Cyrillic Soul - Кириллица души

          Ordinarily I wouldn’t bother you with reviews of out-of-town restaurants, but while in San Diego last week we had some of the most soul satisfying food in our long foodie history. This bliss took place in Pomegranate Restaurant, an unprepossessing  Russian/Georgian establishment that you wouldn’t look at twice while driving by. 

     On entering you’re transported to another place (although I’m not sure where). Every inch of the walls, ceiling, and even the piano, are covered with writing - witty sayings, and some not-so witty ones, comments about the food, etc. - put there by patrons. The owner, Mark, will supply you with a Sharpie if you can find a spot to write your own. Tree branches hold up little twinkly lights. Samovars are displayed, along with 

tchotskys (junk to some, treasures to others). Delightful. You’re given a fairly extensive menu to peruse, but our server, Dimitri, was more than happy to help us decide.

     There’s lots of appetizers (zakuski in Russian закуски). Lots of salads: Salat Vesna made of fresh cabbage, berries and herbs ($10.75), Lobio with beans and walnuts ($7.75). We had a dish made of roasted eggplant, scooped out of its skin and mashed with walnuts, garlic (much garlic!), and herbs, put back in the skin and topped with tomatoes and red onions. Right then we knew we were in for an amazing experience. I’ll tell you here that we came back for dinner the next evening, so if it looks like we ate a huge number of things, divide by two ( and it will still be huge). Dumplings are well represented. Vareniki with potato and onions or cheese ($10.25); Khinkali, peasant style meat or vegetarian dumplings, and the fabulous pelmeni (($9.50) a Siberian treat filled with meat, served in a delectable broth with a side of yogurt. You can also get them filled with a mixture of salmon and chicken - we’ll try those next time. Borscht made with beets, cabbage and meat ($9.75), or a vegetarian version and Schi, sorrel soup.

     While waiting for our main course, Dimitri brought us tea. Hot for Ken, served in a glass with sugar cubes to hold between your teeth and a little pitcher of black currant syrup to add. I had iced tea, with my very own pitcher of cherry syrup. This is not your mother’s Lipton, so the $4 for each didn’t seem too outrageous.

     I ordered a special of the day, “Russian Meatloaf”. Two large patties of ground meat, each stuffed with blue cheese, then topped with a sour cream and blue cheese sauce, sent me to heaven. A dish that could sit in your stomach like a cannon ball was light as a feather. It was served with spears of English cucumber which was the perfect foil. On the side was a plate of kasha (a buckwheat grain) and a few new potatoes. When Dimitri came by I asked if by any chance the restaurant had ever published a cookbook. In answer, he sent out John, the chef. John graciously sat down and told me in detail how to make the meatloaf. You can bet I’m going to try. If it comes out well I’ll have Dexter blog about - he still owes you a recipe for arepas, which he has perfected. Ken happily ate his pot of Zharkoyie ($18.50) a beef stew of the tsars, made with onions, dried fruit and spices. The meat was a tad tough, but the sauce was delectable. The following day we shared a lamb shank in a broth loaded with fresh herbs, onion and garlic. On the weekend Shaslik is served, either beef, pork, both $17.50, or lamb ($23.50) marinated in yogurt or pomegranate juice  cooked outdoors over charcoal and prunings. There’s Beef Stroganoff ($20.50); Chakapuli - lamb, onions, tarragon, wine and plum sauce ($19.50), and Smoked Trout or Salmon ($19.50). And lots more.

     The first night we asked John what he would recommend for dessert. He suggested the sour cherry soup ($7.50). While it was delicious, I actually would have preferred it as a starter rather than dessert because it was quite tart. On the second night, we capped off our experience with Napoleon Torte ($8.75). This is an exquisite cake, made of many layers of a wafer thin cookie alternated with custardy, almost cheese-like filling, then left to meld together (quite different than the French Napoleon). It was served with a slightly orange flavored ice cream topped with pomegranate molasses. Ken is still raving about it. John gave me an short explanation of how it is made, and I was able to find a recipe on line. It’s a huge amount of work, but Ken is willing to help me. 

     Now, if you’ve been looking at the prices of the various dishes, you’ll see that this is not an inexpensive place. And be forewarned, they don’t take credit cards. But if you’re looking for something totally different, and, as our friend Matt would say, “Life Affirming”, this is the place for you. We’re actually thinking of returning for Ken’s birthday. Would you like to join us? If we can gather 15 people for lunch we can have the whole place to ourselves.....

