Restaurants in Casas Adobes

Since 2005, Steve and Renee Kreager have garnered abundant acclaim for their pies and pastas, which they concoct with locally sourced, organic ingredients. Along with nitrate-free meats and local grass-fed beef, diverse toppings such as red-curry sauce and vegan cheese adorn the organic dough of the eatery's specialty pizzas, which include vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free varieties. Free-range chicken adds protein to any vegetarian or gluten-free salad, and housemade sauces and meatballs top hearty pastas. Organic wines or brews from the sustainable New Belgium Brewery wash down each tasty dish. In addition to its environmentally conscious cooking, Renee's Organic Oven observes green-minded business practices such as its oil-recycling program, which converts unused olive oil into trees.

Hailed by Phoenix magazine, among others, for its "mix of whimsy, talent, kitchen smarts and great service," Jax Kitchen concocts upscale comfort fare that blends the familiar with the sophisticated. The eatery’s seasonal dishes, featuring favorite foods of the owners and head chef Virginia Wooters, dress up new york strip steak with sunny-side quail eggs and load sea-scallop chowder with poblano peppers and house-made cornbread croutons. Inside the dining area, soft lighting illuminates each bite, and brick archways form the entrance to an outdoor patio area where patrons can sip cocktails and wines and inhale uninhibited amounts of oxygen.

Charles Kendrick has been cooking since the 1960s, taking his fondness for traditional barbecue flavoring to the kitchen with his latest venture—Mr. K's Barbeque. Mr. K's serves a distinct style of patiently-smoked Tucson barbecue, in a market-style setting, that includes half-pound pork, beef, and chicken sandwiches in a tomato-based sauce and racks of ribs served simply in dry-rubbed tuxedos. The restaurant also offers catering packages that feature one, two, or three meats along with homemade sides and sweet tea.

The sustainable Thai cooking classes at Thai Fresh have an edge on any cooking course looking to compete: their instructor is co-owner Jam Sanitchat, who developed her skill set over countless hours spent in her grandmother’s kitchen in Thailand. The fully stocked market not only hosts classes where students learn how to cook, but supplies them with the ingredients they need to make their own Thai meals. The deli area serves up inspiration with an extensive menu featuring classic Thai dishes and samples of dishes currently being taught in Sanitchat’s classes. Sanitchat brings an extra kick to her authentic recipes with local, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients such as free-range eggs, grass-fed beef, and rice noodles shaped by local document shredders.

Thrice, the neighboring café, serves fresh-baked pastries and sandwiches made onsite daily. A schedule of singers and folk artists entertains diners as they sip coffee, wine, or give themselves suds mustaches with local beers on tap.

Marinated meats burrow into taco shells, tortillas, and breakfast platters amid Zendejas #13’s sprawling spread of Arizona Wildcats memorabilia. Located within walking distance of the Wildcats football stadium, the restaurant attracts sports fans and students with its red-blue-and-white color scheme, pigskin-themed decor, and burrito-punting contests. At the bar, mixologists concoct heady margaritas from shots of tequila and juicy hints of fruit. In the kitchen, carnitas-stuffed burritos join rice and beans to form dinner-friendly combos, and breakfast plates of machaca and egg greet daybreak with shredded beef, not rooster calls.

As co-owner Chris Yap told Tucson Weekly in 2006, "We want to establish Malaysian cuisine as world-class, affordable cuisine." To introduce diners to the gustatory mélange of Malaysian culture, which includes influences from southeastern Asia, India, and China, the chefs rely on generations-old family recipes. Coconut cream, turmeric, cumin, ginger, and spicy shrimp paste lend these recipes their distinctly pan-regional flavors, appearing in fiery curries as well as savory orders of lemak. Brimming with meats such as beef, scallops, or salmon, the generously portioned dishes are served family style, which allows them to better feed small groups of diners or wind-up chattering teeth. The atmosphere in which diners enjoy this globally inspired fare features mellifluous background music and dim lighting, an aesthetic unity that makes the ambiance elegant and comfortable.