The historic Miramonte neighborhood of Tucson is a perfect rectangle. Country Club to the west, Alvernon to the east, Speedway to the North and 5th Street to the south. And, according to neighborhood review site niche.com, it’s “one of the best places in Arizona to live.” Well, guess what? It just got even better.
The eponymous “Miramonte” restaurant fills a famous midtown restaurant void, placed in Rancho Center a smidge east of Country Club, a location offering quick access to happenings downtown, the U of A, the newest must-see film at The Loft Cinema or a lovely landing for ladies who lunch. The endeavor is the third creation from partners Deborah Tenino and Nick Kreutz along with Contigo at The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa and Locale Neighborhood Italian on Alvernon near Broadway. The third restaurant is a charm, but so are the first two.
Deb explains that she and Nick work well together. “We’re always living around my kitchen counter. I feel that we divide and share equally. I don’t think it’s the traditional format, like Nick does all the cooking and I do all the front of house. We do a real mix between the two of us.”
Miramonte’s main dining room is divided by a long counter used to display wine offerings and store set-ups and linens. Marble tables are trimmed in copper surrounded by dowel-backed chairs. A cement slab wall is stacked to the ceiling like French toast, the bottom-most slab surrounding what is on a chilly evening a purring fireplace.
Scaffolding adorns the open white ceiling — a quartet of speakers hang playing retro pop and jazz above the polished cement floor…