For Tucsonans, September brings a few things to look forward to: slightly cooler evenings (emphasis on slightly), the promise of spooky season around the corner and, perhaps most importantly, Sonoran Restaurant Week.
The annual foodie event, hosted by Tucson Foodie and Visit Tucson, is returning Sept. 4-13 for its eighth year, with 125 kitchens across Southern Arizona offering special fixed-price menus for 10 days.
Some restaurants are offering special menus for as little as $15 per person, meaning a meal for two can start at just $30 before tax and tip.
So for this week’s date night, we’re doing Sonoran Restaurant Week on a budget. I combed through this year’s participating restaurants to find some of the more affordable options, whether you have $30 to spend on dinner for two or a little more wiggle room.
If you’re looking for a breakfast date, a casual lunch or dinner and dessert, here are a few options to consider.
Sonoran House Sam Hughes is celebrating its one-year anniversary with various additions.
For a breakfast or brunch date
Who says date night actually has to happen at night?
There are several $15 Sonoran Restaurant Week deals perfect for an early morning coffee date or a leisurely weekend brunch.
At Sonoran House, $15 gets you two coffee or tea drinks and a pastry to share, making it one of the cheapest dates on this list. Grab your drinks, split something sweet and spend the morning catching up.
If you need something a little more substantial, LeBuzz Caffe is pairing one of its breakfast burritos with a Sonoran Spice iced latte for $15 per person. Burrito options include the LeBuzz, stuffed with eggs, home fries, bacon, cheddar and pico de gallo; the chorizo-filled Papacito; the veggie Mamacita; and the Sunrise with turkey sausage. The seasonal latte combines vanilla and cinnamon with pumpkin cold foam.
Yellow Brick Coffee also has a $15 breakfast deal featuring its Hammy Sammy, made with smoked honey ham, a local egg, cheddar and chipotle aioli on a Bubbe's bagel, alongside a honey cold brew made with local mesquite honey.
And I couldn't make a budget breakfast list without mentioning one of my personal favorites, Buendia Breakfast and Lunch Cafe. For $15, diners can choose huevos con chorizo, huevos con machaca or huevos rancheros, plus a cafe de olla or sweet cinnamon tea.
Buendia is also offering a $15 lunch menu with tacos dorados, chimichangas or a burrito. As someone who has ordered the tacos dorados more times than I can count, that would probably be my pick.
Cabeza, veggie, and pollo tacos at BK Carne Asada & Hot Dogs.
For a casual lunch or dinner
If you'd rather stick with a classic lunch or dinner date, you can still find plenty of options without breaking the budget.
BK Carne Asada & Hot Dogs might offer one of the best deals for two. Its $25 Combo BK menu includes enough for a full date: couples can choose from combinations like two Sonoran hot dogs, two quesabirrias and two drinks; two quesabirrias, two tacos and two drinks; or four tacos with totopos and two drinks.
That means the two of you can eat for $25 total, before tax and tip.
BK also has several $15 combo options if you're dining solo or each want your own meal, including a large caramelo and drink or a combination of a hot dog, quesabirria, torito and drink.
For something completely different, Polish Cottage is offering a three-course "Pierogi Lover's Dream" for $25 per person. The meal starts with a choice of soup, followed by potato pancakes and a main course of 12 pierogi with a side.
If $50 for two is more than you'd like to spend, there's also a $15 option pairing one of the restaurant's sandwiches with a 16-ounce Polish beer for diners 21 and older.
Sandwich lovers can also head to Quisty's Sandwiches, where $15 gets you one of the restaurant's signature sandwiches with chips. Choices include the Tucson Turkey with bacon, cheddar, avocado, jalapeños and chipotle ranch; the Italian-inspired Sonoran Soprano; or the Desert Dolce, made with pistachio mortadella, burrata, pistachio pesto and Calabrian hot honey.
Tucson Chocolate Factory makes bonbons, truffles and chocolate bars that incorporate classic Tucson flavors like prickly pear.
Skip dinner and go straight to dessert
Sometimes the best budget date is eating dinner at home and going out for something sweet afterward.
Le Macaron French Pastries has several $15 Restaurant Week options that could easily turn into their own dessert date. The "Trip to Paris," for example, includes two scoops of gelato, two macarons and two artisan chocolates. Other choices pair crème brûlée with a vanilla cappuccino and chocolate, or tiramisu with macarons and an artisan chocolate.
Chocolate lovers can head to Tucson Chocolate Factory, which has $15 Restaurant Week offerings featuring specialty chocolate dessert bars or bonbons, along with a $25 dessert option.
Or make it a tea date
If you've read this column before, you probably know I'm always looking for an excuse to go to Scented Leaf Tea House.
For Restaurant Week, the local tea shop is offering a Sonoran Drink Series where you can choose three drinks for $15 or five for $25.
The special menu includes the Sonoran Candy, made with hibiscus tea, prickly pear, mango and a locally made chile blend; the coconutty Ranchero Mojito; and the colorful Monsoon Gusher, which combines yerba maté with prickly pear, hibiscus, mango and butterfly pea teas.
There's also the Gates Pass Sunset, featuring papaya, passion flower and mango teas with strawberry lemonade, and the Nopales y Limonada, a combination of prickly pear tea and limeade.
Pick three you've never tried, grab your favorite person and have your own little tea tasting for $15.
A few things to know
Sonoran Restaurant Week runs Sept. 4-13 at participating restaurants around Southern Arizona. The special menus range from $15 to $55, but all of the options featured here cost $25 per person or less.
Prices don't include tax or tip, and menus and availability vary by restaurant, so it's worth checking the Sonoran Restaurant Week website before heading out.
