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| - My hubby and I came here by mistake on a Friday evening. For some reason, I thought that this El Chorro was the same Mexican food restaurant that we used to go to in Tucson, but this restaurant was entirely different. The chicken enchilada dish was only one dish on the entire menu that was Mexican. Oops, my bad! I guess I should've checked with Yelp first to determine what type of restaurant it was, How cool is it that a restaurant reused what was once a girls' school and converted it to one of the most renowned destination restaurants?!
The ambiance was much different as well. It was more refined, polished, and provided a beautiful backdrop of Camelback Mountain. It felt warm and cozy as well, as though we were entering a nestled mission in the middle of the desert. The patio was very inviting and filled with people enjoying good conversation and food under trees covered in warm lighting. Had I researched first, I might've worn something nicer, instead of our extra casual attire. DId that matter to them? No, they treated us very well! Our waiter James was very attentive and made sure that we had no shortage of their famous sticky buns. The sticky buns are so good that they even take orders "To Go" if you so desire.
We started off with the Pepper Pot Shrimp Appetizer. It was served with rich, flavorful shrimp bathed in a pepper stew that could've been an entree in itself. The toasted homemade bread reached a state of nirvana in taste once it was dipped in the pepper pot stew mixture.
We splurged and tried the Chateaubriand meal for two. It came with the most tender, meaty goodness of filet served medium rare (as requested) roasted in the oven and served with sides of a cabernet type red sauce made from the filet's own juices and also a decadent, creamy Bernaise sauce. Roasted asparagus, carrots, and red seasoned potatoes surrounded this platter of perfection.
The chateaubriand meal also came with a dessert. We chose a butter cake with Dolce de Leche ice cream. Forget your typical Sara Lee pound cake. This butter cake puts that Sara Lee pound cake to shame! The cake was neither dense nor too light and flaky. The cake's texture was that of a thicker sponge, but the fork cut easily though the cake like butter. The sweet Dolce de Leche ice cream with the cream cheese, and thicker spongy cake complimented each other quite well.
We were so tired by the end of all this eating that we woke ourselves up with some espresso there and called it a night. After the appetizer, wine, the magnificent Chateaubriand, and dessert with espresso, let's just say our bill was not cheap. In fact, I would definitely call the night done "on a whim" one of those crazy splurges. That won't stop us from coming back for more though! Bravo El Chorro for giving us a wonderful night to remember!
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