Union's pot pie! photo: Kelly Lewis
It’s not easy being the new kid on the block, but Union Public House, 4340 N. Campbell Ave., Suite 103, is placing its stamp on the Tucson gastropub scene with creative cuisine, two rockin’ “social” hours per day, and a stainless steel bar with 30 beers and 16 draft wines on tap.
The restaurant opened a mere month ago, so to get a proper review, we visited three times. On our first visit, we were floored. The ambiance was relaxed but sophisticated, and the food was incredible—particularly the shrimp and grits ($11), made with prosciutto, herb chevre and fried green tomatoes, in which the grits were perfectly cooked and not at all gritty.
The next time, however, was a mixed bag. Dinner rush is something the team at Union was still working on managing, and our food took quite a long time to arrive. When it did, we weren’t as impressed. The Union Burger ($11) came with fries that were almost too hard to eat, and that, combined with the long wait, soured the experience.
But, we gave it another go, this time ordering a variety of items including the “Lollipop” Pork Chop ($6), a small plate of bone-in pork drumettes with maple-bacon gravy.
We were wowed.
The pork chops were the perfect combination of savory and sweet, and by the time lunch came, we were hungry for more. I ordered the Chicken Pot Pie ($12.50), and my lunch-mate Billie ordered the Potato Dumplings ($12), a plate of house-made potato gnocchi with duck confit and roasted mushrooms.
The gnocchi were soft and chewy, and when cooked with burnt sage butter and the duck confit, the entire plate was rich and flavorful. (pictured below, photo by Kelly Lewis)
The pot pie, though, is where Union has made their mark. The team in the kitchen, led by executive chef Jack Tate, has managed to create a pot pie that doesn’t ooze everywhere when you cut into it, and still has all of the comfort-food elements that you’d want in a pot pie: potatoes, bacon and peas, all in a creamy base. It’s a mini food heaven!
The other thing we like about Union is their made-from-scratch kitchen, in which just about everything on the menu is—you guessed it—made from scratch.
“We bake all of our breads, all of the dough for our pizzas, all of the buns for our burgers,” said Grant Kreuger, co-owner. “We try to produce most of our stuff in house, but we do source some fruits and vegetables from the Farmer’s Market in St. Philip’s Plaza and it’s nice to have that option.”
While it’s clear the team at Union is still working out some of the kinks in their first month of business, it’s safe to say that they’ve got all the elements of the kind of restaurant we’ll visit again: great service, great food and a great bar. Social hour and reverse social hour run every day from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. to close and feature $3, $4, $5 and $6 specials.
Check out their menu and more details at UnionTucson.com.
