110 E. Pennington St., Tucson
520/622-6400
www.cafepocacosatucson.com

HOURS: Tues.–Thurs. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–10 p.m.

COST: Most entrées more than $20

Featured far and wide in gourmet and lifestyle magazines, Cafe Poca Cosa is one of the Old Pueblo’s top two or three eateries. Reservations are basically required, and the menu changes twice daily. The day’s specials are printed in English and Spanish on a chalkboard, which servers take around to each table.

The food is usually an adventurous, learned and creative hybrid—a kind of gourmet Mexican food, created by Chef Suzanna Davila, a native of Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, on the Sea of Cortez, that you won’t find anywhere else in Southern Arizona.

If you’re looking for the usual enchiladas and burritos, this isn’t the place. But if you want something on the far creative edge of Mexican cuisine—a much more varied style than most Americans are led to believe exists—then you must eat here.

The interior is done up in a smooth, cool modernism with contemporary Latino art, including a print by the great Daniel Martin Diaz, peppered throughout.