May Events
May 15: Who was Juan Bautista de Anza?, 10am - 11:15am, hosted by Marana Visitor Center, Marana Visitor Center (13251 N Lon Adams Rd), Marana.
May 17: Highway-Cleanup on Oracle Road, 10am - 12pm, hosted by Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, Tucson. *
May 17: Santa Cruz River Restoration, 9am - 11am, hosted by Tubac Nature Center and Tucson Bird Alliance, Ron Morriss Park, Tubac. *
May 17: What is a Presidio?, 2pm - 3pm, hosted by Tubac Presidio State Historic Park & Museum, Tubac Presidio State Historic Park & Museum (1 Burruel St, #1296), Tubac.
May 18: Death After Dark Walking Tour, 10am - 12pm, hosted by Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, Tucson.
May 19: Interpretive Sign Unveiling – Big Wash Wildlife Corridor, 9am - 11am, hosted by Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, Big Wash Trailhead, Oro Valley. *
May 23: Santa Cruz River History Tour, 8am - 10am, hosted by Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, Mission Garden, Tucson.
May 25: Murals & More of the 4th Avenue District, 7am - 8:30am, hosted by Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, Corbett’s (340 N. 6th Ave), Tucson.
* Funded in part by the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area.
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EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL, EVENTS & PROGRAMS
Six Tucson restaurants including one that has been open just over a year landed on Yelp’s 2025 Top 100 Places to Eat in America, a list that Tucson vegan Mexican restaurant Tumerico topped last year.
Tucson’s Baja Cafe at 7002 E. Broadway and 2970 N. Campbell Ave. was the first Tucson restaurant on the 2025 list, coming in at No. 34. Buendia Breakfast & Lunch Cafe, 2530 N. First Ave., landed at No. 38, followed by Tito & Pep, 4122 E. Speedway, at 56; Penelope Pizza, 800 N. Kolb Road, at 65; and The Parish, 6453 N. Oracle Road, at 69.
The big surprise on the list was Tucson’s innovative, upscale La Frida Mexican Grill & Seafood, which has only been open since December 2023, located at 7230 E. 22nd St.
La Frida broke the Top 50 at No. 41, likely driven by Yelp reviews that praised its unique twists on classic Mexican specialties including Aguachile de Ribeye, a dish normally centered on shrimp.
“A lot of the things we come up with is from our chef Saul Diaz, who’s from Mexico,” General Manager Jesus Arana said, describing a recent Diaz creation — cheese ceviche with cucumber, green tomato and onions — that was hit with diners.
Arana’s mother, Claudia Vindiola, opened La Frida, which draws inspiration from her family’s restaurant in her native Magdalena, Mexico, and from dishes she has experienced throughout Mexico. The molé Magdelena, a complex sauce that employs 37 ingredients, takes its cues from Oaxaca while seafood dishes are inspired by meals Vindiola had in Baja California.
Diaz plates every dish with precision and an emphasis on beauty, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by diners posting Yelp reviews.
“We try to put a lot of new innovative twists in our food as far as presentation and stepping out of the box,” said Arana, giving a lot of the menu’s credit to Chef Diaz, who he said “is the hands and my mom is the brains.”
La Frida’s marked its one-year anniversary by recently expanding, growing from 48 seats to 84 after knocking down a wall in the dining room. But Arana said there are still wait times.
“Sometimes people wait 45 minutes to three hours, and they don’t leave,” he said.
The six Tucson restaurants on this year’s Yelp list is two more than we had last year. Baja Cafe was No. 50 last year and Buendia was 39.
Story reprinted from: THIS IS TUSCON NEWSLETTER.
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