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| - My colleagues in Phoenix raved so much about this place that it was inadvertently booked for team dinners two nights in a row. What accounted for the Grassroots campaign? I can see why as the menu feels South by Southwest if you know what I mean. It has a definite twang but it ain't lard-laden heart attack on a plate like a deep-fried Paula Deen extravaganza. A group of us arrived at the Shops at Town & Country where I immediately let out a foodie sigh since Chris Bianco's famous Pizzeria Bianco was right next door. Been wanting to try that. So close yet so far away. Anyway, six of us huddled into one of the party booths competing with a much louder group.
For some reason, a $9 White Chocolate Martini sounded good and pretty cheap with 360 vanilla vodka, Bailey's and Godiva white chocolate liqueur (photo: http://bit.ly/2foPpfJ). Just a bit too sweet but on a humid Arizona evening, not a bad libation to sip. We shared a couple of appetizers that managed to satisfy our collective palates. The first was the $9 Piggly Wiggly, a generous platter of mini-baby back ribs, pork belly, and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus (photo: http://bit.ly/2exAlgN). It was certainly meaty enough and most essentially, quite shareable. The second was better, the refreshing $8 Common Ground Burrata, which presented fresh mozzarella, dressed arugula, spicy tomato jam, and happily, six toast points, one for each of us (photo: http://bit.ly/2flx9mV).
The freshness of the mozzarella really brought this one home. For my entree, I went for a house favorite, the $18 Spit Fire Chicken, which took a half-roasted chicken (a bit too charred) and laid it on top of a huge slice of bread soaked in pan drippings and accessorized it with New Orleans-style "dirty" orzo mixed in a cup of gumbo (photo: http://bit.ly/2fEBAxj). I thought the bread was going to be carb overkill but it was so saturated with the poultry juices that it became almost polenta-like. The chicken could have been a bit more tender, but hey,I didn't complain since I was filling out the expense report. A good time was had by all, and now I know where at least one of the Pizzeria Biancos is.
FOOD - 4 stars...Southern dishes with a modern sensibility and good flavors that don't reek of lard
AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...contemporary take on a Southern cafe, I think
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...certainly attentive enough
TOTAL - 4 stars...definitely would come back even as a paying customer
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