Now that the holiday season is in full swing, so too are the demands on our time to visit with friends and business associates to celebrate personal and professional relationships. There are several new and/or re-formatted restaurants around Tucson you may wish to explore.

Here’s a quick look:

Azul

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What was formerly the Desert Garden Bistro lobby bar and restaurant at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa has been transformed into Azul, a Mediterranean-inspired lounge and restaurant. The look and feel of Azul are fantastic and makes a great place to meet friends and colleagues after work. 

During “Unwind Hour” from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. daily, it features a selection of half-price appetizers and $5 drink specials, which during December will be $5 glasses of wine.

I was particularly taken with the braised meatball sliders with whole milk ricotta cheese, pomodoro sauce and garlic crusted pane dolce.

The views, complimentary valet parking and their Unwind Hour specials, could make Azul a favorite happy hour spot in the Catalina Foothills.

• Azul in the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa, 3800 E. Sunrise Drive —

www.azullapaloma.com/index.html — (520) 742-6000

Camille’s Sidewalk Café

A national chain with locations in 27 states, Camille’s Sidewalk Café has opened its first Arizona franchised restaurant in Tucson. Camille’s serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in a casual setting and offers catering.

The lunch and dinner menu focuses on wraps, panini sandwiches, salads and flatbread pizzas.  If  ordering in for an office, they have a unique offer called the ”gofer special.” On orders of $50 or more, the person picking up the order (the gofer), gets his or her meal free.

• Camille’s Sidewalk Café, 4206 N. First Ave. at Limberlost Drive — www.camillescafe.com/ — (520) 887-0345

Enoteca Pizzeria Wine Bar

Enoteca has changed hands and after a brief closure reopened in downtown Tucson with a new menu. At lunch, the emphasis has changed to focus on table service. Gone is the  walk-through line for pizza by the slice but individual-sized pizzas are on the menu.

• Enoteca Pizzeria Wine Bar, 58 W. Congress St. at Church Ave. (520) 623-0744.

Lodge on the Desert

After a summer hiatus, the restaurant in the renovated Lodge on the Desert has reopened. Leading the way is newly hired Executive Chef Ryan Clark, who comes from the Dish. Clark’s new menu is focused on fresh farm-to-fork cuisine.

Clark explains, “We start with the freshest products and ingredients, most locally grown and locally sourced, and we believe our guests have a right to know the source of the food they are enjoying as well as the methods used to prepare it. Our role is to facilitate the food’s journey from farm to fork.”

Clark’s first menu includes cornmeal dusted calamari and roasted jalapenos, spinach salad with Willcox apples and roasted garlic Caesar salad, grilled beef filet, charred organic salmon, natural chicken breast and penne rigatti pasta. The restaurant is opening daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

• Lodge on the Desert, 306 N. Alvernon Way, — www.LodgeontheDesert.com — (520) 320-2000

Marketplace at Acacia

Acacia owners Chef Albert Hall and Lila Yamashiro have opened the Marketplace directly north of their restaurant in St. Philip’s Plaza. The Marketplace features quick service meals, snacks, pastries and coffee for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Whether you want to stop in for a quick snack (limited seating is available) or pick up dinner on the way home, you’ll experience the same creative and delicious fare that Hall has become known for in his restaurants.

The Marketplace offers full service catering, monthly tasting events and cooking classes. It’s open from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily.

• The Marketplace at Acacia, 4340 N. Campbell Ave. in St. Philip’s Plaza

(520) 232-0124)

Monkey Burger

A collaboration by restaurateur Roy Schaefer and chef Matt Stricker has yielded Tucson’s latest burger-centric restaurant. Monkey Burger features 12 burgers and five salads with the namesake Monkey Burger (Chef Mattie’s Monkey), a Harris Ranch Angus beef burger with roasted poblano peppers, sautéed mushrooms and onions, lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheddar and swiss cheese. All of the burgers are served on locally made Viro’s Bakery rolls. 

Monkey Burger occupies the space in the Plaza at Williams Center that was once Intermezzo. The restaurant’s owners worked with graffiti artist Rocky Martinez who has covered the walls with his original art. 

• Monkey Burger, 5350 E. Broadway in the Plaza at Williams Center — www.monkeyburgerrestaurant.com/index.html — (520) 514-9797

Contact Michael Luria at mjluria@gmail.com. Meals & Entertainment appears weekly in Inside Tucson Business.