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| - In short: amazing BBQ ribs, good service, great decor, and fairly priced. But the toilet paper commercials blasting from the Tempe Marketplace P.A. system are a serious detraction - not to mention unappetizing.
We Tucsonans have a weird relationship with our retarded big sibling to the north (by that, I mean the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, or "The Valley," as the Phoenicians call it). I try to avoid going to Phoenix, and I can be successful for months or even years at a time.
On this occasion, I was registered to run a marathon in Apache Junction (a nice, laid-back, podunk suburb to the east - my kind of place), and I had to pick up my race materials. Typing the address into the GPS mapping system of my phone, I was surprised to find myself pulling into Tempe Marketplace, which I knew.
Phoenix is so big that I'm always amazed to find myself somewhere familiar. It's like standing in the Sahara Desert and finding the comb that you dropped in high school.
I checked in for my marathon, and then put two-and-two-and-two together: it was lunchtime, I was hungry, and within Tempe Marketplace was a restaurant that had served me some of the best damn BBQ pork ribs ever, three years prior. What was the name? Pink Cadillac? Cadillac Jones? Big Dick Cadillac? Cadillac-Something. Yelp told me Cadillac Ranch, and I ascended the steps.
Now for some history about Tempe Marketplace.
A few years ago, I attended a commercial real estate lunch where one of its developers spoke. Apparently the site used to be 150-200 acres of toxicity - landfills and auto salvage yards. The developers scooped out the dirt, cleaned it, replaced it, and built a series of restaurants and shops that draws people from all over The Valley. It was, and remains a home-run. I like and appreciate what they did to an environmental disaster.
Back to the ribs! It was a beautifully sunny day, and I sat on the balcony overlooking the scenic courtyard. I didn't think that the P.A. system would bother me. I was wrong.
I got a Papago Brewing "Orange Blossom" beer, which is a locally-brewed lager with an orange flavor. It's very good - kind of a like a Heifeweizen after you squeeze an orange in. I also ordered a full rack of ribs and loaded mashed potatoes.
Amanda, my server, was excellent - cute, polite, prompt, and helpful. When I asked, she found out where the Orange Blossom was brewed.
The decor is great - it's all wood, and it has a great Old West feel. Inside the bar is a mechanical bull that drunk wanna-be cowboys get thrown from.
As I had hoped, the ribs were amazing - perfectly done and fall-off-the-bone tender. The BBQ sauce is one of my all-time favorites - not too sweet, with a good smoky flavor. I could have used just a little bit more sauce.
The mashed potatoes were loaded with bacon, green onions, and cheddar cheese. They were perfect. I also got french fries, which were spicy and also perfect. The salad was good and big, although the bleu cheese dressing was a bit watery.
The balcony is a great space to sit and enjoy your food and company.
But the noise! The P.A. system never stopped blaring to match the action on the giant television screen in the courtyard. Music occasionally played, but the music-to-commercial ratio is about 1/3 to 2/3. Good songs by Maroon 5, Lenka, and Katy Perry were cut off after twenty seconds, and a Charmin toilet paper commercial took their place. You know the one with the cute cartoon bears going into the bathroom, wiping their asses with Charmin, and then emerging with smiles? Yeah - that's what I had to see and hear during lunch.
In other words, the P.A. system is not providing music for ambiance; it's simply another advertising revenue stream. When advertising detracts from the shopping or dining experience of the customers, the Landlords should revise their plan and eliminate it.
So, when the P.A. system is not the fault of Cadillac Ranch, why do I mention it? Because it's hurting Cadillac Ranch. The commercials are annoying and they detract from the dining experience. The noise makes conversation on the balcony difficult.
The restaurant is a tenant, and they have a lease with the landlord. Hopefully, the owners of Cadillac Ranch will read this, complain to their landlord that the P.A. system is hurting them, and it will get turned off. The world would be a better place.
So, the tab for my lunch: $36 (before tip) for a salad, a full rack of ribs, french fries, cowboy toast, loaded mashed potatoes, and two local micro-brews. That's a fair and reasonable price.
The restaurant is good and the ribs are so amazing, I may come back the next time I'm in The Valley. I just have to remember my earplugs.
4 stars (it would have been 5, but for the noise)
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