, bison, chicken, ahi tuna and veggie burger served with french fries, sweet potato fries, fried zucchini and more. Everything here is yum and there are multiple locations around town!

Penca

Penca is one of my favorite fancy Mexican food places to eat. The food here is so creative and fresh. Homemade chips and 4+ different varieties of fresh salsa daily. Penca has all of your traditional dishes with a twist and the cocktail menu is amazing as well featuring fresh squeezed juices and homemade beers and sangria to delight.

Cafe Poca Cosa & The Little One

This family owned restaurant has 2 locations that are both downtown a few blocks from each other. I recommend the chef surprise dish which is a random sampler make of three of the chef’s nightly dishes. The Little One is a cash only breakfast and lunch cafe featuring some of the favorite menu items off of Cafe Poca Cosa’s menu.

Urban Fresh

Stop into Urban Fresh and be sure to try their freshly squeezed juices. Also, try the salads and wraps. Most of the food, if not all of it, is organic. Check out their rotating lunch special; always delicious. You could also grab a fancy salad or healthy wrap to go.

Ermanos

Ermanos is a wine and beer bar that also specializes in locally grown fresh foods. Everything on the menu is so fresh and mostly local. The wine and beer menu is expansive and it is right on 4th Avenue and open late!

Tucson wasRecently Named the First UNESCO City in North America for GastronomyThe Hub & The Hub Ice Creamery

The Hub boasts a diverse menu of homes style cuisine making this  a great selection for families, large groups or even a first date. After dinner enjoy as scoop of some of the best ice cream in town; it’s homemade!

Martines

Another of my favorite Mexican food restaurants featuring secret family recipes. This place is so charming and delicious. Filled with beautiful art, this place has some seriously cool vibes and it’s BYOB! I recommend trying the veggie tacos or veggie mole burrito but everything is mouth watering.

Time Market

Time market is a great coffee shop and small grocery store filled with healthy, hard to find items. The pizza and salad are to die for and so is everything else.

5 Points Market

This is a go to breakfast and lunch spot for us. Everything here is good: the salads, the sandwiches and the coffee. Plus, there’s a small healthy grocery market in the back with specialty selected items. It’s located downtown near the Ice House Lofts on Stone and 17th Street.

BK Tacos

This is one of our go-to’s for Sonoran Hot Dogs and tacos. This authentic taco shop features a ginormous, help yourself salsa and salad bar with every kind of salsa and taco fixing you could imagine. They also have homemade sangria and a fantastic drink menu. They are open late and it on 1st Ave just North of the University of Arizona.

Download UNESCO's Tucson - Creative City Report
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