Marvelous Mexican with a Twist

My girlfriend, Breanne, is very indecisive when it comes to choosing a restaurant to eat at. Common answers I get when I ask her what she'd like to eat are “I don't care,” “You choose,” or “Narrow it down to two choices and I'll choose then.” Her amazing lack of preference is almost admirable and had to come to be expected by me. However, this week was a rare moment for Breanne when I asked her what she'd want for dinner and I got a definite answer.

“I want to go to Zivaz, does that sound good?”

Happy that I didn't have to choose, we quickly hopped in my car and made our way from campus down Broadway towards Zivaz Mexican Bistro (4590 E. Broadway Blvd., 520-325-1234). On the way, we reminisced about how we'd drive past this restaurant every time we'd go to the Park Place Mall and always said that it looked like something we should try, since we both like good Mexican food and also enjoy casual dining such as Pei Wei Asian Diner and Sauce. This place seemed to be a fusion of those qualities from the outside, which would make it a great restaurant for us, but never seemed to stop. Finally, we were going to try that mysterious restaurant we had been eying.

As I parked the car and we walked inside, we were amazed by how clean and bright Zivaz is. The furniture and walls were all in a beautifully muted color scheme of yellows and greens. The menu is huge and against the wall you immediately see upon walking in. We felt like we were being really fancy by going here, but also remembered it was a casual dining experience by the all-you-can-drink soda fountains in the corner and the Tucson policemen eating together while in uniform at a table in the back of the restaurant.

After perusing the menu, I had decided on the Camaron Mignon ($12.95), which is giant shrimp that are wrapped in bacon and covered in a “Zivaz” cream sauce. Breanne chose the tacos ($6.95), which is two flour tortillas (you can choose corn too) with lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, and beef. Both dishes come with rice, beans, and a side salad. We also ordered two drinks from the soda fountain where I got a Mountain Dew and Breanne made herself an Arnold Palmer.

While waiting for our food, we were given a bowl of red, white, and green corn chips with two different types of salsa. One salsa was tomato based while the other with made with tomatillos, making it a green salsa. Both were very tasty and were up top par with many authentic Mexican restaurants in Tucson.

Shortly after we finished the chips, our meals arrived and they looked amazing. My Camaron Mignon was so delicious with the cream sauce being very delicate and the bacon was cooked to perfection to the point it was not chewy, but also not overly crispy. Breanne's tacos were seasoned very well and she was given a generous amount of guacamole, which she was very happy about. The beef was perfectly cooked and jam-packed full of flavor. However, the rice, beans, and salads were good, but nothing worth writing home about. I was happy though to see we got black beans with our meals rather than the standard of refried as a nice change.

Synopsis: This restaurant is definitely on par with the wonderful casual sit-down restaurants in Tucson. If you're looking for something fast and delicious near the Park Place Mall, Zivaz Mexican Bistro is the place to try.