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| - I'm a true Yelp believer, so when I see a restaurant with almost 200 reviews and a 5-star average, I'm bound to get curious. My husband and I went to Ten straight from the Phoenix airport, to meet a couple of friends for dinner. It was good, but I do find the unanimous 5-star love kind of baffling.
We were able to book a table online like an hour in advance, which was definitely a plus. There was also complimentary valet parking for the Camelback Esplanade. But about that Camelback Esplanade--it was this nice complex with fancy restaurants and shops, but it felt very mall-like, sterile and soulless, a plaza attached to a wealthy, unimaginative suburb. Ten was tucked deep in the Esplanade. The ambiance was comfortable and casually upscale, but it did feel vaguely like a chain restaurant. I was also disappointed in the selection of spirits, given the emphasis in the restaurant's name. None of the cocktails sounded interesting, and there were no beers on tap. The wine was reasonable, at least. We ended up splitting a $34 bottle of pinot noir. It was decent.
Atmosphere aside, we did have a lovely dinner. My husband and I caught up with two school friends who'd moved to Phoenix, one of whom we hadn't seen in years. Service was good, and the meal was pleasant and relaxing. The food was also quite solid. We shared some hush puppies, and these were excellent, fresh from the fryer with a crispy crust to the outsides and fluffy but substantial innards. They came with a crumble of bacon and blue cheese, with a rouille dipping sauce on the side. Lots of good flavor all around. I got the pot roast for my entree, and this was good, if not amazing. The roast was tender and moist, if not in every bite, and it tasted hearty and comforting. It came with mashed potatoes and carrots--the potatoes were great, especially with the drippings of the roast, but the carrots were pretty bland and easy to ignore. My husband's roasted pork shoulder was the better entree, a gorgeous plate of slow roasted pork cooked just right, with a sweet BBQ glaze and a mashed potatoes and collard greens on the side. Definitely the thing to get here--my husband was very happy, and I was a little bit jealous.
I had a nice time at Ten. I enjoyed the food and wine and company, and would be inclined to come back if I lived in Phoenix. I guess I will say it's not necessarily worth going out of your way for, despite the rave reviews. The atmosphere struck me as strange, but maybe that's just the Angeleno in me. I think I count as a hipster in Phoenix, and Ten strikes me as the kind of restaurant that pops up in a hipster-free zone. Good food without a ton of character, and not enough of an emphasis on booze.
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