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| - **Update** Ok, so I met a friend here for lunch this weekend. We were the only people in the place- sort of a plus in some ways, not so much in others. I am not sure if there is a different chef on during lunch than dinner, but I hope so. We ordered the crostini with hummus (eh), black olive tapenade (eh) and tomato something (this was actually really good) to start off, and bottled water. The bottle was already open before it was brought to our table. Not that a big deal, but I should have gone with no ice (duh) because the drink smelled and tasted like Phoenix area tap water. Is it copper or iron? Hard to tell around that calcium taste. I dunno, you be the judge. My friend and I wondered if it was a 'fresh' or 'refilled' bottle. Whateva on that, we ended up not being charged for the it. My friend had the sliders; I ordered pecan-crusted salmon on spinach salad with raspberry vinagrette. My friend thought there was too much sauce on the sliders; I kind of agreed but it didn't kill the taste of the fresh beef. The salmon was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT, it had just enough crust on it without overwhelming the fish, and cooked perfectly. YUM. The salad... eh. The vinagrette lacked dazzle, and this seemed to be 'compensated' by drizzling a lot over the spinach and salmon. The spinach was very fresh, but would have been better plain than with that stuff. It was disappointing enough that I said something about it to the waitperson. Oh yeah, and apparently there was a special of the day... which we found out after placing our order, when we overheard the next couple who came in ask if there was one. I dunno, maybe our fault for not asking? Well, even after a less than stellar lunch, we decided to go for that flourless chocolate cake I had so coveted. Eh. Again, the oversaucing of chocolate and caramel to cover a kind of hockey-puckish little cake that reminded me of those easy-bake oven cakes. The raspberry puree on the side was the best part.
So I am sad to say, I have to take one star away for now. I will be foolish enough to give it one more try for dinner.... maybe it was an off day. :P
My husband and I went to this place to celebrate my birthday. Despite a good review by the AZ Republic (lol), we decided to try it. Wow, are we glad we did!!
The decor adds to a lovely ambiance - low lighting, a beautiful bar, and simple yet elegant table settings. There's a player piano, and conversation tables with overstuffed chairs. Our server, Jason, could not have been more gracious or attentive, even as the restaurant began to fill up. It was nice to be offered bottled, artisan water ($6), which was crisp, clean, and kept in a wine chiller at our table. As Phoenicians know, the local tap water here... yeah, not so much. I hate even asking for a glass of water, normally.
The menu appeared to be typical bistro fare, with artisan touches throughout. Each item includes a wine pairing, for those unsure. For those who take too freakin' long to decide (like us), Si the Wine Guy pops out of nowhere to give a knowledgable hand. The wine list has a nice selection, in price range as well as regions, and we were given excellent recommendations for the flight we each chose ($8-15 apiece; ours were $10). We started with an appetizer trio ($17), selecting the ahi tuna with caviar (a nice blend of delicate taste with the bold tuna); the prosciutto-wrapped melon, very nice, and then the crab-imperial stuffed mushroom, with creme fraiche and tomato-topped bruschetta. This last one was excellent, with a rich buttery crab filling.
My husband ordered the petite sirloin ($24), and I had the lamb ($26). His was very fresh, nearly fork-tender and cooked perfectly to order, with an understated but complimentary mushroom and spinach sort of ragout, and fingerling potatoes. My dish was tender with an incredible syrah reduction, just bold enough to match the thin-cut and perfectly cooked chops. It was on a bed of delicious mashed potatoes, with sauteed baby green beans and pepper slices- a little bit of heaven from the first bite to the last.
For dessert, the flourless chocolate cake with molten raspberry sauce ($8) sounded so tempting, but that will wait for our next visit. We shared the chilled fruit compote crepe ($8) instead, with creme fraiche on top. It was a perfectly light ending.
The portions were dead on- generous without being huge, which would have made the richness feel like overkill. After such a scrumpt-diddly-uptous meal, our bill seemed like a deal.
Tastings is a well-needed touch of class for the far West Valley, and an excellent value for what it offers. Minus 1 star until same experience with several visits. Oh yeah, I put myself on their email list and they do a lot of prixe fixe/single mingle/that kinda thing events. And wow, this review is long... but it was just that good. It's been a long time since I've been this happy with a dining experience, so check it out already, dammit.
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