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Tucson Elites Know La Vita è Buona a Zona 78!



Tucson Elites know life is good and now they know how to say it in Italian… Zona 78! James, Tavel, Matt, Rick and the team at Zona 78 played tour guide, taking a yelpy crew yearnin' for learnin' on a wine tour and tasting of some of Italy's most popular culinary regions.

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There's nothing like some bubbles to say, "partaaaaaaaay"  so glasses of Valdo, Pressecco made their way around while Matt talked about our first foray into Italian eating, the region of Veneto, where he served up a prosciutto and brie flat-bread and apple chutney that went over so well, he darted to the pizza oven and busted out some more! Over in Piedmont folks feasted on handmade vegetable ash agnolotti with caprino filling and sipped Paitin, Barbera. Although not a mainstay, enough people proposed that this dish get on the menu stat, maybe the boys will feature this incredibly divine pasta more than once a week! It was easily a favorite, and the fact that folks had the opportunity to see it dropped in the water and come out all warm and melty good… this is what good eats are made of. 

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Over in Tuscany it was a grilled flank steak with roasted potatoes and rosemary oil that got people pleased, along with glasses of Remole, Sangiovese. And Abruzzo didn't dissapoint, the salsiccia pizza with house-made ricotta, spinach, sausage and cherry tomatoes was tops, and will beat Brooklyn's any day! Glass four on our walking feast was Montepulciano, D'Abruzzo, a rad red that had most folks foraging for more. Tasting shmasting! Eats in Emilia Romagna consisted of a rigatoni bolognese with house-made ricotta, mozzarella and traditional ragu. Can you say cheeeeeeese! The Tenuta Red Blend helped wash down the rich dish with a zippy sauce and served as an incredible conclusion to our Italian tour. In addition to an amazing array of food and wine, folks learned a bit of background about these signature dishes. Some Elites even cooked up crave-worthy costumes to to fit the very foodie feel with handmade aprons, hats and chef whites!

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Before folks left we announced the most exciting thing to hit the Tucson culinary scene since Yelp… YELP COOKS! This month we're working with the team at Zona 78 to propose divine dishes to add to their menu. To read more and propose your own menu addition, check out the event listing here

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Thanks to the entire Zona 78 team for letting our excited Elites take over the bar and patio, giving them the opportunity to experience so many complex flavors and regions under one roof. The food kept roaming, wine kept flowing and lucky Jennifer D was on hand to capture the trip for everyone with perfect pics.

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Read the reviews here, see JD's photos here, read more about Zona 78 here and here, and participate in Yelp Cooks

Corey D

Us

Tucson Community Manager &

Ready for another Italian getaway! 

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