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| - Digestif is the masterwork of Valley restaurateur Peter Kasperski (Cowboy Ciao, Kaz Bar), which he describes as farm-to-table rustic Napa-Italian with up-to-the-minute ingredients in a gorgeous brick basement setting. The mood is casual, loud-ish, and jovial. There is a wide age-range represented and there appeared to be celebrations from girls-night-out to date-night to family dinner. The overhead speakers set the mood (particularly for me) with indie music and the servers rock tees from their favorite bands. The service here is impeccable, as the waiters seem to share responsibilities of each table, led by a main server who takes your order and makes sure everything's tip-top. Pretty cool concept, i think.
My gf and I started with a bottle of the Chariot Sangiovese ($27), which was probably the second best bottle of wine I've ever had in a restaurant (behind the 2005 Escorihuela Gascon Malbec shared with Jason C and Graham C in a Buenos Aires steakhouse, but I digress). This was a magical compliment to our starter of the meatball/parma/stewed onion Bruschettone ($9), which had such a surprisingly fantastic flavor, I actually smirked to myself in shock.
Next came the mixed greens salad ($6), which was an average salad with a red-wine vinaigrette along with a bacon & pinto soup in beef stock with a garlic baguette soaking inside. Blown. The Fuck. Away. Its fairly hearty for a starter, but I couldn't stop scooping it up until the last slurp nonetheless.
For our entrees, my GF order the seared sea scollops ($22), which came with 3 giant scallops with roasted and pureed cauliflower, pine nuts, raisins, and some other fancy things I didn't determine. She indicated that she LOVED her dish, and this coming from a master-scallop-binger. I tasted it ... twice it was so good ... and she was right. The scallops were perfectly seared and very fresh.
I had the penne pasta (made fresh daily) with lamb meatballs ($17). Amazing dish, especially for a lamb partisan, like myself. The portions were 'just right', so that we could sample quite a few things off their menu and not feel obscenely full. Good thing, because that Olive Oil Cake was staring me right in the face, daring me.
And yet again, ANOTHER amazing treat from pastry chef Tracy Dempsey (of Cowboy Ciao). This was presented like a pound cake with a denser quality, warm berry black pepper sauce, roseberry sorbetto, and rose sabayon. Now THAT put us over the top. We were absolutely satiated at this point, so much so, we didn't even get a chance to try a digestif -- and they have quite an impressive selection, (even Gammel Dansk, which I hadn't seen in 12 years since I lived in Denmark -- I didn't even know they imported it in the US!)
So, you would expect this dinner to come out to some outrageous sum, residing in its moddish space in the epicenter of high-crust Scottsdale society in the most posh development on a Saturday night at dinnertime, right? Nope. Total, including a bottle of wine, an appetizer, soup, salad, two entrees, and dessert was JUST slightly above a hundo.
I will be HIGHLY recommending this place to friends and visitors, particularly because the night doesn't have to end once you leave this fantastic restaurant, as it is in the heart of the valley's most walkable entertainment district.
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