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| - Caution: As of November 2012, Venues Cafe does not participate in Maricopa Co. Envtl. Services restaurant grading system.
I am truly surprised by the delightful experience at Venues Cafe this evening. Surprised because a place this good and comfortable and sophisticated has never seen its like up here in the Desert Foothills. And, truth be told, is quite rare elsewhere in the Valley. But 'round these parts it's the antidote to buckets of cowboy grub!
We started with a high quality, "clean" shrimp cocktail. Next, spinach salad ordered with bleu cheese dressing was perfect -- tossed with the exact right amount of a delicious but not obnoxious (read: not sweet or goopy) dressing. Entree: Perhaps the best salmon I've ever tasted (get it cooked medium rare!) This included APPROPRIATELY SIZED portions of mashed potatoes and broccolini. No voluminous portions here, thank you very much, just the perfect amount to make you want ... dessert! Actually the strawberry shortcake was a disappointment as it was basically a nothing-spectacular cake with strawberry-ish stuff between the layers. But not a single real strawberry, even for garnish! Bad form. But the warm, spicy and gooey bread pudding was dee-lish and certainly re-orderable.
The environs are an instantly comfortable, warm wood feel and the gifted live singer / guitarist, Dan Emrey, was so gratefully at a perfect volume so I never had to strain to hear my friends speak, nor did I have to raise my voice in order to be heard. Whad'ya know? A live musician who actually contributed to the evening rather than hogging the entire acoustic space.
"Bravo" to Dan and "well done" to Katherine and staff.
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