Tootsie on Tour: Tucson, AZ

**Disclaimer: The content of this post reflects my own personal views, opinions, and experiences.
This post does NOT express the views or opinions of my employer.**

The venue: Centennial Hall

(stock images. could not for the life of me find a good pic of the interior.)

Covid Tests to Date: 73

TL;DR TikTok: CLICK HERE

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We had a nice relaxing bus ride to Tucson, arriving at the hotel around 2:30.
This is a normal modern hotel, and although last week's dorm theme was fun and memorable, it's also nice to have a decent number of wall sockets, and enough counter space for my food, and a shower with good water pressure!

After checking in I was handed the keys to one of the band's rental cars for the week.
We're six miles from the theatre so it's not walkable, and when that happens we get cars to share.
But I don't like being asked, "Can I borrow the car?" at random times of day, so when Steve asked if I was going to the grocery I was happy to pass the key to him right away.

And it was so nice out, sunny and windy but only 70 degrees! I decided to walk the 3-ish miles to Fry's, a local Kroger-related chain.
The only closer grocery is a Trader Joe's about 2.2 miles away, so I couldn't have done much better.
I got what I needed and Ubered back, unpacked, and hit up a Vietnamese restaurant next door for some spring rolls and chicken skewers.
Then I had a massive headache, possibly from squinting into the sun during the walk, so I drank loads of water and enjoyed a quiet night in.

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On Tuesday I made sure to wake up early because I wanted to visit Barrio Bakery.
Usually before visiting any city, I Google around to find out where people like to eat; what are the most interesting restaurants, or the local specialty foods, or the most unique dishes. And of course, where are the best local bread bakeries!

Barrio was at the top of EVERY list, including a lot of websites having nothing to do with bread.
They've recently been nominated for a James Beard award, so there's that.
And the owner, Don, Guerra, was given a USDA grant to further his work with local farmers and the preservation of heritage grains.

In case that doesn't paint a complete picture for you, here was the line when I arrived at the bakery right at opening time:


That must be some REALLY good bread for people to queue up like this on a random Tuesday!
I waited patiently, and the line moved quickly; I was probably only waiting for about 15 minutes.
During that time Yael (trumpet) texted to ask about getting bread (she'd expressed interest earlier) and I promised to get her a loaf as well.

As I approached the counter, a wall of fresh loaves greeted me.
If only I could try every single one!


At the register was a happy-looking guy, smiling pleasantly while taking everyone's orders.
(I realized later on that this was the owner himself. He actively bakes the bread, makes deliveries, and runs the register WHILE running the whole business and applying for grants apparently! WILD.)

I requested two loaves of the "heritage" bread, and it was handed to me in two paper bags, still piping hot from the oven.
Need I mention that the smell of fresh roasty wheat and yeast around the counter was absolutely fantastic??

I got back to the hotel and got Yael her loaf, then had a little photoshoot with my own loaf and did more research on the bakery (which was about the time I realized the owner himself had waited on me).
Barrio Bread's "heritage" loaf is a crusty whole-wheat sourdough made with local heirloom grain flour.
It is stenciled with an outline of the state of Arizona, with a saguaro cactus enclosed within.


Cutting it open was an explosion of crumbs due to the lovely crust :)
The interior was SO incredibly soft. It was actually very difficult to cut because I had to press to get through the crust, but couldn't press too hard or risk crushing the delicate interior crumb. I think I did a good job!


The flavor is tart like a sourdough, and rich like a whole grain wheat bread.
I had it with sliced turkey, fresh avocado, and cracked black pepper. And it was incredible.

There is something magical about truly fresh, same-day, still-warm rustic bread made with LOVE.
It makes the experience of eating something as ho-hum-daily as bread, a moment to be treasured and remembered.
This is definitely a bakery that I will never forget, and I'm very grateful that I got to taste their beautiful signature bread today.
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