On the second night of our second trip to Scottsdale, Boom Boom had a work dinner so couldn’t come out with us. So Mini-Me and I had ourselves a bit of a man-date. We decided to live it up and do what men are “supposed to do” – grab some cigars, go to an over-priced steak joint, and then hit the nudie bars for some good bonding time.
Not. C’mon, he’s only 11. And he doesn’t like steak.
Boom Boom and I got to sample some of their fine California/Mediterranean fare at the wine festival we snuck into the last time we were here. We also got to see the restaurant from the outside and it was gorgeous with a huge patio. I made a mental note to definitely go there if I had an opportunity. Well here it was.
Even with the misters going, it was a little too toasty to sit on the patio. We were hoping to get this table in their private room –
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But alas, they weren’t going to give it to the two of us. They did offer us seats at their kitchen table – a long bar-like counter facing the staff diligently cooking away.
Alright, let’s do this.
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Obviously, we were starving.
Most of the dishes were very, very good. The quince jam was a perfect match to the salt and spice in the cheese and chorizo. I had never seen artichoke presented as like that and the flavors were just as good. The real treat for me was the pesto. I’ve always said that pesto was a lot like hockey for me – I never understood the appeal and just never liked it. This changed my mind, easily the best I’ve had.
Mini-me LOVED his gnocchi and had a staredown with that last bite –
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As for my scallops, I enjoyed the polenta and asparagus quite a bit. The big problem was that the scallops were overcooked. Also, a couple times I bit into a shell fragment. So, in my best passive-aggressive form, I asked if they got their scallops still on the shell. They didn’t and couldn’t explain how those pieces made their way into the dish.
Horrified, they gave us a free dessert –
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Any difficulties we had in finishing our other meals were easily overcome.
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Overall, a beautiful meal in a beautiful restaurant. Everything is house-made from scratch and the balance of flavor elements in each dish was spot-on. It was terrific man-date. Definitely go there.
I agree this is a very fine restaurant, though I went with my Bride and her girl friend, a local who suggested it. Of course they also enjoyed the idea of it being so convenient for shopping.
… and we may or may not have enjoyed that convenient shopping as well.
I haven’t tried it, but it’s from a family of restaurants that I really like. Glad your man date went well. Maybe next time come back when it’s not a hundred and crazy degrees outside? 🙂
Not a 100? Isn’t that like a 4 day window in January? I actually live the heat. I’m sure 115-120 might be different but I was in my element at 105.
I saw the menu beforehand and wasn’t terribly excited, but the execution and surroundings more than made up for it. Lmk if u go?
December to February, we get 3 whole months of it not being hot! 🙂 And yeah, I’ll let you know if I make it up there.
That was supposed to be !, not ?
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