Pomegranate Russian-Georgian Restaurant

2302 El Cajon Blvd.   San Diego, CA    619-297-4700

daily 5 - 10 PM

russiangeorgianfood.homestead.com

Kiss My Grits

     The more I think about it, the more enthusiastic I become about The Mission. We had lunch there yesterday since I wanted to try someplace new and I’d read good reviews. It’s “new Latin” cuisine, brought to you by the people behind the successful Zinc Bistro, Matt Carter and Terri Ellisor.

     The setting is lovely. It’s housed in one of the outbuildings of the blindingly white old Mission Church in Old Town Scottsdale. You walk through an attractive fireplace’d patio and into the aroma of fire- grilled meats and romantic darkness (even at lunch). Unfortunately, you’re assaulted by the background music which was very loud and distracting.  There’s an interesting back-lit wall of orange and beige Himalayan salt blocks (actually I thought they were fake bricks until I read differently - gauche me). Lots of fancy chandeliers hang from the black ceiling, casting only a little light on the faux finished ochre walls and the somewhat crowded dark topped tables. Our server, Derek, added to the ambience - he was attractove, attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. Many of our south-of-the-border neighbors are represented on it: Mexico of course, Ecuador, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Cuba,and probably some I’ve missed. 

     I ordered a Cubano torta, one of my favorite grilled sandwiches with pork belly, smoked ham, swiss cheese, pickle, dijon and yucca ($12). The pork belly was meltingly tender.  Surprisingly, the torta did not come with a side, which struck me as pretty chintzy for the $12 price, but that was okay because I had to try the Creamy Grits ($8). Ken chose the Pabellon Arepas ($12). An arepa is a cross between a pancake and an english muffin. It’s made out of a special pre-cooked corn meal, water and a little salt. First it’s fried on a griddle, then it can be baked in the oven for a while where it rises a little and becomes less dense. It’s then split, sometimes some of the interior is scooped out, and then it’s filled with whatever delicacy strikes your fancy. In this case the arepa contained braised beef, peppers, black beans, cotija cheese, and fried plantains. So good. I spent an hour today googling arepas recipes and plan to go in search of the special corn meal tomorrow. The only disappointing (actually downright bad) thing on Ken’s plate were the french fries, a mixture of white and sweet potatoes. They were supposed to have been sprinkled with lime and cumin, but they weren’t, and also they were sadly limp. But OMG, the grits!!!! These were made with the addition of chipotle powder, butter, honey, and cotija cheese. They were on the spicy side, but the heat was moderated by the honey. The color was kind of a cross between pink and salmon (at least that’s how it looked in the dim light), which made it even more interesting to eat. $8 for a good sized bowl which I proceeded to eat pretty much by myself as the grits were too spicy for everybody else (this was fortunate, because I really don’t know if I would have been able to bring myself to share).

     Our friend Ernest had a Skewered Grill Prawn Salad ($14), with arugula, yuzu vinaigrette, avocado, potato and orange sections. He said the prawns were nicely cooked but were somewhat too spicy for his taste. Anna ordered a chicken arepa ($12) with chorizo, corn, aji amarillo (the menu doesn’t tell you, but this is a hot yellow chili pepper from South America - be warned), and Oaxaca cheese. While she didn’t complain, I have the feeling she would have been happier without the pepper. The food here really isn’t for the faint of heart (or heat). I don’t know if the kitchen would be able or willing to tone it down for you, but it’s worth asking.

   

     But the desserts won everybody over. We tried the Pumpkin Bread Pudding ($6), which is composed of pumpkin bread, creme brulee, a butterscotch sauce loaded with Scotch, pepitas, and topped with Berto’s cinnamon gelato. To die for, not to mention get drunk on. The Fried Bananas ($7) were terrific, too, served with butter, nutmeg, peanuts, and a dollop of peanut butter mousse.

     Go on line to see the dinner menu. It’s expensive, most of the entrees are in the $20+ range, but they sound fabulous. The Mission is, for me, one of the most exciting restaurants I’ve been to in a long time, and I’m grateful for it. But especially for the grits!

The Mission

3815 N. Brown Ave.     Scottsdale     480-636-5005

themissionaz.com

lunch daily - 11 - 3,  brunch: Sat. & Sun. 11 - 3,   dinner daily 5 - 10 (11 on Fri. & Sat.)

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

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

     

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

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

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