Digestif

The *ultimate foodie* stop on my SW eating adventure this summer, no other chef amazed me half as much as Payton Curry.
My husband and I lucked out on our last night in Scottsdale with a reservation at Digestif. Not just any reservation, but we lucked upon a special Sunday night cocktail and food pairing that was beyond our wildest dreams, called the «WITH A TWIST» Cocktail party.
Most of the guests were friends of the chef or favorite regulars, but we lucked upon two cancellations. We were seated around the bar which takes up most of the tiny restaurant. This is not a usual bar with a bartender and bottles of alcohol behind it, no no, this is a chef-​centric bar with the kitchen in full view. Incredible.
We were served our first pairing — grilled bread smothered in Mobay cheese with a BLT-​ini. The vodka had been bacon-​infused. Wow.
Second was lardo-​wrapped Peaches served with an awesome cachaca-​based drink.
Third was buttery housemade prosciutto with an «incogroni» — aperol, gin and pineau des charentes. Very special, a little bitter and a fabulous apéritif.
That was followed by a fabulous halibut ceviche, the main course of lamb chops paired with a «lavender sidecar» which was to die for, and finally a dessert of flan with a lovely dessert cocktail.
I’m not sure if you can get these drinks and items on the regular menu, but the chef is such a down-​to-​earth, cool and motivated young guy that I think he would make about anything you could ask for, and that’s as likely to be the case with drinks as well. I can’t sing out my praises loud enough for this incredible spot where the food and the chef are centerstage — right where they belong. Fantastic, 5 stars.

My wife and I went to Digestif on a date for the second time in two months last Saturday. It was, again, a great experience …
Being originally from Europe, it reminds me of these awesome «hole-​in-​the wall» restaurants in France or my native Berlin. Digestif is a wholesome experience for me — amazing food, a nice wine list and great conversations and people. Its casual character and limited space is a refreshing break from the otherwise often times snooty Scottsdale scene. It is just like a big-​city neighborhood restaurant where people with the same passion come to eat — amazing food and a good time.
I am simply amazed by the food, its quality and the way it is presented. Most of all I enjoy watching Payton and the staff in their obvious passion and joy for cooking. We had the Tuna Tartar appetizer. It was wonderful … In fact, it was so good, that we had a second helping instead of a desert …
Digestif is a great place for a dinner for two, but may be a little cramped for larger parties. It got the «my favorite restaurant of the Phoenix Valley» seal of approval.

Visited the new space in the former See Saw location, and I really enjoyed it. Chris L. and I stopped in last Wednesday. We were both fans of Digestif in its first incarnation, and i was excited to check out the more intimate space.
Payton & Shantal do a great job after such a quick transition. I’m a huge fan of the farm-​to-​table philosophy and the frequently changing menus. It’s a happy place, especially if you sit at the counter and enjoy the show.
We sampled a bunch of stuff — watermelon/​crab salad, gouda/​truffle mac & cheese, confit fried chicken, blue cheese coleslaw (killer), and Shantal had whipped up a fantastic banana cream pie. OK – «we» didn’t really «sample» anything. That’s what I ate. Everything was delicious.
It’s nice to see someone who cooks with belief and passion, as Chef Curry does. If you’re up for a new experience, check it out!

What an awesome restaurant! It is a pretty small place, they can probably seat around 25, but I had reservations and was able to sit at the counter. Normally, I wouldn’t want to sit at the counter for dinner, but I was able to watch the chefs cook the meals, which was very cool. One of the chefs was very outgoing and the service was very good.
I had the tuna tartare to start, which was excellent. It had some spice to it, which added so much more to this appetizer. I also tried the Mexican street corn and the soft tacos. They were both pretty good. I would like to go again and try some of the other things on the menu and it seems like they change their menu fairly often.
For dessert the chef convinced me to have the banana bread. Wow! It came with a vanilla dipping sauce which was awesome. Overall I would love to go again. It is not very expensive too, which is always nice, especially in Scottsdale.

