LET THE FEAST BEGIN
By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
To help get through the coronavirus crisis Bernice Chesi and I want to encourage you to dine out now and then in the comfort of your own social-distance observing home.
Each weekend we are going to order out dinner from an iconic local restaurant, create as much of a restaurant atmosphere as possible at home, pretend we are dining out and report on the experience!
Even though some restaurants will be re-opening soon under restricted conditions, some Tucsonans will prefer to wait awhile and see what happens. Enjoying another carryout meal or two at home may be just the ticket.
The Chesi Cantina at Victor and Bernice Chesi's home.
The take-out food we ordered was so delicious, it made me want to visit the restaurant for dining in. We are talking about El Minuto, the proudly traditional cafe flaunting its quaintness from the edge of Old Tucson, literally straight across South Cushing Street from New Tucson's downtown convention center where the future includes a very tall hotel rising nearby from its scaffolding in the center's vast parking lot.
More than 80 years ago (in 1936) El Minuto welcomed its first customers, likely looking much the same as it does today. The official address is 354 S. Main Ave.
Matching the flavors with the adjectives in mid-meal.
Recently the dining room re-opened under some strict COVID-19 restrictions, so check the website (www.elminutotucson.com) for the latest available dining information. Food orders can be placed online or by phone, 882-4145, on Tuesdays-Sundays from 4 p.m.- 8 p.m.
But Bernice and I couldn't wait for science to win the coronavirus war. Her home is already dedicated to the southwestern lifestyle, a perfect match with El Minuto's own dedication to the deep details of Sonoran border cuisine.
The restaurant itself is often noted for its cozy atmosphere and welcoming family feeling. To go along with our special carry-out dinner we tuned in music from the Mexicana channel on the Music Choice satellite service. The playlist was filled with trumpet fanfares and rhythmic melodies.
Crispy chips and nippy salsa (in the red bowl) brightened our entire meal.
Of course, a bowl of El Minuto's crispy chips and nippy salsa came first, along with some very large and home-sourced margaritas.
“These are Cadillac Margaritas,” said Bernice's husband Victor, the watchful bartender. His drinks definitely tasted top-of-the-line.
As for that heat-seeking salsa, its bite was wide and deep. Never mind what your personal comfort level with peppers might be, this salsa gave a bold boost to every dinner item we ordered – from the chips to the tacos, chimichanga and enchilada, all served with rice and beans.
Right now El Minuto's full menu is not available for take-out or dining in. There are still a good number of items to choose from, including the cafe's iconic Topopo salad. But alas, still no cheese crisps or desserts. The rest of the menu will be added back as time goes on.
Our meal did have a happy ending, though, more informally known as “feeling stuffed.” Here's how it went.
The soup course, tortilla (left) and albondigas.
After the chips came bowls of albondigas and tortilla soups. Both held generous helpings of beef and chicken respectively. Albondigas has always been my Mexican soup of choice, but this tortilla soup had chicken broth so delicious you'd be happy if it jumped out of the bowl and sat in your lap. There were also large pieces of chicken so tender and moist, but that broth – oh man!
Then came a round of beef tacos, another chance to introduce the smoldering salsa to a new culinary wake-up challenge. In this setting the cheerful tacos seemed like a good companion to another round of drinks...and maybe cranking up the music a bit.
We also had a huge, crisply edged yet almost flaky flour tortilla folded many times over. Seemed like it could have been three feet in diameter. Tearing it apart by hand had just the right feel.
Plates with a taco, enchilada, rice and beans, while a chimichanga waits in the background.
Then it was time to divide up the entrees, setting each plate with beans and rice, some of the chicken enchilada and shredded beef chimichanga. This was a mix and match fiesta, to be sure. Once again a generous helping of chicken, this time in the enchilada, was lightly seasoned and complexly flavored. How do they do that?
The chimi was road warrior worthy, a macho dish to be sure. Hefty beef had been carefully cooked for enormous amounts of time in a secret blend of seasonings that could be its own brand of science.
Although I went lightly with the sub-atomic salsa on all the dishes, by the end of our dinner there wasn't much salsa left in the bowl. Just saying, the bowl was closest to Victor's plate.
Looking back on this sunny experience, what I remembered most was the variety of flavors. While the ingredients to Sonoran food are elemental, the nuances are kaleidoscopic. A small change here, a little adjustment there, creates a whole new effect. At El Minuto, savoring each bite yields ample rewards.
Bernice Chesi and Chuck Graham toast their sunny meal from El Minuto Cafe.
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