Modern Comfort

    It’s a brilliant concept, really, non-threatening food (brussels sprouts are probably the scariest thing on the menu) given an interesting tweak here and there to make it worthy of a night out. And judging from the crowd that showed up on a rainy Sunday evening, it’s working. The diners were a mixed bunch: lots of families with their kids, lots of singles at the community table. 

     Chef Justin Beckett, formerly of Canal, his wife and some friends took over the space previously occupied by That’s Italiano, a restaurant that deserved to close. They did a lovely renovation, with exposed wood beams, an open kitchen, lots of windows, and the above mentioned community table, made from a fallen black walnut tree. To put you in a good mood there’s a number of specialty cocktails, a nice wine list, and 4 draught beers, plus others by the bottle. Our server, Allison, was delightful - very funny, but also very professional. 

     The menu isn’t large, but it was hard to make a selection since everything sounds good. An interesting appetizer entry is Beckett’s Original Grilled Cheese served with  roasted red pepper tomato soup ($9). Creamy Grits & Spicy Andouille Sausage ($8) was tempting. Ken opted to get two appetizers for his meal, the Chef’s Country Pate ($8) and those scary Roasted Brussels Sprouts with pancetta, shaved manchego cheese and lemon thyme vinaigrette ($6). I thought it strange that this was considered an appetizer. For me, the Crisp Butter Lettuce Salad, green grapes, toasted pecans, candied lemon vinaigrette ($6) and a side of Mac and Cheese ($5, as are all the side dishes including the bacon cheddar biscuits which we ordered while trying to decide on the rest of our meal). Our friend Sena decided, after much pondering, on the pork osso bucco ($17). And Leon ordered his usual hamburger - in this case the “B”  Burger with Buttered Brioche, Boursin, Bib lettuce, Beefsteak tomato ($13).

     So how was it? The biscuits, which arrived first were a good omen. They were more scone-like than biscuity, but they were delicious, especially with the accompanying apple honey butter. Ken enjoyed his pate, which came with lots of things to eat with it, including peanut brittle. Sena’s osso bucco was delicious, tender and rich. The only problem was that the carrots served in the roasted vegetable medley were terribly undercooked. The same was true, to a lesser extent, of the brussels sprouts plus they were pretty much tasteless. The vinaigrette on my salad was outstanding, but the grapes and pecans were in short supply. Leon said his burger was just okay, but he seems to feel that way about most of the burgers he orders. One day we’ll find him one that will knock his socks off! If anybody has any suggestions, please let me know.

     The entrees didn’t live up to the biscuits, but I had high hopes for dessert ($5 each). There’s a strange one - Chocolate Dipped Bacon S’Mores with caramel, housemade marshmallow, whipped peanut butter, and graham crackers. But I had to go with the Fig & Pecan Pie which came with cream cheese and citrus zest ice cream. This was delectable, rich but not too sweet. I usually don’t like cream cheese ice cream, but this was a perfect match for the pie and the citrus zest just sung out. Loved it. Ken grumbled a little about the poor selection of tea, and the fact that there was no espresso.

     All things considered, despite the negatives, I’d go back. I have the feeling that things will get better and better. 

Beckett’s Table

3717 E. Indian School      Phoenix     602-954-1700 (reservations are a good idea)

5 - 10PM  Tuesday through Sunday

beckettstable.com

     

Tucson Tripping

     Because we were sooo vacation-deprived this summer, we decided to take a quick trip to Tucson over the weekend. Showup.com was touting an event called Carnival of Illusion which included two tickets, a room at the Double Tree Tucson hotel, and a free entree at one of the hotel’s two restaurants, all for $163. The show is “parlor magic”, supposedly as it was performed at private salons in the Victorian era. With magic and card tricks (pretty impressive), some belly dancing, and some silly mind reading it was a very entertaining hour and a half. Ken even won a free return pass. The show will be running in Tucson on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings until the end of January. You can see more about it at carnivalofillusion.com.

     I bet you already know that we didn’t confine ourselves to eating mediocre hotel food. I did my research and came up with a place called The Dish Bistro, which is located inside The Rum Runner Wine Shop. The wine store is big, the restaurant is tiny, seating only 26, so reservations are a must. The decor is classy and the food is upscale fusion-y American, as cooked by an Australian. A lot of thought has gone into the pairing of dishes with the accompanying sides. For instance, there’s an appetizer of Buttermilk Fried Sweetbreads with Marcona almond crumble / heirloom tomato confit / black olive rusks ($9.50). Or Long Stemmed Artichoke Hearts with shitake duxelles / parmesan polenta / truffle oil / almond basil pesto ($11.50). We shared a bowl of Cream of Parsnip Soup ($8.75) garnished with bacon, raisins and apples - it was heavenly. The delicious bread from The Village Bakeshop was served with a spread consisting of four kinds of onions which had been grilled, chopped and then mixed with both browned and regular butter. I’ve got to try making some at home.

    We ordered two entrees to share. The first was sesame crusted ahi tuna, pan seared rare (as requested), served on a mash of garbanzo beans along with sauteed green beans, fried spears of eggplant, and a feta cream sauce ($28). I thought the garbanzo mash was a brilliant idea that went beautifully with the fish. The green beans were perfectly cooked. Unfortunately the sauce, while tasty on its own, was overpowered by the fish. The eggplant, again perfectly cooked, was really overkill. Ken felt like it was a dish from Top Chef, trying too hard to stand out. The portion was quite large and I was stuffed and almost dreading the arrival of our second entree, veal cheek ravioli. If you’ve never had cheek, it’s probably the most tender, succulent part of the animal; sadly, it almost never appears on a menu. So I was conflicted when our waiter said there was a misunderstanding and he hadn’t put in the order for it. Although it could have been quickly prepared we decided to try dessert instead. There were many fascinating selections, but of course I went with the chocolate cake. Unfortunately it was brought to the table at refrigerator temperature so the flavor of the chocolate didn’t shine. Our server said that they had tried serving it a room temperature but the texture of the cake suffered.

     By the way, our waiter was personable and knowledgeable about both the food and the wine. After telling him what we planned to eat, we asked him to choose our wine (a shared glass), and he picked a delicious pinot noir. If you choose to get a bottle from the vast selection in the store, you’ll pay retail plus a $12 corkage fee, which I’m told is a good deal. Because of the mix up with our entrees, we were not charged for dessert.

     Despite the few small glitches, we were  taken with so many aspects of the food and setting that we’ll happily go back. Actually, we wouldn’t mind seeing Carnival of Illusion again too. It was an excellent vacation, and we were exhausted when arrived home - as it should be.

The Dish Bistro

3131 E. 1st St.  Tucson     520-326-1714      reservations essential

www.rumrunnertucson.com/thedish