Tucson Steak House & Bar: A Little Taste of Home

(UPDATE 01-31-2020)

We're always on the lookout for a good American restaurant here in our host province of Córdoba, though we don't go out as often as we'd like. So, we often rely on our Argentine friends to tell us about new places to try.

A few weeks ago, a passing acquaintance took my husband to Tucson Steak House & Bar, located at Felix Olmedo 2018, Rogelio Martinez. The name alone was a dead giveaway—it had to be an American restaurant, especially since Tucson is in Arizona. But the real question was, would they have actual American food?

Thankfully, they did! My husband loved it so much that he brought some home for me to try that night. And let me tell you, I couldn't believe it! Right in front of me were barbecue ribs, roasted potatoes with cheese, chives, and bacon bits, and mashed potatoes with cole slaw!

Barbecue ribs!

This is what the barbecue ribs looked like when my hubby had them at the restaurant

Mashed Potatoes with cole slaw

Potatoes with Cheese, chives, and bacon bits

There was another side dish that really put a smile on my face: the blooming onion. I hadn’t had one in over seven years, and the only place I’d ever seen it was at Outback Steakhouse. Unfortunately, they don’t have that restaurant here in Argentina, so I gave up hope of ever having it again—unless I made it myself.

But since I love onions, I was absolutely elated to see the blooming onion on Tucson’s menu. I didn’t take a photo of it because it didn’t survive the trip home too well, but the taste was incredible. I highly recommend it!

He also brought home some spinach dip. This was another favorite of mine from the States, and I never expected to see it on the menu here. While it didn’t look too great in a takeout box, it was delicious!

And there were other things on the menu that I wanted to try, so the following week, we went to Tucson.

The first things we ordered were the appetizers, which included some of the best cheese sticks we've had in Argentina.

We also ordered ourselves some barbecue chicken wings.

And, of course, mashed potatoes! But then our main dishes arrived, and we weren’t even done with our appetizers yet, so we asked the waiter not to take them away.

Our burgers were delicious! They came with a side of French fries and authentic cole slaw. And I say authentic because we’ve been to Argentine restaurants that claim to serve cole slaw, but it’s never quite as perfect as the one at Tucson.

I almost forgot to mention the drinks—they have plenty of options! I had the Piña Cream, which I absolutely loved, while he had the Caipi Maracuya.

The restaurant’s atmosphere was fantastic. It wasn’t loud, and the guests kept their voices at a respectful level, which is a rarity here. The host and waitstaff were also friendly and efficient.

The bar

There were two non-food-related things on the menu that I loved. First, they offer menus in English upon request. Second, they don’t charge for utensils, which, unfortunately, is pretty common in Argentina.

The image above shows just the executive menu, but their full menu is much more extensive. They offer pasta, seafood, a variety of American-style dishes, and even a small selection of Argentine dishes for the locals.

By the time we finished our meal, we were so stuffed that there was no room for dessert. But we fixed that when we returned to Tucson the following week.

This time, we only planned to order cheese sticks so we wouldn’t fill up too quickly and could enjoy some tasty desserts. But then, I decided to try their Tex-Mex Tacos.

The meat inside the taco wasn’t ground beef; it was more like shredded steak with a distinct flavor. Maybe they doused it in A1 steak sauce, but I wasn’t sure. Either way, it took away from the natural taste of the meat. Don’t get me wrong—it wasn’t bad, just not what I expected. So, the tacos were a one-time thing for me. The potatoes on the side, however, were really good.

My hubby ordered the cheese sticks and a baked potato covered with cheese, bacon bits and chives.

There was something a bit off about the baked potato. In the States, we usually fluff the inside with a fork before adding the toppings. But here, it was served as a whole baked potato with the toppings on top. So, he had to slice it with a knife and eat it that way. It’s not a huge deal, but if you're going to serve a baked potato, it should be done the traditional way.

Now, it was time for the main event: Dessert! I ordered the brownie with ice cream on top. My mouth watered when the waiter brought it to the table. It looked so artistic, I almost didn’t want to ruin it. But I was hungry, so I dug in anyway.

I should point out that brownies aren’t popular in Argentina, so finding someone who knows how to make one correctly is pretty rare—at least here in Cordoba City. The caramelized nuts on the plate were also a delicious touch.

My hubby had the apple crumble with ice cream on top. And he loved it!

The great thing about Tucson is that they don’t strictly follow the Argentine siesta schedule—well, not entirely. They’re open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., except Fridays, when they stay open until 2 a.m.

However, there’s something to keep in mind. If you order food between noon and 4:00 p.m., you’re in luck. But the kitchen closes from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. You can still visit Tucson during this time for what they call the merienda, the Argentine equivalent of tea time. You can enjoy coffee and pastries, but you won’t be able to order a full meal until the kitchen reopens.

We’re really glad that Tucson Steak House & Bar has made its way to Cordoba, Mendoza, and Buenos Aires. Not only are they introducing locals to new dishes, but they’re also offering American expats a taste of home away from home.

