the new york times recently reported that some restaurants are now banning patrons from photographing their dishes. the logic is that picture-taking not only disrupts the staff and other diners, it can also paint the restaurant in an awfully bad light. in fact, a number of other restaurants are trying to accommodate photo foodies by either allowing them to photograph their food in the kitchen or by emailing professionally taken photographs to diners before their meal is over.
i get this -- i understand why some places are cracking down on photo foodies. it can definitely be annoying to have flashes going off while you're trying to eat. and, even worse, are those that make their dinner companions wait to eat because they have to photograph the food first.
i admit, i have certainly taken my fair share of food photos, and i've made people wait to eat, but never with a flash, and i always feel awful about it. that's why, traditionally, i have very few pictures of food at restaurants (or from my own kitchen table). i just hate being that punk who makes everyone wait to eat. or the jerk who has to stand up to take the perfect angled shot. it makes me nervous.
frankly, more often than not, i totally forget to take the pictures by the time the food arrives -- i'm either mesmerized by the deliciousness of the meal and can't wait to eat it or i'm too engrossed in conversation and forget to capture the meal's beauty. plus, like the article states, my photos never do the food any justice; if you aren't there, you just can't really tell how awesome the food looks, smells, or tastes.
it is because of this that i have very few photos of the food i eat (or make) sometimes making writing restaurant reviews very difficult. that being said, i have three restaurants to recommend if you're ever in tucson -- the grill at hacienda del sol, the b line, and cup cafe at hotel congress.
the grill at hacienda del sol:
a fancy restaurant set against the backdrop of the santa catalina
foothills that is a hotel, restaurant, spa complex built in the old
spanish hacienda style. the menu boasts some awesome appetizers, like
the green eggs & ham and the steak tartare, while the main entrees
are nice big pieces of meat or fish cooked very well. they have an
extensive wine list and spicy chocolate truffles at the end of the meal!
however, it is not the most youth oriented place with the average
patron's age being somewhere north of 1700 years old.
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cup cafe at hotel congress: a busy little cafe located in the famous hotel congress,
in the heart of downtown tucson, is a great people watching place with a
live band in the hotel lobby and a little patio for dining or drinks.
on the weekends they have an amazing bloody mary bar where you have the
option to choose what goes in your drink: avocado, roasted garlic,
cilantro, blue cheese, among many other things. highly recommended is
the cherise sandwich, a beef and chimichurri sauce deliciousness.
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the b line: a sunny bistro in the iron horse neighborhood of tucson, it specializes in desserts and was even picked as best dessert place
in tucson in 2012. the food is americana with a southwest twist, and
both their breakfast and lunch menus are great. some highly recommended
dishes are "the works" bagel, chorizo and egg breakfast burrito, and
homemade breakfast biscuits. and the pie, of course! the b line has tons
of it and it's delicious.
can you recommend an awesome eatery that i should try?
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