Saturday, June 19, 2010

Rock 'n Roll Heaven?

     Before I start nitpicking, I want to tell you about the two extraordinary dishes we had at Rhythm & Wine yesterday for lunch. The first was French Onion Dumplings ($8.99). These were described as “the best part of onion soup without the soup”. That leaves lots of melty cheese, caramelized onions and a crouton. In this case, the crouton was a wonton wrapper, and most of the onions were inside it. There was a a touch of sweet, winey broth in the little cast iron skillet, and lots of gooey cheese atop the dumplings. Heaven. I googled this orgasmic delight and actually came up with a recipe which I can't wait to try. The second dish was a salad in which the leaves of brussels sprouts, lightly blanched, took the place of lettuce. Dried cherries, roasted marcona almonds, bacon and shaved Parmesan were then drizzled with a mango hazelnut dressing, $10.99 for a very large serving. Some chicken breast had been thrown in, to the detriment of the salad, otherwise it was an unexpected treat.  I didn’t know brussels sprouts were in season at this time of year, but these were fresh as could be. While I realize many of you don’t like brussels sprouts, this a dish that might make you rethink your feelings. Less good, but we still finished it off, was a tremendous side of mac & cheese ($4.99), more a pasta in mornay sauce than the traditional cheddary, stick-togethery recipe you’d expect. 
     OK, so now I’ll tell you about Rhythm & Wine, and start picking the nits. It’s owned by Terry and Laura Craig who also own Jalapeno Inferno in a nearby shopping center. The concept is “casual bistro-style comfort food in contrast to the typical ‘high end’ fare found in similar wine concepts. A menu designed to complement the wine list includes many ‘small plates’, signature sandwiches, oversized gourmet salads, and ‘large plate’ entrees. Neo-traditional rustic pizzas and unique desserts are also featured.” There’s no question that wine is the star here - as you walk in, the wine cellar is right in front of you, and flights of wine are served. Between 11 and 4 o’clock on weekdays, wine is half price. So far no problem, but then comes the Rhythm part - the rock n’ roll theme. It’s carried out on the walls, which are loaded with art work on loan from a gallery in the mall at Kierland. These are a strange contrast with the rest of the decor which looks vaguely supper clubby, in a shoe-string budget kind of way. I did like the upside down table lamps hanging from the ceiling and the curtain of stainless steel rings. The sound track is a mish-mash of styles, but thankfully it wasn’t overly loud. There is entertainment on the patio on Saturday evenings.
     What drove me really crazy was the rock ‘n roll word play. Almost every item had a rock & roll name - “Kool (and the gang) Salads”, Pacific Rim “Phish”, “Cher’d Plates”. You get the picture. It just tried too hard. As for the “unique desserts”, there were only
two desserts served. One was chocolate fondue - I suppose you could call that unique, but certainly not the N.Y. style cheesecake. The worst thing, however,  was our server. He was fixated on the soccer game playing on the TV behind the bar, and every time he had to do something for us, it was done grudgingly, and occasionally with attitude. It was most unpleasant and off-putting, almost enough to keep me from returning. Sad.
Rhythm & Wine
S.E. corner of Miller & Pinnacle Peak Roads    Scottsdale    480-478-3412
rhythmandwine.com