**************************UPDATE 01-31-2020****************************
We loved Tucson so much that it has become our guilty pleasure. I wanted to add this update to show you what their blooming onion and a few of our other favorite dishes look like, in case you ever decide to drop by.

Here’s the blooming onion, and it’s absolutely delicious! The only complaint I have is that I couldn’t pull apart the fried “petals” without using a knife and fork. But aside from that, it was still amazing, and I would definitely order it again.

The chicken rolls are also my new favorite. The rolls contain chicken (Duh!), cheese, and marinara sauce. It's an appetizer, but it was a meal for me.

The other item I recently ordered was the American Wok. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with this one. While it was okay overall, there wasn’t enough chicken in the dish, which made it feel more like a vegetarian option. I’m pretty sure I won’t be ordering this one again.

For dessert, I went with the brownie with ice cream again, but my hubby decided to try the Oreo Ice Cream Cake. I had a bite, and it was fantastic!

Naturally, these delicious meals led to a few extra pounds during January, so we’ll definitely need to get back on the treadmill before our next visit.

We Welcomed 2020 at the Sheraton in Argentina

(UPDATE December 2020: The Sheraton in Cordoba City has closed)

For the past few years, we've had to contend with our neighbors turning our street into a night club complete with lights and insanely loud and obnoxious music. And we were sick of it! So this time, we decided to welcome 2020 at the Sheraton in Duarte Quirós 1300, Cordoba, Argentina, and it was pretty much heaven on Earth.

For starters, the hotel is literally next door to the Nuevo Centro Shopping mall. So we checked into our hotel at 2 p.m., which was an hour earlier than the check-in time. But the clerk at the front desk was very accommodating.

So we walked past the lavish lobby and took the elevator to the 9th floor where our room awaited. We intended to leave our belongings there and head to the mall before they closed at 6 p.m. But the air conditioned room and comfortable chairs and bed made it difficult to leave.

The room reminded us of the Miccosukee Resort & Casino, which we frequently went to when we lived in Florida in the early 2000s. But this was our first time staying at a 5-star hotel in a long time, and the luxurious accommodations were alluring.

We were really hungry at this point, so we freshened up and headed to the mall to eat at Burger King and then made a quick stop at Starbucks.

Fortunately, there was a Disco supermarket in the mall, so we bought a bottle of cheap champagne and grapes to celebrate the new year.

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and took some photos to share with you guys.

The view from our hotel room window on the 9th floor

The view of the pool from the 9th floor

They have a gym for hotel guests!!!

He does a great impression of someone who knows how to play the piano

But we still had a couple of hours to go before midnight and we had to think about our New Year's Eve dinner. The hotel was offering a New Year's Feast and were charging $4,650 Argentine pesos per adult ($77.84 USD) and $1,900 Argentine pesos for children under 10 ($31.81 USD).

This was their menu.

Now, I'm not saying the menu options were bad. But there were only one or two items that appealed to us, and we didn't think it was worth the price. So we opted for room service instead.

The price for room service menus were a little more down to Earth as you can see below. They charge $45 Argentine pesos ($0.75 US cents) for room service. The prices are all in Argentine pesos. Tipping isn't necessary, but I gave them $200 Argentine pesos anyway ($3.35 USD). Don't judge me. That's a lot in Argentina. You can enlarge the menu images by clicking on them.

We opted for the burger, which admittedly wasn't the most original item we could have gotten, but it was delicious! We didn't go crazy ordering food because we were still stuffed from eating at Burger King. We also bought two mini-empanadas in case the burgers weren't enough.

Now all we had to do was wait until midnight, Argentine time. We assumed that the view would be spectacular with all the fire works. But as it turns out, the night sky was virtually silent except for maybe five or six fire works in the far distance.

It was a bit of a bummer, but that's okay, because for us, it's not officially New Year until the ball drops in Times Square. Luckily, I brought my laptop with me. So I hooked it up to the room's flat screen TV and found a link to a live feed of Times Square. Then we set up the champagne and our grapes and waited for the countdown.

Even though we are thousands of miles away from home (and our loved ones), this tradition of celebrating with them from a distance always makes us feel closer to them somehow.

The next morning, we ordered ourselves the American breakfast, which was more like a continental breakfast minus the fruits (unless you count us). 

Admittedly, they could have added some pancakes. The cereal didn't come with milk, and I've never had yogurt for breakfast in my life. But it was still nice. The pastries, the scrambled eggs and the bacon were decent. I wish they'd given us butter for our toast, but next time I'll ask or I'll bring my own.

All in all, the experience was amazing and it opened our eyes to an obvious truth. Yes, it might cost a lot more to go to a five-star hotel, but it's worth it for the cleanliness and high quality service. And no matter where we travel, we'll always look for a Sheraton or a five-star hotel.

But how much did we really spend for one night? $8,455.54 Argentine pesos ($141.54 USD) and that includes our dinner meal and the American breakfast.

But if you're ever in Cordoba, Argentina, on business, vacationing, or you're an expat, who just needs a break from the rowdy neighbors, then I highly recommend the Sheraton. Oh, and did I mention that you can get a massage, too? I didn't do that this time around, but I'm definitely going to consider it the next time I come.