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| - I really like to think that dining at Mastro's is like dining in heaven. I'm lucky enough to be in a family that comes here for special occasions. We just got back from one such occasion. It was glorious.
I'll start with the food. The quality of ingredients is fantastic. Everything is amazingly well prepared. The seafood is always fresh, served in large bowls of ice or gigantic dry-ice laden towers. The salads are, well, salads... But again they're fresh and well executed. Good if you're into that sort of thing.
Then there's the stars of the show, the entrees and sides. In SAT analogy terms, Best Actor : entree :: Best Supporting Actor : sides. You arguably need both to have a cohesive meal (or movie for that matter). And Mastro's is like Steven Spielberg. Whether you choose a steak, chop, or fish, it'll be cooked to perfection. Steaks come out on the famous 400 degree plates. The lamb chops come portioned in 2 large four chop racks. The chicken is an enormous double breast and could easily serve two (for the kids?). There's a limited fish selection but they generally have 6-8 lbs lobsters and the crab legs are pretty crazy.
There is, however, an extremely large selection of sides. I have had quite a few of them. They're all good. I do prefer sautéed greens (broccoli, asparagus) over steamed. They use garlic. It's wonderful. Also, you wouldn't expect it, but try the the creamed corn, it's delicious.
And oh Holy Jesus I almost forgot to mention the desserts. The warm butter cake is their signature dessert and is quite good. But try the chocolate pudding cake. That little gem is my fav. And really, just order something to put their homemade whipped cream on. It's amazing.
So... yeah, it's expensive, but you get an experience that's phenomenal. Do you need a black napkin because, God forbid, you don't want white lint on your black pants? They'll handle it. Need someone to hand you a towel and turn on the faucet for you in the bathroom? There's a guy for that.
There are a few other steakhouses in Phoenix but they just don't compete. Ruth's Chris may have been cool 20 years ago, but it's kinda run down now. And Morton's food just isn't as good (although they do have soufflés... I'm a sucker for soufflés).
To paraphrase one of my heroes, if you have the means, I highly recommend it.
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