Tanya Barnett said at her Midtown Vegan Deli and Market, some of her best customers proudly proclaim they are not vegans or vegetarians. Yet they love the food Barnett offers.
“More and more people are coming in and they love to announce it, too,” she said.
“The non-vegans love to come in and they’re like, ‘I’m not vegan but I love your breakfast burrito,’ or ‘I’m not vegan but I have to eat this reuben every week.’”
During Sonoran Restaurant Week, from Friday, Sept. 6, to Sunday, Sept. 15, Barnett and others will showcase their best with a fixed-price selection that boasts 25% savings over regular prices.
According to Shane Reiser, owner and CEO of Tucson Foodie, which produces the event, the week brings in more than $3 million to Tucson.
“It’s important because it helps our local restaurant industry, which is a defining characteristic of Tucson,” he said. “We’re known for our food and our locally owned restaurants.”
How? This is a traditionally slow time of year for restaurants, so this event gives them an economic boost and gives people an opportunity to try something new.
“A lot of people go out to eat that week, it’s really big,” Reiser said. “It’s an opportunity to try out these great restaurants but not break the bank.”
People even come down from Phoenix for it.
Visit Tucson, Rio Nuevo, Southwest Heritage Bank, Tucson Metro Chamber and Tucson Guide sponsor the week.
It’s also a good week to try a vegan Reuben. However, not everyone knows what it means to be vegan.
“Vegan is basically where you do no harm to animals,” Barnett said. “So, you don’t wear clothes that harmed animals. You don’t eat food that harmed animals. You don’t eat anything that harmed others to make.”
Basically, nothing that has a mother appears on the plates or backs of vegans.
Another question to consider is what a diner might actually find inside a vegan deli’s “meat” case. Barnett said guests would find three “types of meat” that are actually made right on the premises: turkey, corned beef and steak. Then there’s macaroni salad, potato salad, Greek salad and coleslaw — “all vegan, of course,” Barnett said. She also sells high-end cheeses made with cashews from Northern Arizona.
What, you may well ask, are the meats made of because they are vegan?
Barnett has an answer.
“All the meats are made of vital wheat gluten; it’s basically a flour,” she said. “You mix the flour with all the different seasonings, and it literally tastes like meat, feels like meat. It’s pretty amazing and it has no death, no harm, no body parts in it.”
She also partners with a local bakery that makes vegan cupcakes and pies.
Barnett said she’s not yet sure what she will feature, but she knows the Reuben is one of her best sellers, especially among the non-vegan set. At Midtown Vegan Deli and Market, Barnett wants to reach the diners who eat meat.
“I always give the vegans a hard time, like you’re not my demographic,” she said. “When a meat eater comes in and has a meal that’s all vegan, you guys are the ones that are making a positive difference. You guys are the ones that I want to cater to… With the deli, we’re not asking anyone to go vegan, we’re just asking people to eat more vegan.”
Across town in Marana, there’s a different type of restaurant that diners can try for a bargain.
At Twin Peaks Pizzeria, 7575 W. Twin Peaks Road, the restaurant week dish is a large one-topping, Detroit-style pizza, a large garden salad, two cannoli and a gallon of Milo’s sweet tea. It’s $35.
Manager Carmen Ansbro said she makes the pizza dough and sauces and chops the fresh vegetables that comprise the salads and sandwiches. That’s what makes Twin Peaks Pizzeria’s products taste so good.
“We make everything, the meatballs, the sausage,” she said. “We cut up all the vegetables ourselves every day, we make the dough every day, we grind the cheese, everything.”
The shop has been there for six years, and Carmen, who has a background in food prep, has been manager for five.
“I actually just fell into it, and I just fell in love with it,” she said. “It’s so fun to make and you can just do so many things with it.”
Besides hand-pulled, thin-crust New York-style pizza, Twin Peaks Pizzeria specializes in Detroit pizza, with its square shape, thick, airy crust, crunchy exterior and caramelized cheese edges.
The menu also features salads and appetizers, such as wings, fried cheese sticks and a selection of subs. For those with a sweet tooth, Twin Peaks Pizzeria boasts a variety of desserts. Check the website for daily specials.
Twin Peaks Pizzeria delivers to Marana and Gladden Farms. Ansbro’s favorite is “a normal pepperoni pizza with onion and pineapple,” she said.
Still, Ansbro wants foodies to give Twin Peaks Pizzeria a try.
“Come check us out for our Detroit pizzas,” she said. “We’ve put a lot of love and time into them. They take a lot of special baking and rising … and they are delicious.”
Midtown Vegan Deli and Market
5071 E. Fifth Street, Tucson
520-849-5553
midtownvegandeli.com
10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
Twin Peaks Pizzeria
7575 W. Twin Peaks Road, Marana
520-744-0411
twinpeakspizzeria.com
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, except Mondays when it is closed
