rev:text
| - Having lived in Arizona for 8 years before moving away, any time I come back to visit, I have a short list of must-visit restaurants (most of which I've already reviewed on Yelp). This is the first time I'm adding a new restaurant to that list. I enjoyed The Sicilian Butcher that much. Judging by how busy they were late on a Sunday evening, I'm guessing many people feel the same way. I went with my wife and my in-laws. They had been there previously and raved about it to us.
The entree premise is a three-part selection:
1) Choose your meatball (there are about 8 types to choose from, if this is your first visit, go with Tomaso's or Uncle Arthur's)
2) Choose your sauce (9 choices here)
3) Choose your base (house made pastas, risotto, gnocchi, polenta or salad)
My wife and I decided to each order a different combo and share. I had the Tomaso's meatballs with carbonara sauce atop mafalde (ribbon pasta). She chose Uncle Arthur's with the sugo (bolognese) and gnocchi. Both were outstanding. The gnocchi were fluffy, not dense and sticky. The meatballs were delicious and the pasta was al dente. Seriously, who doesn't love house-made pasta?
As an appetizer, the four of us ordered two Flora's salads. The salad was a great example of letting nice ingredients speak for themselves. It was not over-dressed.
Portions were generous. At $16 and $18 for the meatball entrees, we all had leftovers to bring with us. I thought it was an exceptional value.
The food definitely deserved 5 stars, and so did the service. Gino made us feel like long-time regulars as opposed to first timers. He made a great wine recommendation also.
When food and service are this good, expect a restaurant to be around for a long time. Highly recommend!
|