Yesterday, I had the pleasure of dining with some friends at the Cup Cafe in Hotel Congress, in downtown Tucson.
It was my first visit to the Cup, much to the amazement of my friends. If you believe them, I may be the last person in Tucson who hasn’t eaten there. Even Rachael Ray has been there. Who knew?
It’s an eclectic place - the floor of our dining room was covered, every square inch, with pennies. I’m not sure if they were lacquered in place or what, but there was some kind of clear coat holding them all in place. I wonder how many days and weeks it took to place all of those pennies individually?
The Cup sits in the ground floor of Hotel Congress, which is also home to Club Congress, which describes itself as a rock club and a “must stop” for the incorrigibly hip. The Hotel was built in 1919, with 40 rooms that have been renovated, but they pride themselves on maintaining the original ambience (read: no TV, but they do have wireless internet access).
Back to the Cup. This is my Tuscan Salad, which was excellent. After mortifying my friends by taking a picture of it (evidently, not a “hip” thing to do), I dug in. Delish. The menu said there were white beans in this salad, but happily, I found none. Next time, I’m going to have to try the Thompson Automatics appetizer: shredded chicken marinated in Frank’s original red hot sauce, wrapped in an egg roll with gorgonzola and deep fried until crispy. Sounds like heaven to me!
My friend had the Club Vegan, which is 3 layers of pita, stacked with hummus, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, kalamata olives, and radish. I didn’t want to embarass her by taking a picture of her sandwich, but it was enormous and, I’m told, very tasty.
The service was fine. My water glass was dirty, but was replaced quickly. There were several other items on the menu that looked interesting, and I’m told I have to try the feta garlic dressing. All in all, it was a nice lunch, and an interesting place to dine.
There’s a lot of road construction going on right now in the area, with the rebuilding of the 4th avenue underpass. Normally, you can just head West on Broadway onto Congress and you’re there, but it’s not so easy right now to come from that side. Parking is mostly at meters, so bring a couple quarters.
