Five dishes you need to try at this year's Tucson Meet Yourself

Octopus dumplings may not sound like a go-to snack food, but they are all the rage in Japan, says Tomomi Katz, who runs the Takoyaki Balls booth (F48) at Tucson Meet Yourself.

"They are like hot dogs in the United States," Katz said of the battered treats, stuffed with diced octopus. "They serve them everywhere."

In addition to the Takoyaki, Katz said her booth also will serve Japanese curry plates this year. 

Added bonus: Katz recently purchased a food truck and plans to make her own brand of Japanese street food available in Tucson year-round. 

Eat Masri (F39) is a new booth to Tucson Meet Yourself this year, offering the Egyptian staple known as koshary, according to owner Jeremy Martin. 

Martin, whose wife's family is Egyptian, describes koshary as "an amalgamation of savory rice, energy-rich legumes, pasta, sauces and carefully caramelized crispy onions."

"In Egypt, it is a dish you eat for lunch, dinner, any time in-between," Martin said. "It is something very different."

Yamila El-Khayat is following family traditions at Tucson Meet Yourself this year, running a Chilean food booth dubbed La Fondita Chilena (F16), like her mother and mother's friends did for years. 

Among the menu items: Empanadas filled with beef, egg and olives, and omitas, which El-Khayat describes as similar to corn tamales, but without green chiles and cheese, and seasoned with basil and paprika. 

"(Omitas) are a big summer dish, a go-to plate," El-Khayat said. 

El-Khayat, a medical librarian by trade, said she learned many of her recipes from her aunt, who still lives in Chile. 

"She loves sharing her recipes," El-Khayat said. "Every time I go back, I sit with her in the kitchen and we make a variety of foods."

The Lao Academic Organization has been serving TMY visitors a mix of kebabs, egg rolls and other gastronomical delights since 1981. 

Nothing on the menu represents Laos better, however, than the group's papaya salad, said Bonnie Banks, who is helping to coordinate the booth this year. 

LAO's version of the salad includes papaya, crushed chiles, garlic, tomato, lime and fish sauce.

"It's at every party, every gathering," Banks said of the popular dish. "If there is no papaya salad, there is no get-together."

When Patricia Espinosa first started selling Cuban cuisine at Tucson Meet Yourself in 2011 and 2012, one request kept popping up: "Ropa vieja."

The traditional dish with an unusual name (translated, it means "old clothes") consists of shredded beef in a Cuban-style tomato sauce, Espinosa said. 

Espinosa was only serving Cuban sandwiches at the time, but made sure to include "ropa vieja" when she returned to TMY in 2017. 

The addition, complete with white rice, black beans and fried ripe plantains, was a big hit, she said. Espinosa plans to bring it back this weekend, as well as her Cuban-style empanadas, another popular choice on last year's menu.