Starting a new year means looking ahead, and looking ahead sometimes means heading north, and, in Tucson, heading north can only mean one thing, North Italia, and we had some North stars in the studio with us for our first broadcast of 2014!

Matt Shaloo, Matt Russell, Chef Carlos Calderon & C.J. Hamm

Matt Shaloo, Matt Russell, Chef Carlos Calderon & C.J. Hamm

We kicked things off with this week’s celebrity co-host, the food business writer for the Tucson Weekly, C.J. Hamm.  C.J. gave us an update on the kinds of things he’s been covering lately, and offered his official predictions for the Tucson food scene in 2014. We also checked in with Tucson blues man Marty Kool, who reported on the Sunday blues series he recently launched at Hacienda del Sol. North Italia’s own Matt Shaloo got things shaking in the studio with his interpretations of two classic cocktails, and Chef Carlos Calderon discussed how the North menu is like turning a modern lens on traditional Italian cooking. And if that wasn’t enough, the short rib hash and patata pizza we sampled put us right over the edge. Come delizioso!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:15 — 15.0MB)