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| - Good neighborhood restaurants are hard to find, a place that you can call your own, where the food is good and reasonably priced. And in the southwest it's even harder to find a good neighborhood restaurant that serves Italian food. In today's world of fast food and chain restaurants, people tend to choose the Olive Garden over a small business when the craving for good pasta and/or pizza dishes. Carmen's Bistro on Baseline in Tempe lets one go back for a nice Italian meal without the hassle of corporate America's set menu. A small place that mixes neighborhood bar with neighborhood restaurant, Carmen's is perfect for a night with friends or even a quiet setting to bring a date for the first time. As you walk up, the kitchen if fully exposed so that one can watch the cooks prepare tasty delights that come out of the kitchen.
Upon arriving with a group of friends from out of town for an early afternoon dinner, we took a seat in the corner of the dimly lit restaurant. The menu is traditional American Italian cuisine, serving everything from anti pasta to spaghetti with marinara to pizza. Everyone in the group had the same thought as we looked at the menu, and a round or calzones was ordered by all, with two people getting fried zucchini sticks and a salad to start. Arrival of the first course was quick, though the person that ordered the fried zucchini was surprised to see that the zucchini he ordered magically turned into fried mozzarella sticks. Instead of sending it back, he ate them with much delight. A small mistake turned into a lovely appetizer that was served with marina sauce for dipping. The salad that came out was simple, your basic garden salad, that was portioned for a quick bite before the main course, not to filling.
The calzones then came out a little later. Wait time was about twenty minutes, acceptable considering that they are made fresh in the kitchen. The crust on the calzone was very basic, and not seasoned all that much. A little garlic power would've gone a long way. The same marinara sauce that was served with the mozzarella sticks came with it, for the same dipping purposes. The sauce it self was a little sweet to taste, and served cold. Heat would've made it a little more enjoyable, and of course a little garlic might take away the extra sweetness that was brought on by the tomato. The filling in the calzone was hot, but not too hot to where one might burn their mouth. The mixture that was in the calzone was your basic pizza toppings and could've been seasoned with Italian herbs for extra flavor, a little disappointing to say the least.
A very filling meal for everyone in the group, though not as satisfying for one's taste buds. Service was not bad, but the screw up with the appetizer might be more a reflection of a lack of attention to detail by our server and not the cook. Carmen's Bistro has a nice foundation in place, but still has some work to do if it wants to be considered a fine Italian food at a decent rate. Still, it was better than the corporate menu and over trained service at the Olive Garden, making it a nice place to walk up to and eat, but not a place to set your plans to for an evening.
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