I went to Digestif Saturday night with two friends for the Unilocal Eats menu… I was a bit skeptical about going after my previous Digestif visit last year, but figured since they were in a new space, why not give them a second chance. I am very glad I did.
I love the new space so much more than where they were located previously. It’s small and intimate, and if you have a chance to sit at the counter like we did, you get to watch all the cooking happen and interact with the chefs. The only hiccup in our two hour dining experience was service — I understand there is only one waitress (who was quite friendly) handling all the tables and everyone at the counter, but it took us quite a while to place our order and then receive refills on our drinks.
Thankfully the food more than made up for any delay in service we experienced. All three of us had the watermelon and crab salad which was sooo fresh and tasty. Then all three of us had the burrata and peppers (it was supposed to be mozzarella, but they had just gotten burrata that day so it was a last minute change) which was excellent, although I could have done with about half the amount of peppers. My friend Brad and I had the scallops which were cooked perfectly and were seasoned well. My other friend has the confit fried chicken which she loved… I tried the blue cheese slaw that came with the chicken and it was awesome.
Overall, a marked improvement from my previous Digestif experience. Located conveniently between Cowboy Ciao and Kaz, it’s a nice option if you are in Old Town.

Loved the casual dress code on the waitstaff. Comfortable staff makes for happier staff makes for better service is what i’m saying because the quality of service was right on.
The décor was pleasant. Dim, tea lights, and track lighting that seemed to be spotlighting the dishes as they landed in front of me. An extensive wine list that was admittedly a bit overwhelming. Server said we were free to sample if we wanted.
I had the Segway to drink — an alcoholic cucumber cocktail. Yummy and refreshing, didn’t compete with my food.
Chilled melon soup was tasty. Could have used something crunchy and/​or salty in my opinion.
Entrée was a scallops and chorizo over a cauliflower purée with corn. Hell. Yes. One of the tastiest things I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming. I forced myself to eat it slower than something so yummy might merit in an effort to make the experience last just a litttle bit longer.
Walked away full, with a spring in my step and a smile on my face.

I was recommended to Digestif by a friend and former employee of the place. I definitely appreciate the servers casual dress code, but upscale service.
I started the evening with the country pâté. Four slices of buttery, sweet duck pâté, accompanied with pickled vegetables, cornichons and caper berries.
We had lardo wrapped peaches and chilled melon soup next. The peaches were tasty with the Saba on it. Could of used more lardo, but hey! Couldn’t everything.
The melon from the soup was procured from the farmer’s market in Old Town. Every Saturday night, Chef Payton puts together his Farmer’s Market menu.
For entrees we had seared scallops with chorizo and corn and the parpadelle with house sausage and blistered tomatoes.
The scallop dish was a home run. Everything delicious. The parpadelle was a good, minimalist dish.
Only real complaint was the weak and lacking desserts. Ever since Ms. Dempsey quit being the companies pastry chef, Chef Payton took over. The desserts are not very imaginative, but were tasty for what they were.

I’m not sure yet if digestif is great, but it is seriously good. From start to finish we were pleasantly suprised and the waiter did a great job making suggestions starting with cocktails. I can’t remeber the exact name, but the Nob Hill cocktail was a winner with my date. She flipped for it and I was wise enough to write down its ingredients.
The house salad was good, the entrees– especially the scallops were fantastic and the dessert (choclate brownie something) was a lump of gooey choco deliciousness.
Take a date there, apologize to your wife there, impress your snobby foodie friend there– just go.

