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| - St. Francis definitely has the ambiance down. Driving by, I always thought the front glass booth seating would be a perfect place for a small party of friends to celebrate a special occasion. It was the first place I sat when I finally got to--the second day they started serving lunch, in fact, for a friends birthday. One word of caution and slight disappointment is the path leading to the main entrance... it's not exactly paved, so it could get messy on a rare rainy AZ day. And it's not just the physical space, but the musical space that St. F delivers... It is Indie Music Paradise and I LOVE IT. I even have a playlist in iTunes gathering up all the songs I hear. Overall, their track list is fairly small in terms of rotation... I heard several of the same songs repeated every time I visited (A total of 4, but the first 2 times I was there to get a GC, then to make reservations). I heard The Shins, Fleet Foxes and Nouvelle Vague. But it's growing because last time I heard Radiohead, Portishead, Supreme Beings Of Leisure and Feist to name a few more.
For my first dining experience, I had an open faced sandwich... I think it was pulled pork... with butternut squash and sauteed spinach... It was tasty and pretty filling--I brought 1/2 of it home for another meal. I wished it came with fries like the French Onion Burger a few of my co-workers had to round it out, but in the end, I didn't need to as one of them was "being good" and gave me her fries... SCORE! They were definitely generous in serving size and pretty tasty. Other co-workers delighted in an Ahi Tuna Salad (Or was it a sandwich...?)... and I believe everyone loved their Ice Tea.
The second time I went was for dinner... again, for a friend's birthday and this time I got to sit upstairs. I was secretly hoping we would be seated up there after discovering they had a second floor... 2-story restaurants are few and far between here in AZ, land of low and horizontal sprawl. We were seated at the furthest end of the 1/2 boot seating... so had a great view down to the bar... the large garage door was raised all the way up, so we got some fresh winter air.
A couple of my friends got the Baked Goat Cheese, Tomato, Walnut Herb Pesto and Toasted Bread for Appetizers, so I got to try a taste. Yup, Goat cheese is too strong a flavor for me.
I decided on the Wild Mushroom Risotto with Oven Dried Tomatoes and Parmesan Froth. Yes, froth, see picture for effect. My favorite part of the flavors in the dish were from the oven dried tomatoes... makes me want to experiment at home because they were heavenly... I wished I had more than 2 on my plate. The mushrooms surprised me as they packed a lot of flavor, too... usually I think of them as pretty mild, but they definitely offset and added to the creamy cheesy risotto taste. When I order this dish again, I will make sure and ask for extra Tomatoes... YUM. Again, a friend declined her potato side... this time the extra thin Crispy Potato chips and we all got to try them. They were VERY thin, quite possibly the thinnest chips I've ever had and had varying texture and taste... some were pretty plain, others salty and others still with a hint of vinegar... it was like a box of chocolates! Ba dum DUM! It was funny, we looked like potato connoisseurs chip tasting. I also got a bite of my friends Peppered Crusted Steak and it was really good! I am not often a steak orderer--pepper crusted at that (usually find the flavor to be too strong), but I would order this one.
For dessert, we had the most interesting one on the menu: Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding, Sweet Cream Gelato. Be forewarned it's not pudding as in a pudding cup. It's bread pudding, but as a yelper said, it was more like a cake. I liked the flavor... it reminded me of (Buttter) Rum Cake... which I like when the Rum doesn't over power the entire dish. Sweet Cream Gelato? I assumed it was Vanilla and the melted toffee made it hard for me to think anything otherwise. If I have it again. I will have to take note of it's subtle flavors alone.
I have to go back at least 3 more times... to try out a new area of restaurant. I still have yet to eat in the main portion of the first floor dining space, the patio and the bar. I'm REALLY curious about their cocktails. I've heard good things about the Meyer Lemonade... love mojitos... and there's is pineapple infused one so I want to try that it (It's the island girl in me)... Heck I think I want to try every specialty drink off the menu! Good thing St. F's in my 'hood.
The only thing I can say is a detriment is the price--it's quite pricey and a lot of the dishes are small, but if you're creative and share it's doable without too much of a hit to your pocketbook. Or, if not, go here as a "treat" place. Definitely a place to bring a special someone or celebrate a special occasion.
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