Thursday, June 17, 2010

A Restaurant Without A View

     You’d think, wouldn’t you, that with a name like Hillside Spot this restaurant in Ahwatukee would be nestled in a pastoral setting with lovely views? Not so, it’s in a typical strip mall off Warner Rd. and unfortunately its patio faces directly on the street, making it hard to carry on a conversation, even on a Sunday. The patio, without misters, is uninviting, with a very odd mixture of seat cushions for the wrought iron furniture. It was even more off-putting because most of the tables were loaded with dirty dishes. There was one hard working busboy who couldn’t keep up with the mess. It wasn’t much better indoors - messy and noisy (the noise of the cars being replaced by very loud music).
     You place your order at the counter. Breakfast is served daily from 6:30 AM to
4 PM. There are pancakes, plain or with apple compote ($6) or with bananas, caramel, creme fraiche and peanuts ($7).  Eggs, scrambled or fried, come with MJ toast and a choice of bacon, ham, sausage, or chorizo ($6).  Various egg sandwiches and omelets range from $6 to $8. But we had come for lunch. The selection was small, and not particularly inspiring. Tuna or chicken salad sandwiches ($7), turkey ($6), a BLT to which you could add a fried egg at no extra charge ($7) and a croque monsieur ($7.50).
Surprisingly, none of these came with a side. The cheeseburger ($8.50) came with fries.
     I ordered the rotisserie half chicken ($10) which was served with fries and seasonal local vegetables. Of course, I requested crispy fries. Ken opted for the Derby Salad, with various greens, egg, avocado, bacon, and blue cheese, served with house made buttermilk dressing ($8). We waited quite a while, when finally a server, shouting our name and number, delivered our food. The salad was good size, with loads of blue cheese chunks of good quality (rather than the generic crumbles served at many places), and large pieces of bacon. The greens were fresh and the avocado looked freshly cubed. It’s a shame that the buttermilk dressing was tasteless, and the quantity skimpy. My chicken was nicely cooked, with crisp skin - much crispier, in fact, than my fries which were dark brown, but limp. The vegetables were a mix of roasted cauliflowerets, corn, and red peppers which I enjoyed.  We took home a brownie and a slice of chocolate cake. Both were excellent.
     All in all, although our food was generally good, I had expected more. More ambience, a nicer setting, a more interesting menu. One of the owners of Hillside Spot also owns Gallo Blanco, a Southwestern/Mexican restaurant (our favorite) in the Clarendon Hotel in downtown Phoenix,. That menu, while small, is full of interesting, flavorful food. The place is clean, the decor “bus station” funky. It is, however, LOUD, especially when the Flamenco dancers are in attendance. Unfortunately, the limp fries are there too. So, while we will continue to eat at Gallo Blanco, Hillside Spot is off limits for us.
Hillside Spot 
4740 E. Warner   Phoenix   480-705-7768
website supposedly is coming soon
open daily for breakfast and lunch  -  dinner is also served, but I don’t know the days
      or hours
     

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Neighborhood Italian

     If Rosario Ristorante feels like the quintessential neighborhood Italian restaurant, that’s because it is. It’s been in the same spot for 30 years, and until a few years ago it was owned by the same family. When they were ready to sell, one of their loyal customers took up the gauntlet. Although Michelle and her husband completely gutted and redid the interior, the ambience is still that of a long established, timeless place. There’s a red swag on the front windows and wrought iron decorations on the walls. Black tablecloths and nice stemware lend an upscale but not intimidating feel.
     The menu, too, is neighborhood. Nothing unexpected (except for escargots), but pretty much whatever you’d want to satisfy your southern Italian cravings.  We started out with crab-stuffed mushrooms, which the menu warned were spicy. Since it was happy hour, when all appetizers are half price (ditto cocktails), we paid $5.50 for six mushrooms delivered in an escargot dish. They were stuffed with just the right amount of crab mixed in with the bread crumbs, and a little cayenne added a pleasant kick. We had been served some outstanding garlic butter with our bread, and couldn’t resist topping the mushrooms with it.  My entree was eggplant parmigiana, my “test the new restaurant” dish. The eggplant was thinly sliced, breaded and beautifully fried, but there was a strange absence of sauce. The same was true of the spaghetti - well prepared but under-sauced.  I had ordered a side of meatballs and was served a pair of huge ones - these were an unbelievable $3 - with adequate sauce. They were just the way I like them (you can stop snickering now), lots of bread crumbs mixed in to make them nice and tender. Ken had ordered a side of sausage, and that was excellent too. His lasagna was delicious. It was somehow light and substantial at the same time. The only disappointment was the Caesar salad. This was a ghost of a Caesar with an almost tasteless dressing that had never seen an anchovy.  Desserts are house made. We tried the chocolate mousse pie (it was called a cake, but really wasn’t). It was good - you could actually tell it was chocolate. There’s also a fried cannoli.  The espresso machine had broken down, so Ken can’t report about that.
     The prices are quite reasonable, especially for the quality and quantity, as befits a neighborhood restaurant.  My eggplant was $12.95, and Ken’s lasagna $9.95. The most expensive dishes, veal picatta and marsala, and cioppino are $18.95. Fettucini Alfredo and Spaghetti Bolognese are $10.95. Service was excellent. Our waitress, Vanessa, recognized us from her stint at Gino’s Restaurant, one of our favorites. And, you can get a Restaurant.Com certificate. What more could you want? 
     Actually, you could want a 4 course chef’s dinner for $15. This is served on Thursday evening, and it’s content changes every week. Call to see what’s being prepared if you don’t feel like taking a chance.
Rosario Ristorante
9250 N. 43rd Ave.   Glendale     623-931-1810
closed Monday     Happy Hour  Tuesday - Saturday  4-7
rosarioristorante.net

