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If you had dined at Caruso’s when the restaurant first opened, you could’ve ordered a full meal for just $1.35. That’s how long the Italian restaurant has been operating here in Tucson — we’re talkin’ about the late 1930s! Caruso’s first opened in 1938 on Fourth Avenue about a block away from where it is now. A monsoon storm thought the restaurant...

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Paolo Soleri was an Italian architect and designer and a piece of his work lives in Midtown. But talks of moving has concerned some neighbors. Soleri created a chapel within the University of Arizona Cancer Center in honor of his wife who passed away of the disease. It was completed in 1986 and was used as a public chapel. The chapel consists of 10...

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Next week, the nonprofit Tucson City of Gastronomy (TCOG) is bringing two renowned chefs from Parma, Italy (a sister UNESCO City of Gastronomy) to town. Chef Nicole Zerbini and Chef Mario Marini will be in Tucson from Thursday, January 18 to Monday, January 22 — these chefs are stars and leaders in the Parma culinary scene and economic sector. Duri...

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For Giovanni Zoppé and his family, circus performance is about connecting with the audience. He and his fellow performers try to engage with the audience, from the time they enter to when they leave the tent. The Zoppé Family Circus will return to Tucson to the Mercado District from Friday, Jan. 5, to Sunday, Jan. 21.  The circus isn’t meant to be...

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Stepping into BATA, you are immediately met with the definition of refinement. The same goes for Barbata. These are destinations for special occasions or well-needed treat-yourself moments. If you want that same culinary culture chef Tyler Fenton is known and applauded for, then your next option is obviously Reilly Craft Pizza & Drink — a bit more...

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Italian was spoken in my family as I grew up but by the adults only. They spoke Italian to communicate “grown-up issues.” You know, all that stuff that we kids “shouldn’t know about.”  Plus, speaking Italian was a hangover from the Old Country and while my parents were proud of their heritage, they were first-generation Americans who wanted the nex...

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Passaggio has some pretty big shoes to fill. The new flagship restaurant of JW Marriott Tucson Star Pass Resort and Spa replaced the award-winning Primo in early October. Primo, which opened in 2005, was a concept by executive chef Melissa Kelly, a two-time James Beard award winner. David Fransua, executive chef and food and beverage director, has...

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Anyone, and I mean everyone, who has ever walked into Hops Sports Grill has met Brian Luceri. You might have seen him making his way through the dining room, bar, or patio of Hops (a bar and grill meets Italian grandma’s kitchen on Tucson’s east side) in an almost statesmanlike fashion; shaking hands, making small talk, addressing the issues of the...

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Full disclosure. I am a big fan of Roma Imports. I don’t visit the tiny shop often but when I do I walk out of there with boxes and bags of enough food to keep my freezer well stocked for months. The thing is, I’m not alone when it comes to shopping at Roma. Just about everyone I know does the same thing. The tiny parking that sits in front of the...

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Adelmo Fornaciari, better known to the world as Zucchero, a nickname given to him by one of his school teachers, is back on a world wide tour that will take him to three cities in the US South West: Los Angeles (September 30 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills) and San Diego (October 1 at Balboa Theatre) in California and Tucson in Arizona (Octob...

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