This is my new new restaurant to stalk.
After being seated in a comfy ‘lil booth, we were greated by our beatnik waiter Eric; a pretty cool cat. He was astonished we’d never been to HIS restaurant and was very very interested in sharing his love and lore of it with us. I was a bit put off at first cause i thought he was being a knob, but soon realized he wasn’t there to fuck around. The terms «fresh» and «farm to plate» have been etch into my brain thanks to this tattoo’d hipster food slinger.
To continue, my girlfriend and I went on a Wednesday night and were delighted to be in a chow casa that was wasn’t leaking people back onto the sidewalks. Eric insisted we try «farm to table» an appetizer that includes mushrooms, asparagus and a fried egg all ontop a piece of brioche to start. I was waaaaaay skeptical about eating something like that, but as soon as that bad mamba jamba hit the table my girlfriend and I ravenously devoured it. It was so fresh and it tasted good! I know that’s a pretty vauge way to say it rock’d my pants off, but I just had NO complaints! I’d eat a «farm to table» everyday if I could. Oh, and the asparagus made my pee smell funny, free of charge! :D
Our entrée’s were no less impressive, with my lady having the fettucini with brased pork and I having the cannelloni with crispy pork belly. The fettucini was green! It was soo god damn delish too! I liked the pork in the dish, but I could not get over the flavor of the pasta! Muah! Muah! (Itallian finger puppet kissing) The pork belly… I mean c’mon… was crispy and as I delved into it’s layers was salty and tender, and finally rich and fatty… oh god, I feel like I need to go to confession. And I’m an atheist. Jesus Christ.
Ok, at this point the server was like «yeah bitch, I told you» and I was like «yeah I am your bitch, feed me your awesome ‘effing food» It was ridiculous how good everything was, specifically how F R E S H everything was. I don’t really eat veggies as a rule, I like them, but I don’t normally chow on them. At Digestif, I could have eaten ONLY veggies. I didn’t get to sample the dessert menu, or try any of their wines, but i know that i will be back.

Oh… my… lord.
Went to Savor Scottsdale’s Notorious P.I.G. event at Digestif and can’t even put into words how great everything was. All the credit does not go to Payton Curry, as each course was from a different chef and a different part of the same pig, but WOW. Chef Curry was certainly the entertainment for the evening, with personality that just doesn’t quit. And having him gush to our table about his Easter Sunday menu, beginning with carrot soup, ending with carrot cake, and everything rabbit in the middle, I will certainly be visiting Digestif more often. We’ve also seen him at the farmer’s market, picking out the freshest produce he can find… it’s not just a schpeel, this guy is serious about utilizing local ingredients.
Anyway, back to the pig. Every course was made to perfection, half of which I had never heard of before… and paired perfectly by Todd Bostock with Dos Cabezas wines. I could go on for pages, but suffice it to say that you all should support your local chefs and watch out for more great events from Savor Scottsdale, a non-​profit organization working to put Scottsdale on the map as a culinary destination.
Props to Chef James Porter of Tapino, Chef Aaron May of Sol y Sombra, Chef Brandon Crouser of Atlas Bistro, and Chef Tracy Dempsey of Cowboy Ciao, et al. They can whip up the most amazing dishes from the most obscure ingredients. Did I mention the trotter salad or bacon ice cream?

