RESTAURANT REVIEWS
In the News:
"Kinney Road Gem Worth the Trip" — Arizona Daily Star, Caliente section (11/11/2007)
"Unless you work at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum or live in the area, the Coyote Pause Café isn't exactly a "swing by for a quick lunch" kind of place.
The eatery, owned by the husband-and-wife team of Spencer and Kerstin Block, is well beyond the hustle and bustle of inner-city Tucson. A locale where the miles you drive are only matched by the bugs splattered up against your windshield when you get there.
That's not to say the cafe isn't worth a visit.
If you have the time and the gas, we highly recommend this gem west of town.
Situated within Cat Mountain Station, a quirky little artisan and gift center, Coyote Pause percolates with Bohemian charm.
Inside, the walls are splashed in yellows and reds and diners eat at tables with multicolored and multipatterned tablecloths.
We chose to eat in the café's spacious covered patio area, with elaborately designed metal work along the edges and blue and orange, umbrella-covered tables. (Umbrellas in a covered patio? Those crazy artists!)"... read more »
"Wholesome Eats" — Tucson Weekly, Chow section (6/5/2008)
"Heading for Old Tucson or the Desert Museum? You may want to consider breakfast or lunch at Coyote Pause. They should put up a sign on Kinney Road just before you enter Tucson Mountain Park: "Last Food for 125 Years." That's counting years backward, the time warp you fall into once you get to Old Tucson. Between the Tucson Mountain Park boundary and that Old West amusement park/movie location, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum beyond, there are a few miles of winding, dippy, saguaro-lined two-lane highway. If you want to grab breakfast before you get to the tourist attractions, or eat lunch on your way out, your last chance/first chance is the Coyote Pause Café. Don't think of it as a last resort, though. It's an unpretentious place that offers a pretty standard but appealing breakfast and lunch menu, and the café handily meets or exceeds one's modest expectations." ... read more »
"For someone from out of town, it was a really good, laid back Tucson experience." — Yelp.com, Customer Review ★★★☆☆ (1/6/2010)
"My sister and I found Coyote Pause on our way to the Sonora Desert Museum. We were looking for a quick bite to eat and found this cute little restaurant. We sat in the covered outside area and enjoyed the sun and the Indian Festival in the courtyard next door. The staff was very friendly and the food was really good for a really good price. I highly recommend the Carne Asada and Eggs. For someone from out of town, it was a really good, laid back Tucson experience. It's a little out of the way if you're hanging around Tucson, but if you're on your way to or from the Sonora Desert Museum or the Old Tucson Studios, stop by. I look forward to going there again when I visit Tucson in a couple of months and trying another dish." ... read more »
"You Can't Help but Embrace the Arts and the Food at Coyote Pause" — Marana Weekly Newspaper (10/7/2009)
"The atmosphere of Coyote Pause is not fancy, but charming. It’s a diner plain and simple, without pretension or designs on being anything other than a café. Tucson—I have always found that cafés and diners that also have arts and crafts in them tend to be very good. There is something about restaurant owners that appreciate artistry that carry over to their fare. The Coyote Pause Café is just such a place and is further evidence that my theory is true.
Situated in the Cat Mountain Station, a business center featuring artisans, shops and galleries, it can’t help but embrace the arts and when you walk in the first thing you see is a shelf full of crafts. The second thing you see is a glass case with baked goods. The day we went in for lunch there was a mound of white icing that upon closer inspection contained a large, tasty looking sweet roll.
At first glance Coyote Pause has pretty standard breakfast and lunch fare, but upon closer inspection many of the items have a slight twist. The breakfast menu is extensive with all the normal items you’d expect, but in addition a variety of egg dishes from omelets to scrambles to wraps. I quickly settled on one of the wraps, but had trouble deciding between the chorizo and cheddar or the carne asada and jack cheese.
The super friendly waitress tried to help me narrow down my decision, but I could tell she would have been just as torn as me. My love of beef won out and I was rewarded. The wrap, scrambled egg, thin sliced beef and cheese rolled up in a tortilla. This is not skimpy taco cart breakfast burrito, no, this wrap tests the limits of what a tortilla can hold. It is a hefty helping of food.
All too often the eggs in this type of meal are not cooked with much care. You either get greasy, fried eggs or watery eggs of the scrambled variety. In this case the eggs ere fluffy, yet densely packed into the tortilla. The carne was thin sliced, making it easier to eat. You can often get thick, chewy carne in a burrito, but this meat was tasty and tender.
The wrap came with a small helping of salsa, the perfect compliment to the flavors and some very good fried potatoes. It is hard to make bad fried potatoes, but at the same time it is never easy to make ones that really stand out. They were crispy and well seasoned. I prefer mine cut very small, so you get more crunch and less squish and these accomplished that.
We also got the steak sandwich, another winner. The sandwich had a thick slice of steak, no thin roast beef passing as steak, melted cheese, grilled onions and honey mayo. The whole thing was placed on roasted chiabatta bread, giving it a nice compliment of textures. You got the crunch of the bread, to gooey cheese and the smoky grilled steak in every bite. The sandwich comes with their battered French fries and they were a perfect compliment. Crispy batter, a touch of salt, just a very good representation of what you can do with French fries.
They also have homemade soups and a variety of hamburgers which are already on my list for the next time I dine there, and believe me, there will be a return trip.
As this was a work lunch it was not the time for a drink, but I was pleased to see that beer and wine are available. I could easily see enjoying a drink or two with my meal out on the patio.
The atmosphere is not fancy, but charming. It’s a diner plain and simple, without any pretension or designs on being anything other than a café. But that is what makes it perfect. It is perfect after a day at the nearby Desert Museum or Old Tucson, or even a break after shopping at the stores that share Cat Mountain Station. We stopped in for a late lunch and there was still a nice, but manageable crowd on hand and our server still had a big smile and plenty of energy.
URL: www.maranaweeklynews.com
Also see Cat Mountain Station in the news & Cat Mountain Lodge in the news
Breakfast served all-day on Sundays, and until 12-noon on all other days.
Dinner served on Fridays & Saturdays 4-8pm.
Open
Sun - Thurs
7:30am-2:30pm
Fri - Sat
7:30am-8:00pm
Call for takeout
520-883-7297
www.CoyotePauseCafe.com
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2740 S. Kinney Rd. Tucson, AZ • 2 mi. north of Ajo Way • 520-578-8795 or 520-838-3779
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