Hello everyone! It seems as though the Holidays are upon us, for this reason, after this post, I may postpone my Friday finds for a little. I am once again in Tucson , but this time I won’t be sharing anything about Mexican restaurants. Tucson was actually the first city in the United States to be granted the honor of being recognized for its gastronomy by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. Needless to say there are many more places to be covered, so today I share with you one of my favorite Chinese places, Ba-Dar on East Broadway.
Ba-Dar opened its doors in 1992 and has acquired a steady and local following. It sits back from the street so you might miss it if you’re not on the lookout. Every time I have been there the restaurant is pleasantly full, not packed and noisy but just enough people to give it a lively atmosphere and that homey feeling. You can get any of the old favorites like sesame chicken or egg foo young but here’s a great tip, ask for the Chinese menu. This is the menu they made for many of their Asian customers. On this menu you’ll find so many interesting dishes you’ll be going back to try new things every week! There’s a dish for everyone in your party be they meat eaters or vegans.
On this trip I went with a couple experienced Ba-Dar patrons so I sat back and let them order, well all except one dish, I had to try their Salt and Pepper Squid to see how it stacked up to New York City’s Chinatown. We started our meal with the spicy steamed dumplings in sauce. These were cooked perfectly and had the most amazing zing to them. It wasn’t hot like a jalapeño but more of a white pepper with Szechuan pepper corns type sauce. I could have been happy with the sauce in a bowl of noodles. The next dish was the Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup. The broth of this soup also had an amazing zing to it , once again not spicy but more like a burst of many flavors coming together in an explosion of OMG! The meat must have been simmering in the sauce for hours as it fell apart releasing more of the flavors. The baby Bok Choy was just crunchy enough to give the soup another texture and flavor that complemented the entire dish. The noodles eh, they were just noodles and I could have eaten the entire bowl without them. The next dish was beef tendon hot pot, I know to most of us it sounds nasty. Actually new studies have emerged letting us know that our ancestors had it right, that eating things like tendons and making bone broth was actually very good for us. So if you get a chance to give it a try I’d highly recommend it. It comes in a rich beef broth with potato and some other root vegetables along with little pieces of tendon that has been cooked for hours, releasing all of its flavors into the hot pot. I actually enjoyed it very much except I found it to be a little salty for my taste. The Salt and Pepper Squid was also salty but you expect that since it’s in its name! However, I missed the hot peppers that come sliced on the squid served in NYC. Ba-Dar’s squid was fresh and cooked in a light batter accompanied by little salty crumbs to give the dish a good crunch. Next time I’ll ask for sliced hot peppers.
I really enjoyed my meal at Ba-Dar but to be fair I have heard some people don’t like it and usually the reason is the seasonings. It seems we have become accustomed to our usual Chinese American fare. So for that reason I’d again, encourage you to go with an open mind and a stomach for adventure. I’ll be switching to Thanksgiving ideas for the next few posts but will keep notes on any more restaurants I go to while in Tucson. As always, if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below and I’ll respond as soon as I can. Until next time, Boone Appétit!
