Whether you are visiting Tucson on a family vacation or looking for weekend fun as a local, it may be worth asking this question:
What would Linda do?
Singer Linda Ronstadt, Grammy Award winner and arguably the most famous figure to ever come out of Tucson, recently spoke to the New York Times about some of her favorite spots when she visits the city.
Her top five destinations included:
1. Barrio Bread
18 S. Eastbourne Ave.; barriobread.com
Ronstadt doesn't even wait to get settled in before heading to Barrio Bread in Midtown, telling the Times, "I always go there straight from the airport."
The Times shared her go-to order: A Cubano loaf that the Barrio Bread website describes as "a larger take on the Birote, designed specifically for the popular Cuban style sandwich," available plain or covered in sesame or multi-seeds.
Barrio Bread is only 15 years old, but its artisanal flavors are known far and wide. Its owner Don Guerra received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Baker in 2022.
2. Arizona Inn
2200 E. Elm St.; arizonainn.com
With roots that run almost as deep as the Ronstadt family's in Tucson, the Arizona Inn was built in 1930 by Isabella Greenway, Arizona's first female U.S. Congress representative.
"It's my favorite hotel in the world," Ronstadt told the Times. Ronstadt, who turned 77 years old last summer, said in the interview that she had been attending celebrations at the Arizona Inn since she was a girl. Among some of her favorite aspects of the hotel: the fireplace, native landscaping and the Audubon Bar & Patio.
3. Mission Garden
946 W. Mission Lane; missiongarden.org
Located at the base of Sentinel Peak ("A" Mountain), Mission Garden pays homage to the agricultural history of the Tucson area, with plots dedicated to Hohokam, O'odham before European contact, O'odham after European contact, Spanish, Mexican and Chinese offerings, among others.
"I love going over there to get a mouthful of something fresh," Ronstadt told the Times.
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
2021 N. Kinney Road; desertmuseum.org
Ronstadt gave a shout-out to this west-side wildlife museum in the Times article, in part because of her family ties. Her mother was one of the museum's original docents and her father was a founding member, according to the article.
Ronstadt told the Times that she used to see George L. Mountainlion, the mascot of the museum, there when she was young.
She told the Times of the animal habitats: "You're not looking at some perfect geometry imposed on the desert. Nature hates perfect geometry."
San Xavier del Bac Mission
1950 W. San Xavier Road; sanxaviermission.org
Nicknamed the "White Dove of the Desert," San Xavier del Bac, the Spanish Catholic mission constructed in the late 1700s, is already a regular stop for tourists coming to Tucson.
Ronstadt's ties are deeper.
"I'm an atheist, but I baptized my children there," she told the Times.
Ronstadt told the Times that she's lit candles at San Xavier with Ry Cooder and "sought mid-recording respite" there with Emmylou Harris.
"Atheist or not, she finds something sacred there," the story read.