Queer Quisine - Bisonwiches - Bumsteads

This week's review is a twofer, two restuarants for the price of one! The reason I'm doing them together is because they have very similar menus (ie. sandwiches etc) so it will be sort of a comparison.

First up, Bison Wiches, on 4th Ave. For those of you who live in Tucson and haven't been there yet.... Shame on you! It's a definite must to check out, even if just for the beer. The sandwiches are pretty good too. :)

My dinner partner and I went on a Friday night and it wasn't too crowded, which was nice. I'd been there once before and the place had been slammed! We got a little (emphasis on "little") table right by the window so we could people watch everyone on 4th. You could hear the low murmer of conversations and people watching the game but it never got so loud that we couldn't have a conversation. Our server was great and very attentive. Faye decided on the Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout, the Summer Soltice brew, and she loved it! We started off with the chile con queso and it came fast. Remember my "no frills" review on Caruso's? Bison Wiches has the same no frills, quality food. The price is definitely right. Every sandwhich was $6.25, with the exception of the grilled cheese which I think was around $4. I'd recommend getting half sandwiches because the portions are huge!

Faye got the veggie sandwich, which had all sorts of nifty stuff on it from the standard veggies to avacado to cream cheese. From what she said it was really good. I, on the other hand, was somewhat disappointed. What I ended up ordering was, essentially, a turkey sandwich. I asked for no mayo and the parmesean dressing on the side and a pickle. When my sandwich came it did have the dressing on the side.... as well as on the sandwich. Also on the sandwich was the mayo I had asked to be left off. I did get my pickle, though. I didn't feel like causing a fuss or waiting for them to remake my sandwich so I just scraped off what I could and ate a few bites. I realise it wasn't the server's fault and I also realised that it was getting busy and mistakes happen, but it was very disappointing.

Now on to Bumsted's, also on 4th Ave. A very ... interesting place. The decor is a little bit of this and a little bit of that with a huge saltwater fish tank in the middle of everything. We ended up with a table on the dark side of the fish tank, and boy, was it dark! The only lighting we had was a teeny candle and this odd chandelier-type thing made out of wine glasses tied together with wire surrounding one of those plastic rope light things. It was so dark we could hardly see the menu. There was only one server working, luckily it was a Tuesday night so I think the chances of it getting too busy were slim.

The music is ecclectic to say the least. It ranged from Fat Boy Slim to Louis Armstrong to Country and everything in between. The volume probably could have been turned down a notch, but it wasn't too bad.

THe menu is one of the most interesting things about Bumsted's. With names like "Milf" "Hot Pink" and "Weeeeeee!" you have to make sure you read the descriptions of the sandwiches and entrees. The prices were good here, too. Everything around $7. Again, if you can, get half sandwiches. *I* can't even finish a whole one!

To start, we got the "Kool-aid." No, not some sticky sweet sugary drink. In actuality, it's a hummus platter. And a very nice one, at that. It's a jalapeno hummus so it has a kick to it, but not enough to discourage even the whitest folk out there. ;) It comes with toast and a nice spread of veggies and fruit. Everything was fresh, there wasn't a bad looking grape in the bunch. The portion, considering it was an appetiser, was huge! The rest of it was taken home for leftovers.

Faye got "The Greenlady" (the veggie sandwich) on a Kaiser roll. it was a pretty stacked sandwich! She had to cut it in half and wasn't able to finish it. Note: it was vegetarian, but not vegan. It did have at least one type of cheese on it, possibly two. It was also piled high with every vegetable you could possibly imagine on a sandwich!

I got the "Hot Pink" sandwich, which was pretty much a roastbeef sandwich, on a sub roll. Again, huge! I would definitely recommend getting the sweet potato chips as a side. They come as a heaping helping of slightly sweet, slightly salty strips and are just plain good! I have a whole list of sandwiches and appetisers I want to try in the future.

One downside of Bumsted's was while they have a cocktail menu, they didn't have much selection when it came to beer. Just a few options of nothing very interesting.

The verdict? Personally, I'd say go to Bison Wiches for the beer and Bumsted's for the food.

Bison Wiches: (overall) 7/10
Drinks: 8/10
Food: 7/10

Bumsted's: (overall) 8/10
Drinks: 5/10
Food: 8/10

Bon Appetite!