Monday, November 23, 2009

Tucson Meet Yourself

One of the best things in Tucson also has the funniest name. Tucson Meet Yourself started as an attempt to acknowledge and celebrate the diversity that exists in the town most known for Southwestern/Mexican/native American culture & cuisine and has evolved into a three-day festival complete with all kinds of cuisine, musical acts, dance troupes and cultural tchotchkes. Turns out, there's quite a number of countries represented within the Tucson city limits, and they all come out to showcase their cuisine at this huge outdoor festival.



We started with an Empanada from Costa Rica packed with olives, boiled egg, beef and veggies. I was hungry, so I ate it, but it wasn't anything special.



I made my way over to the Ghanaian booth where they were making Sweet Plantains, one of my favorite dishes.



They were great, and super spicy too, different from how I'm accustomed to eating them (the sweet, El Salvadoran way).



I also made sure to get some Tacos from the Mexican booth, since I was in the Southwest after all! One with Beef, one with chicken. The beef tasted a little strong, but the chicken was just right. Sprinkled with some lime juice and covered with shredded cotija cheese, they hit the spot just right.



For dessert we went to the Danish booth.



They were making fresh Aebleskiver, little pancakes shaped in a sphere. They're similar to popovers and not too sweet, served with jam on the side and a little sprinkling of powdered sugar. We also got some Danish Kringle, originally a pretzel-like snack which developed into a puff-pastry filled with fruit or nuts. This one was almond and subtle, not too sweet, but a nice little treat.



There's so much to see and eat at Tucson Meet Yourself! It's a yearly celebration of Tucson's multi-ethnic make-up and is worth checking out if you're nearby!

4 comments:

Julie Ray said...

Thanks for sharing your photos and experiences!! Hope to see you at this year's festival!

Unknown said...

My favorite is the Honey Bread from the Thai booth and Swedish meatballs from the Swedish booth. I also don't go to any outdoor festival in Tucson without having a Navajo taco - my absolute favorite.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for visiting Tucson and attending Tucson Meet Yourself. The next time you are here, please stop at one of my favorite booths--one of the Native American booths for some very tasty fry bread--toppings range from honey and powded sugar to chili and cheese. (Oct 8-10, 2010) You also captured the diversity of the local cuisine. May I suggest you include a stop to sample a Sonoran Taco. The best are from the carts found on many street corners.

Eat It Brooklyn said...

Wow! Thanks for all the comments! How did you three hear about this post all these months later? I'd love to go back for the Meet Yourself celebration! It's such fun, and a wonderful collection of a variety of foods and cultures. We'll see.