| rev:text
| - Bacán just opened a couple of days ago in the old location of Carefree Station, in the Spanish Village near the Sundial in Carefree.
First impression---this looks like nothing like Carefree Station! They did a beautiful remodel, and although everything is painted white, they managed to find the perfect warm white, and that with a judicious use of wood and ambient lighting makes a cozy and contemporary spot for dinner. And DH, with his bad back, said the seating is VERY comfortable!
The waitstaff is great, from the hostess who accommodated us when we said the first table at which she seated us was under a music speaker and was too noisy to the excellent and personable service provided to us during dinner.
We started with drinks. DH got a Willemette Valley merlot that was quite good. I ordered one of the specialty cocktails, the Arcadia, which is cucumber-infused vodka, muddled blueberries and mint, and sparkling water. It was delicious, although I could not taste the blueberries. The second Arcadia tasted much more of blueberries. It was also delicious! So refreshing. Maybe not the perfect cocktail for a chilly AZ night, but I am already anticipating enjoying many more on the rooftop bar this summer!
Since this was our first visit, we started with three small plates: the empanadas, the picadillo, and the ceviche. The picadillos were soooo good. Spicy beef hash and cheese and avocado in lettuce cups, DH and I both agreed we could each have easily cleaned up our own plate of them! Delicious! The empanadas were quite good, fried nicely with a spicy pork filling, but they were a bit one note. In fact, we asked for lemon slices so we could add a touch of brightness. I kept wishing for a little bowl of ají to spoon over them. I think that would have been perfection. But they were nice and crisp with a savory interior. The ceviche was...meh. It was very dull and the sea bass did not stand up to the marinade well and had become sad and mushy. Even a squeeze from our faithful lemon slices couldn't perk it up. (In the interest of honesty, I have to admit that any ceviche we try has to live up to the standard of that at Deseo at the Keirland Westin, which offers several outstanding ceviches.
Portions were VERY large---three healthy picadillo lettuce cups, four good-sized empanadas, and maybe 1/2-3/4 cup of ceviche. Another comment---four thin slices of toasted baguette is not enough with that amount of ceviche. We had to ask for more, which was a good thing. We were brought half a loaf of hot bread and it was excellent! DH was sure it was baked in-house.
We had intended to finish our meal by sharing a sandwich or entree but sadly, we were full after the three small plates. (They had a nice dessert menu also).
Special note: I mentioned to our server that the ceviche was mushy and I wasn't certain that sea bass was the right fish for a ceviche, and when she returned, she said she had spoke to chef and our next visit, to request the ceviche with the Ahi tuna. Now THAT is customer service. (I can tell I am going to love this place!)
Overall, a strong B+. The kitchen was a bit slow, but to be expected in the first couple of days when a newly opened restaurant is finding its feet. Waitstaff=excellent. Food needs a bit of tweaking, but I have every confidence they are going to become a go-to destination in Carefree, just as its predecessor, Carefree Station was for so many years.
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