Best Garden Variety
Souper Salad
READERS' PICK: Souper Salad has a series of serving tables that, all told, probably measures hundreds of feet. So many choices of veggies, spuds and toppings, soups, salads, puddings, breads and other things to nosh on, there's bound to be something for everyone. But listen up; this is the highest recommendation of all time. We took a Little League team here after a game and the only person who complained was a parent. That says it all.
4490 N. First Ave.
6121 E. BroadwayREADERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Blue Willow Restaurant, Bakery & Poster Gallery, 2616 N. Campbell Ave.
STAFF PICK: Delectables has anchored Fourth Avenue since 1973, offering the same namesake-delectable fare served on individual bread boards over the years--with great success. If you've been around Tucson's hip-cuisine scene, you'll remember the restaurant originally was across the street and the current site was a Harley Davidson shop. The former showroom windows are perfect for watching the Avenue parade by. With the antique counters and cases, the plants trailing along wooden beams, the salmon-pink walls and burgundy-red cement floors, hanging baskets and bulsas, and ceiling fans whirring quietly, Delectables is a lovely place to sit and enjoy a meal with a friend. Ingredients are always fresh and the kitchen takes great care in making your plate look as much like a work of art as sustenance. Everything on the plate is for eating; you won't find sad romaine or cantaloupe for show, just prime, tasty specimens for chomping after the main meal. Preparation of the main attraction is anything but ordinary. Take the hummus, for example: with a garlicky bite and very little lemon, it's a cut above the garbanzo mash you'll find at so many other places. And the African tuna salad, similarly, is not similar to any you've likely tried; with no mayo, it contains coconut, black olives and tomatoes. At Delectables, you're invited to mix and match and substitute to your heart's content, so put together your own combination board, choosing perhaps apple slices, Chevre cheese, Genoa salami and Greek tomato salad. The kitchen always offers creative specials, capitalizing on the best produce and resources available seasonally. And if you still can't decide, order the Delectables 101: lightly marinated artichoke hearts, tabbouleh, cilantro black bean salad and a scoop of herbed cream cheese with baguette.