Chef Payton Curry went «whole hog» on Friday night with a supplemental menu of porky goodness. It was our second visit to Digestif and it was just as good — and fun — as the first.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by Pavle, the smiling host, and the ever-​organized and competent Mari from Spaghetti Western. Although the place was quite full, we were given the choice of inside or outside seating. They were filming a segment for a reality show called «Back of the House» so we asked to be seated inside to catch the action. Payton seemed cool as a cucumber, playing to a full house and a film crew. We sat near the mozzarella bar/​pizza hearth and soon felt the Digestif Friday night buzz.
Not wanting the vibe to get ahead of me, I started my own buzz. I am thrilled with Digestif’s eclectic mixology menu full of herbal concoctions, digestifs and absinthe selections (served with an absinthe fountain). I ordered the Pretty Ugli, made with muddled basil and uglifruit liqueur. After one sip, though I loved the basil, the drink was a too sweet for my taste. Our gracious server Amy let me segway to the Segway, a mix of Square One organic cucumber vodka, Hendrick’s cucumber and rose petal-​infused gin and Lillet, served like a straight-​up martini. I loved, loved, loved it. Todd had his fail-​safe Mandarin Absolut on the rocks.
With our drinks we enjoyed a plate of freshly pulled mozzarella sprinkled with crunchy, chewy bits of sorrel, pork jowl confit and local dates. We also got a perfectly toasted roll, right from the hot hearth — temperature 600+ degrees. Why can’t I make toast at home like this? I can’t stop thinking about how to get this oven into my house…
Then we had the Digestif salad with Maya’s arugula, candied hazelnuts, cipollini, blue cheese and balsamic marinated figs. These are a few of my fav-​a-​rit things.
We decided to split the $ 32 entrée — the pork duo — a plate of prosciutto-​wrapped chop & loin, braised mustard greens, haricots verts and heirloom carrots. Digestif is know for their freshly-​butchered meats and super fresh veggies. They did not disappoint. Ten minutes later I had the bone in both hands and I’m going to town on the last remaining shreds of pig. Luckily our new best friends at the next table were also gnawing on their bones, and we were all talking with our mouths full.
Continuing the buzz, we couldn’t agree on a bottle of wine so we went with with singles. I especially enjoyed the selection of Santa Ynez wines (we love Sanford). I had a Pinot Grigio and Todd went with a Pinot Noir.
Piggies that we are, we couldn’t leave well enough alone and topped off the night with the chunky brownie and chocolate malted semifriddo (semifreddo means ‘half frozen’, kindof like a gelato) complete with a toasted fresh s’morlicious house-​made marshmallow on the side. It was ridiculously good.
It’s not a meal we’ll soon forget, and we’ll have to go back about a hundred more times to sample everything on the various and ever-​changing menus. Chef Payton seems to have a great pig… er, gig going and we’re impressed with his adventurous spirit and love for good food. I also like that he’s not totally full of himself like some chefs we’ve met. I agree that it’s only a matter of time before he has a Beard award.

I’m way overdue on writing a review for Digestif so I must post something. I’ve been putting it off to do it justice with specific references to dishes but need to just post.
Suffice to say that Digestif is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere & I’m calling it now that it’s just a matter of time before Payton Curry has a Beard award. May be an early call but I’m sticking by it & check back with me in a couple years.
We’ve always been are big fans of the Kasperski restaurants (Sea Saw, Ciao, Kaz) so have been going to Digestif ever since it opened. I liked the food right away & have always been a fan. I also think they have great, interesting drinks which is a bonus.
Toward the end of December we had a meal there that caused a major paradigm shift though. While we were fans of Digestif, I’d always thought of it as a bit of a «scene» place. Anyway, we’d done our company Christmas lunch there & had a bunch of great drinks so the Mrs. & I decided that for our anniversary we were going to go have a couple drinks, some apps & then hit a movie.
Well we did have some apps & some drinks & they were wonderful — so much so that we decided to head back after the movie for more. At t his point, I think the killer drinks might have been the initial draw. We loved the fennel & beer pork sausage, the Segwey martini & the Chartreuses.
When we got back, the bartender we were sitting with had cashed out so we were sat with Joshua. Turned out to be amazingly lucky. Joshua is a food psycho (in the best way). Former cook/​chef at crazy name places across the country. Well, we pretty much put ourselves in his hands & had a mind blowing meal. Made me feel terrible for ever thinking of Digestif as a «scene» place & elevated it instantly up to the level of my very favorite restaurants in the state.
Some of the highlights of that meal were unbelievable foie gras. I mean La Belle Farms foie is always wonderful so how could it really stand out, right? It just did. The preparation was amazing. Rabbit confit & persimmon — absolutely love this dish. I’ve not been able to go back since & not order this. Pâté was amazing. I’m pretty much just completely blown away with Digestif’s charceuterie. Can’t get enough of it. The burrata brushettone was amazing as well. The deserts (we already love Tracy Dempsey from Sea Saw & other) were also amazing, that night specifically the butternut squash & ricotta fritters. So good. We also did a bunch more cocktails (absinthe, chartreuses, gin sling, negroni) that were fun & wonderful.
Since then, we’ve been back and had matching experiences. Other standouts for us are the carrot fettucini w/​lamb, Niman Ranch pork chop and the brownie & chocolate malted semifreddo — looks like just a brownie sundae but oh no…
I also love, love, love the fact that Payton Curry, Tracy Dempsey, Pavle Milic & a bunch of the other Digestif staff are at OTFM (Old Town Farmer’s Market) weekly. So cool to be able to talk & interact with them, eat their food in an über casual way & get tips. Helps unbelievably that they are ridiculously nice & personable.
Huge, huge fan.

