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
Hmmm... so nothing bad about the food or wine?? I would almost call this a positive review! Seems like you really grasped the overall concept, though.
ReplyDeleteHow did you hear about Rhythm & Wine?
PS- I noticed most of the rock n roll themes names have been removed from the menu, and I believe the bartender you are referring to is no longer there :)