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Pig Out

    On entering Andrew’s BBQ Restaurant in Tempe I was transported back to kindergarten, the happiest time in my childhood: hardwood chairs and tables, red floor, white walls covered with crayon drawings. I expected to see my teacher seated at her upright piano leading us in song. There was no piano, but Jody, event coordinator and restaurant manager, was as cheerful and informative as the teacher of my memories. I should have asked her to sing “I Am A Little Teapot” with me. Maybe next time.
     A huge blackboard above the counter displayed the menu. The item that popped right out at us was Wisconsin Cheese Curds with Ranch Dressing ($4.95). We also ordered a BBQ Sampler Plate ($12.95) and a house-made cupcake ($2). Our food arrived quickly. Portions were large: the cheese curds could easily have fed four.  Our sampler plate consisted of 4 pork ribs, a container each of BBQ chopped chicken, beef brisket and pork. For our two sides we had selected baked potato salad and slaw. There was also a wedge of cornbread. 
     The cheese curds were out of this world, deep fried in a beer batter. Cheese curds are fresh young cheddar cheese in natural form before being processed into blocks and aged. They’re mostly found in places that have cheese factories, since they should be eaten soon after being taken out of the vat  - but happily they’ve been showing up in the Valley. They’re less chewy than mozzarella, with a lovely mild flavor. It’s worth a trip to Andrew’s just to have these!
     The BBQ was excellent too. It’s cooked over cherry wood imported from northern Michigan. All the chopped meats were moist and tender, served in their jus rather than slathered with BBQ sauce. Our only quibble was that the same rub seemed to have been used on all three, thus making their taste similar. The ribs were falling off the bone, but just this side of dry. There were two sauces, regular and spicy - not overly sweet or tomatoey. The baked potato salad was a treat, with bits of real bacon and scallions. One of the nicest surprises was that the moist, caky cornbread was served with real butter, and there were packets of honey on the table. We did pig-out on the cheese curds, so we finished only half of our platter. We took the cupcake home with us and had it as a mid-afternoon snack. From the many flavors available, we had chosen a chocolate-cherry. The pink frosting was topped with a maraschino cherry; while sweet it went nicely with the chocolate cupcake which was less sugary.
     Other items I’d like to try:
Loaded Fries ($6.95) - Choice of BBQ Meats, Cheese, Onions & Ranch
BBQ Baker ($6.95) - Large baked spud loaded with cowboy beans, choice of BBQ meat, onions, sour cream and cheddar cheese. (Jody says this is HUGE)
Green Chili Mac & Cheese (one of the available sides) or $1.75.
     Andrew’s started out as a catering company, then added the restaurants (there’s also one in Mesa) about a year and a half ago. They do catering for the Phoenix zoo and also private parties. If you happen to be having 100 people over to your house, for $13.95 per person you can get a whole smoked pineapple pig, injected with teriyaki pineapple juice, slow cooked for fourteen hours and hand carved at the buffet. Too bad our condo is so small....
Andrew’s BBQ Restaurant
730 E. Guadalupe Rd.   Tempe    480-244-4227
andrewsbbq.com
Monday - Saturday  11 - 8 or 9

