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| - "You're not allowed to have more than 3 martinis."
That was our rule for the bachelor, which we reminded him repeatedly during the 2 hours we were at Mastro's. We were in Phoenix for his bachelor party and didn't want to relive his last Mastro's experience in Beverly Hills which consisted of four martinis, little memory of the evening, and an $80 cab drive back from Beverly Hills to Pasadena.
This Mastro's is, like the ones in BH and Costa Mesa, dark, swanky, modern and upscale. But, there's something a little different. The Costa Mesa one is a little too hip for its own good, but the decor here fits the clientele. It's Scottsdale for Pete's sake - it's not THAT hip.
The martinis are HUGE. They'll fill your glass to the rim and give you the shaker which has almost enough for another full martini.
The steak I had here (bone-in ribe eye) was much better than the one I had (bone-in NY strip) at Costa Mesa. It came a little underdone - I asked for rare-medium rare - but that's much better than even a hint overdone. Still, it had good flavor, was well marbled, and came with a nice crust.
The sides are nothing home to write about. Don't get conned by the lobster mashed potatoes. It's a gooey mess of potatoes with overcooked pieces of lobster. The other sides are fine.
We had 3 bottles of the 2004 Chateau Montelena Cabernet (Napa Valley). The mark-up was about 100% of retail, but the wine was good. Rich and vibrant, solid fruit and nice acidity.
Most of the us (there were 10) were very happy with the food and the service was very good.
If I could give 1/2 stars, I'd give it 3 1/2.
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