On Friday night we had dinner at Tommy V’s Osteria Pizzeria, across from the Biltmore Fashion Park at 32nd St. and Camelback. It’s a relatively new spin-off of Tomaso’s Restaurant which has been at that location for 32 years. Where Tomaso’s is upscale, dressier, and heavy on the proteins, Tommy V is casual and carb-oriented. It’s interesting that the prices on most of the appetizers, salads and pastas are pretty much the same at both locations.
Tommy V’s is divided up into two rooms. You enter the bar area which also houses an open kitchen with wood burning pizza oven. It’s light-filled and colorful. and also very loud. The second room is more sedate, and unfortunately somewhat gloomy. It’s dimly lit, and the faux brick, dark wood, and taupe painted walls don’t help. There are some windows cut into the front and back walls, framed with curtains, which look into the bar area, and a third back room. Very weird. However, the gloom was dispelled when our cheerful waitress brought us a basket of crusty bread and some fabulous pesto butter, redolent of garlic. She informed us that happy hour was on (from 5 - 7), and we could get most of the wines on the menu for $5 a glass or $20 a bottle. We decided to share a glass of red Primitivo ‘Layer Cake’ (I don’t know why it was called that, but you knew that I wouldn’t be able to resist ordering it). It turned out to be delicious, rich and deeply fruity. Because we had arrived quite early - I didn’t know how busy the restaurant would be and reservations are only taken for tables of 6 - we ordered a roasted beet and goat cheese salad ($8) while we awaited our friends Walt and Maria. While it was quite good, it didn’t live up to the one we had at The Parlor since the beets weren’t multi-colored and the dressing didn’t have as much zing. However, there was lots of cheese and toasted pistachios.
When Walt and Maria arrived, our bread basket and carafe of butter was swiftly refilled (the bussing was top notch). I suggested that they try the Primitivo, and they ordered the Romaine Wedge salad ($7) with bacon and gorgonzola. It was beautifully presented, with a pile of whole romaine leaves holding the accompaniments and dressing. All the salad ingredients were quite fresh. I ordered an Eggplant Torta ($15), described as “Baked Multi-layer of Eggplant, Cheese Fondue, Pasta”. Ken opted for V’s Kick Ass Burger 9 oz ($12) - “Handcrafted with Short Rib, Brisket & Kobe Beef, Caramelized Onions, Heirloom Tomatoes, Bacon, Blue Cheese, Arugula, Truffle Aioli & Parmesan Herb Roasted Potatoes”. The combination of meats made this too interesting to pass up. Walt and Maria decided to share a pizza. These are “personal size”, 10 - 12 inches, and range in price from $10 for a Margherita with mozzarella and tomatoes to
$16 for a Proscuitto and Fig pie with gorgonzola and arugula. Unfortunately I don’t remember what kind they had, but they said they enjoyed it, and it was actually big enough that 2 pieces were taken home. The burger was great. It was big and juicy with a fascinating texture because of the short ribs and brisket - it’s now my favorite Phoenix burger, and the price is comparable to the other good ones served elsewhere. Ken loved the roasted potatoes, and while they were flavorful, I prefer nice crunchy fries. My eggplant torta was a pleasant, non-confrontational variant of eggplant parmesan. But having taken a Zantac, I was looking forward to confrontation - a spicy sauce and loads of gooey cheese. This was disappointing, but edible. It was also a fairly small portion.
There were no surprises on the dessert menu - tiramisu, cannoli, etc. We ordered a tartufo for the table. When it arrived, nicely sliced, there was none of the zablione promised on the menu. I asked the waitress about that and she tried to tell me that it had been “mixed in”. When I gave her a skeptical, unhappy look she brought over the owner/manager (I’m not sure which he was), and he apologized, saying that there’s been a dispute with the distributor over that item. We weren’t charged for it, which was very nice, since we did eat it all.
The parking in front of the restaurant is limited, but Walt said to tell you that immediately to the east of the strip mall containing the restaurant there’s a large parking lot, not particularly visible to the street. All in all I’d say this was a good dining experience and we’ll go back to try some of the interesting pastas like braised short rib gnocchi ($20) or butternut squash ravioli with amaretto cookies, toasted almonds and parmigiano sage sauce ($15). And especially to have another burger!!
Tommy V’s Osteria Pizzeria
3223 E. Camelback Rd. Phoenix 602-955-8900
tomasos.com
11-3 and 5-10 (later on weekends) Sunday 5 -10
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