Take one flour tortilla, load it up with carne asada, green chilies, caramelized onion and a blend of cheddar cheese, splash it with chipotle aioli, grill it and call it the carne verde papas quesadilla. It’s the perfect way to satisfy those midnight munchies. It’s also a great midday meal, dinner or if you’re really hungry, snack.
Quesos on 4th is the latest addition to Fourth Avenue’s selection of delightful, sometimes curious, food fare. Open very convenient hours, from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. But when it’s time to swing, Quesos is open until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Quesos can and will sate anyone’s appetite. Even picky vegetarian and vegan diners.
Shea Villafane is one of the four owners, but he’s also the chef. He designed the menu and usually it is he who prepares your feast. He has plenty of kitchen experience including four years as a kitchen manager and three as a chef. The kitchen is home for him, however, as he was that kid who could always be found fooling around in there.
“I definitely was always making menus for my mom, trying to make anything I could think of,” he said.
His first food memory? Making pancakes with his dad.
Villafane cares deeply about what he puts on the plates he serves.
“I try to put a lot of intent into what (a guest) is into, what they would want,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I have a philosophy. I just try to put a lot of love and care into everything.”
It turns out that quesadillas is one of his favorite items to eat and when he was approached by the other owners about creating a restaurant, it didn’t take long for him to say sí.
“(Quesadillas) sounded perfect for this small kitchen design,” Villafane said.
The kitchen is small, but what comes out of it is mighty. The dining room shines with Mexican motifs such as the giant painting of a calavera, suitable for a selfie. If seating there isn’t available or the weather is fine, step outside to the patio in the back.
But as for the important stuff, the menu, Villafane said their offerings are a sort of fusion of Southwest flavors. Look for the flavor of chiles and cayenne, to name a couple.
Interestingly, although the menu is meat-heavy, Villafane is a vegetarian so he knows what to prepare when a diner asks for a meatless quesadilla. He most enjoys creating vegan dishes.
“The vegan dishes are fun for me because I don’t eat meat,” he said. “It’s fun that I can put that little extra attention on things.”
Knowing that, how exactly does Villafane create a meat product? For one, he relies a lot on his sensitive sense of smell, which helps him taste the flavors. He also relies on his partners and friends.
“It’s not like I try it or eat it,” he said. “I just go off of people’s palettes. Is it salty? Can you taste whatever I added to it? I ask a lot of questions in the process (of creating a dish) and just remind people that (chefs) aren’t tasting every bite of food they make for you. If you really think about when you go out to eat, they’re not taking a bite of your burger.”
A few examples on the succinct menu include El Diablo, which features chorizo and black beans; the cheeseburger after dark quesadilla, featuring ground beef and garlic potatoes; and the pollo asado verde with citrus-marinated chicken and sweet corn.
Besides the quesadillas, diners may order elote cobs ($7) or elote cups ($5).
Wash it all down with a Mexican soda.
Sean Humphrey is another of the four partners in Quesos. He comes with plenty of experience as a restaurant owner as this is his third establishment. He is also one of the owners of John Henry’s Tucson on Sixth Avenue and the Dugout Sports Bar and Grill on 22nd and Swan. He said it was the area that sparked in him the desire to open Quesos.
“I’ve always been in love with Fourth Avenue,” he said. “I’ve always felt that Fourth Avenue was magnetic: the people, the colors, the vibrant nature of not just the physical structures but the individuals who come down here and call this place a second home.”
He also wanted to represent the Tucson he knows and loves.
“We wanted the place to scream Tucson,” Humphrey said. “All four of us are Tucson locals. We have fallen in love with Day of the Dead. Being in a very diverse community is important to us and showcasing that vibrancy here was the no. 1 thing.”
He wants people to feel in Quesos what he feels about Fourth Avenue and Tucson.
“I want people to know what we know and feel, that it embodies the feeling of home,” Humphrey said. “There’s nothing quite like Tucson. The Southwest is a really big place but you won’t find Fourth Avenue, how it feels, how Tucson feels, anywhere else.”
There is dessert should anyone feel the need and why wouldn’t you when the offerings include some fairly big chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies, dulce de leche cake ($5) and spicy brownies ($5)? Just know that you have to pay cash for them but the money goes directly to the baker.
Dining and Cooking