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Crudo=Sophistication

     Although it’s sad that a number of excellent restaurants have closed because of this dreadful economy, one bright spot is that a number of “homeless” chefs are pairing up to create new concepts. We had a delicious and unexpectedly interesting meal at one of these, Crudo Cafe, in Old Town Scottsdale. The stars are: Cullen Campbell, formerly of Fine’s Cellar (where I had a knock-your-socks-off macaroni and cheese tasting); Brandon Crouser of Atlas Bistro; Tracy Dempsey, pastry chef at Cowboy Ciao and Kazimierz; and Lisa Giungo of Lisa G’s.
     Crudo is in an unexpected location -  inside the Steven Paul Salon at the corner of 
3rd Avenue and Marshall Way. When I read about it, I’ll admit I found this off-putting. I imagined the smell of nail polish remover, and ladies floating around in plastic capes. In actuality, what you’ll see is an over-the-top room with big black and white tiles on the floor, red walls, huge pieces of antique furniture and chandeliers. It made me giggle. Part of the room is taken up with a boutique selling very Scottsdale clothing and jewelry. It’s fun to look around between courses. The salon is invisibly tucked away, and at dinner, when we were there, there was no chemical odor. There is a lovely patio, a contender with La Maison’s for nicest patio award. It’s canopied with trees, hung with little lights, and there are white tablecloths, always a good sign. Our server, Dina Marie Ribaudo, has written about her restaurant adventures in various countries,and was satisfyingly knowledgeable about the food being served. Her sassy New York attitude brought back lots of entertaining memories. 
     What Dina Marie had trouble getting across to us was the way the menu is divided up. There is a section called Crudo, which means “raw” in Italian. There were many fish dishes in this section including Tuna with oranges, basil and olives ($14) and Spanish White Anchovy with roasted baby bells and housemade pickles ($12). I believe everything in the Crudo section is served cold, if not raw. The second section is Piatti, meaning “dishes”. These all seemed to be cooked items, meant to be served warm. Offerings included Rolled Veal Breast ($16), and Gnocchi with a prosciutto broth and local herbs ($12). Everything in these two sections can be ordered a la carte, or in Corso (courses): 3 for $30, 4 for $ 40, or 5 for $50. It wasn’t clear whether one of the courses could be dessert. Portion size was also confusing. I was given the impression that the corso servings were somewhat smaller than the a la carte portions, which are about 2/3 the size of entree portions you would find in most restaurants. Given the quality of ingredients and their richness, this isn’t a bad thing, and by and large the prices are reasonable.
      Deciding to order a la carte, we started with a Local Farm cheese plate ($12). For me, this was the only disappointment of the evening. The two cheeses, while pleasant, too closely resembled each other in taste, and they were not at all challenging. These and other ingredients such as sun dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, and olive gastrique (more about this later) were scattered on a large round of flatbread. That meant that the toppings had to be removed in order to pull off a piece of the bread. Very inconvenient. One of the specials was deep fried sweetbreads with a mustard sauce ($6). Dina Marie told us that the chefs had put them on the menu so parents could trick their kids into thinking they were chicken nuggets. I don’t know that they’d fool anybody, but they were 
delicious, perfectly cooked and complemented by the robust sauce. There were three large nuggets on the plate, and we thought this was an outstanding value.
     For our main course, friends Ernest and Anna both ordered the Rolled Veal Breast served with polenta and some baby vegetables. Ken was about to order that too, when Dina Marie mentioned foie gras. It turns out that the Fegato Grasso dish on the menu is Italian for foie gras, and it was served over polenta. An easy decision for Ken. I went with the Mushrooms Au Gratin ($17) - Oregon mushrooms, truffle, fingerlings, mozzarella, and grana padano cheese. My plate arrived with a fried egg atop the other ingredients. It went very nicely with everything, but some people might have considered it an unpleasant surprise. The taste of truffles was very muted - it may have been provided by a drop of truffle oil. But all in all, I enjoyed my dish. Ken’s Fegato Grasso was ravishingly good, though a tiny serving. The textures, temperatures and flavors played off each other to perfection. There were baby fiddlehead ferns served with it, certainly not local, but a real treat, something I haven’t had in years. The veal breast was meltingly rich, especially paired with the polenta. We were all very happy with our choices.
     Our dessert selections were olive oil cake with a side of homemade peach ice cream, and chocolate pot de creme with a caramel topping. Interestingly, these servings were quite large. Also delicious. The pot de creme was more like fudge, although the longer it spent away from the refrigerator the creamier it became. There was a dark chocolate cookie/biscotti served with it which would have been superb on it’s own with a cup of coffee (by the way, we all enjoyed our various coffees - iced, espresso, and regular). The olive oil cake, a dessert now as ubiquitous as chocolate lava cake, was the best of its kind, neither too oily or too dry. It was served with a delectable fruit syrup with pieces of candied peel in it. We were so full we actually left some dessert uneaten. Surely I will be punished for this.
     Our bill came to $122 (we had no wine or alcoholic beverages). If we had done the 3 course meal it would have been almost the same price, but our coffees would have brought the total higher. Given the skill of the chefs and our server, I was okay with that amount. As you know, its a lot more than we usually spend, but I’m grateful to Anna for suggesting that we dine at Crudo. 
     I almost forgot to tell you about the olive gastrique. A gastrique is a sweet and sour reduction of some type of vinegar and sugar, usually made with a fruit flavoring it. It is frequently served as a sauce with meat or poultry, sometimes used in cocktails, and in our case, as an item on the cheese plate. Making it with olives was pure genius. It changed their texture to something like a candied cherry, but the flavor was unique. The chef happily shared his technique with me. I am grateful.
Cafe Crudo
7045 E. 3rd Ave. at Marshall Way    inside  Steven Paul Salon     Scottsdale  
480-603-1011