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| - 2.5 stars, maybe. I hate to bag on a restaurant because I know restaurant owners work so hard, but this was a pretty bad experience. I know they have live music, too, and that is a sign of class.
Fundamentally, the problem with this place can best be summed up by saying that it wouldn't surprise me if there isn't a single Italian involved in the running of this place. If there is, they have gone so American it's hard to tell. Think Pascal in "Big NIght."
When I showed up by myself at 7pm, I had not eaten lunch so I should have been pretty easy to please. The restaurant was mostly empty, yet I was sat at a small table right next to the only baby in the restaurant. Really? I probably didn't look Awhatukee chic, but I didn't look like a bum either. And hey, it was Monday and my credit card is paid off.
I was sat by the owner (I think). He didn't take a drink order and then I waited a long time to get a menu or a drink. I don't blame the server. It was bad timing as she knew she had a meal for four being plated and a couple of credit cards to run. The owner could have easily handled both the menu and my drink order.
Then, they brought the garlic bread. It was that soggy over-buttered, undercooked, nastiness you would never get in Italy or even a high-end Italian restaurant in the states. (Think Fazoli's) The greasiness probably started to take away my appetite which had been sky high when I arrived. I would strongly recommend that Ruffino's ditch the garlic bread and go with nice Italian bread and small bowl of butter.
Soon after, the entrees for the neighboring table arrived. They didn't look like $25-30 entrees. Even the osso bucco looked unappetizing..
Then, they brought me a cup of brodo with tortellini. The waitress warned me to be careful because it was super hot. I would say it was just hot enough not to get sent back. It was decent, but kind of puny for four bucks. The bowl would have been seven and I was mostly trying it out of curiosity. The broth was pretty good, but as it got colder it lost any magic it had.
I also got a Campari and soda, which was a little light on Campari. It didn't come with a fruit wedge of any type, which is pretty standard when an Italian is behind the bar. So, I asked for an orange. Unfortunately, because I was seated in the farthest corner from the door and the bar, I didn't get the orange until I was over halfway through the Campari and soda. Maybe I'm off base here and I should asked for it explicitly. Sorry, I'm not much of a drinker.
The salad was quite good. They make it tableside which is nice because I got to pick my choice of elements. The greens were excellent and the dressing was nice. I think I got two portions even though I was by myself, which was great. Unfortunately, there was a little too much cheese (or something) making it too heavy. Still, not bad.
Throughout the evening my water glass was empty, which is annoying when you're paying $20 minimum for an entree. I'm not a stickler about this stuff, but when it happens 3-5 times at a place like this, it's not right. My waitress was very nice and worked very hard. One thing that sort of stuck with me was when I was discussing the menu, she said something like, "They've been here 20 years, it's good." I'm wondering if that was indicative of a place resting too much on its laurels.
I got the Fettuccini Ruffino which was a sausage-based dish listed as one of seven signature dishes on the menu and strongly recommended by my server because it was "simple" and tasty. After a pretty dubious performance so far, I convinced myself that this entree was going to hit it out of the park and save the evening. Instead, it was a total failure and I was actually forcing it down by the end. It wasn't simple. It was sloppy.
They cooked the life out of the fettuccini and the sauce looked like something Olive Garden would have invented, not like the sausage crumbles with oil, pasta and vegetables I am used to at high-end Italian joints. The sausage was exactly like something you'd buy at Trader Joe's, which isn't bad, but it didn't seem homemade or special. Honestly, if they had put the plate in front of me, my first reaction would have been to tell them they had brought it to the wrong table. Maybe I was expecting the wrong the thing, but whatever the case, it didn't taste very good.
Afterward, I went to Enzo's Cafe and Gelato for a cappuccino to make things right. There was more Italian in that cappuccino than a whole meal at Ruffino's. Now, I'm watching Tony Bourdain in Naples just to make up for the rest of the evening..
I hope I can get another chance to go here and have them prove me wrong, but I won't do it on my dime. There was just a little too much Olive Garden in Ruffino's to justify the prices.
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