Vegetarian tasting menus that are cheaper than the regular tasting menu always pique my interest. I've been burned by tasting menus in the past (see my Binkley's review), but after seeing a glowing write up about Sel in the local paper, I decided we should check it out.
The interior is a little too uber white and tries to hard to look like a fancy Scottsdale club. It just doesn't convey fine dining to me.
The first course came out amazingly fast; it felt like 5 minutes after we placed our order. Unfortunately, my appetizer was cold. Our soups came out next, and then there was a LONG delay before our salad come out next. At least 45 minutes had passed. Not surprisingly, the kitchen had messed up my order and used the regular caesar dressing which contains fish instead of using the veggie version. That's what happens when you try to make a dish veggie by swapping out an item or omitting it. The preferable alternative is creating a vegetarian item that can stand out on its own. My salad was disappointing since it didn't have the "amazing" bacon (according to my husband), but my entree of risotto was outstanding. My husband thought the truffle and mushroom taste was a little overwhelming, but I loved it.
I wish I had room for their famed dessert, but I couldn't eat another bite. I wish I hadn't wasted the stomach room on a lackluster soup and salad. If I had to do it over again, I would get the appetizer, risotto and dessert a la carte.