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| - Café Tranquilo is the restaurant of Clarendon Hotel, where we stayed for two nights in Phoenix. Each hotel guest receives a complimentary breakfast voucher good toward $12.50 worth of food excluding alcoholic beverages. It's a great value and very kind of the hotel.
We just ate dinner here the night we arrived from PHX. Complimentary chips and salsa were served as soon as we sat down. In addition to salsa, they also gave us avocado dip, mole chili, and chili verde. The chili verde was my favorite and chips were bottomless! Moscow Mule was put in its right place as Tranquilo serves it in a tall trim copper cup. Cosmopolitan is a pretty pink in a champagne glass.
Tacos are all a la carte. Out of the three my favorite was the beer battered fish. Batter not too thick and it came with a tangy mayo sauce. Carne asada is just okay, with a smokey taste to it. The braised tinga pork was also tasty. Pork was tender and not stuck in the teeth.
For breakfast, they have a big selection including gringo (regular bacon and egg), chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, French toast. Their coffee is excellent, not the cheap watery stuff from a can. It's a breakfast blend with an aroma. Coffee is always piping hot.
*Gringo Breakfast ($7.5) two eggs any style with choice of bacon or sausage. Bacon is inconsistent between the first morning and the second. Maybe the chef took the day off after being slammed on Fourth of July. The fried potato is diced and sauteed with onion and bell pepper.
*Chilaquiles ($10) is a bit too chili-ish. The sauce is very red and the taste very strong. Diced chicken with two overeasy eggs. It's not my favorite chilaquiles but it's adequate enough.
*Mushroom and Spinach Scramble ($9) is much better than the chilaquiles. Two scrambled eggs tossed with chopped mushroom and spinach. It's very good with melted oaxaca cheese. Totally hit the spot, as I love scramble.
Coffee and water are always refilled with a smile. It's a very friendly and casual dining atmosphere.
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