I’m basing this review of my visit on a first impression. Sometimes a first impression is all it takes. I met my friend Heather C for lunch at Digestif. We walked in and were greeted by a friendly hostess. Our server was at our table as soon as we were seated. He overheard me admiring their absinthe fountains and he ran to get me information on where to buy one just like theirs. I thought it was very nice of him. He then ran through their specials of the day. I nearly fainted when he stated that they had a foie gras burger topped with arugula to offer for lunch. I am A LOVER of foie gras. I immediately ordered it but asked for no arugula. The waiter stated that the chef offers baby spinach instead. Perfect. After a bit of wait, our food was served. Ah… what can I say my fellow foodies? The food was beautiful! I had to take several pictures of it for my food porn collection (see pic). I did away with the bun and ate the meat and the french fries. It was fabulous. The burger was a ground up flat iron steak and the foie gras was served on top of it with the baby spinach finishing off the creation. Fantastic, well cooked, and full of flavor.
If this is any indication of the quality of the food at Digestif, I will certainly become a devoted fan. It will be interesting to see if my next visit will be just as good if not better… we shall see!

Pinch me! I must be dreaming! No I take it back, don’t pinch me let me enjoy the main course forever. That’s what I was thinking after a few bites into the stack of perfection that Digestif’s Chef Payton Curry crafted for the New Years Eve night’s special.
Words will not describe what I experienced New Years Eve night at Digestif. This was my first time and I can’t wait until the next.
From the beginning I couldn’t have been more impressed. The host greeted us with a warm welcome and promptly seated us in a cozy section that overlooked the trendy bar and the busy pass.
We started off the night with a country pâté that was made on-​premise with seasonal ingredients. The texture and the beautiful arrangement of gherkins, caper berries, stone ground mustard, finishing salt, pickled veggies, and bruschetta made up for the lack of flavor in the pâté.
It gets better. Chef Curry created and executed the best main course ever imagined. I have about ten things on my «last supper» list and his New Years Eve special included two of them.
The bottom of the plate was painted with a grape gastrique that was hidden beneath a bed of creamy risotto that served as a pedestal for 3 oz’s of rich and juicy pork belly that was slightly crisp on top. Resting peacefully atop was the most satisfying melt in your mouth 3 oz’s of foie gras.
To complete the dish he dusted the top of the foie gras with black truffle shavings and a pinch of finishing salt. Nestled around the stack of perfection were a couple of slightly sweet and dark figs that went off in your mouth like fireworks every time you chewed down on them.
The waitress must have noticed the glazed over look and smile on my face because she rhetorically asked, «so, how is it?» I told her that I couldn’t have been better and that the dish’s texture and flavor combinations were perfect.
Minutes later, right before dessert, the chef came out-​warm cookies and milk in hand-​and told us that it was late the night before when the thought of the combination came to him and that he was excited to put it on the menu.
The service, the ambience, the company I was with, the main course, and talking with Chef Curry made this the best dinner experience for me in 2008.
And I forgot to mention that this was also the first time that I was chased down by a hostess. About 10′ outside the door I hear a, «hey, hey, I forgot to give these to you, lemon/​absinthe & chestnut/​cognac truffles. Happy New Year!» Can you believe it? I must be dreaming.

The service was spot on. Josh and the crew rocked. GREAT RECOMMENDATIONS!!! My date for the evening turned out to be a vegetarian so the server/​chef/​restaurant created multiple courses that we could share.
I’m a total foodie, so when my friends and co-​workers told me about Peters new place I had wanted to go. This only grew upon hearing other restaurant servers, whose palates I trust, rave about Digestif.
So, here I am… walking through the door… (you always know a great spot by whom you see there) and right off I recognize Terry Ellisor (Zinc Bistro, Merc Bar and The Mission) having just finished diner with Brian Raab (The Mission). A moment later, our server for this evenings culinary experience, Josh arrives. Josh and I had worked together at T-​Cooks at The Royal Palms a few years back. Josh really knows his stuff… and his passion showed. His resume sounded like he had graced the floors of a few fine establishments since we last crossed paths.
Another individual whom I have great respect for in the industry turned out to be one of Digestif’s managers who was off that night, Luis.
It is the great people and the great visionary CHEF that make a spot like this so wonderful. As I said earlier, when great industry people decide to come work with you and other Tops in the industry decide to dine there and enjoy it enough to enthusiastically tell others about it, Then You Have A Winner!!!
Hope you enjoy your dining experience as much as I did.
Sean P Kelly
(Mastro’s, Zinc Bistro, T-Cook’s, Michael’s At The Citadel, Ajax Tavern (Aspen), (Nobu) Matsuhisa (Aspen), David Paul’s Lahaina Grill (Maui), Longhi’s (Maui)… There’s 16 years of Industry and Passion for FOOD for you.

Rounding up from 2.5. Cool layout and setting, attentive but inexperienced staff. Fun, novel ideas with the drinks. But the food was really nowhere near as good as you would expect. You can cook better at home, but you just won’t call everything by fancy names. It’s great to offer handmade pasta, and not to overcook it, but i’m convinced my raviolis never saw boiling water.
Bottom line: they’re trying way too hard before the kitchen is comfortable with the basics. Either that, or the place is wildly inconsistent and we’ve caught it on off times. Will definitely give them a few months and go back to update, if they make it.

As the reviews run the gamut, I was prepared for anything. It is Restaurant Week, so it was really busy, and the initial service did start off a little slow. Our server, however, was apologetic and overall the service was above average.
I ordered beets & citrus, and it was delicious. However, the portion size was fairly small. Although I wanted scallops, I steered clear based on «overcooked» reviews. For my entrée, I had the raviolo-​again, not a large portion, but very good. The goat cheese and tomato filling melts in your mouth. The outer edges of the raviolo were a little undercooked. I like my pasta al dente but this was a little tougher. Dessert was the lemon mascarpone cheesecake with honey and candied pistachios. Although I didn’t detect much of a lemon flavor, it was GOOOOD. And the best part, served with a side of strawberry/​rhubarb compote topped with a scoop of gelato. Score! Like two desserts for the price of – well almost two desserts at $ 9.00.
The only thing that was not so enjoyable was the sound level. It was as loud as a college bar, seriously. I had to almost yell to carry on a conversation. Poor planning in the design phase in my opinion. The food was good enough that I will definitely return if I can find out when their slow times are. The noise level was too much otherwise.

We stopped by here for drinks one evening after pizza at Humble Pie. Gary and I were entertaining a French guest.
It’s pretty snazzy inside! We only had drinks, but I’ll definitely be back for dinner.
We went specifically for absinthe. Our awesome bartender, the bald guy from Seattle (I can’t believe I forgot his name), gave us quite the informative lesson on the lovely absinthe. Then, we learned more from the manager…
It was the first time either of us had had it. They have three kinds, that were equally amazing. When they were having their second glass, I decided to have a drink called ‘Hemingway’s Muse’, champagne and a shot of absinthe. It was heavenly.
Gary and I are now HUGE fans of absinthe. We went out and bought a bottle the next day. We’ve made all sorts of interesting concoctions with it, including an absinthe milkshake! ha!
We made friends with everyone around us… and everyone was also drinking absinthe!!! Go try it, and make sure to sign the book!

I really, really wanted to like this place. As a HUGE fan of Cowboy Ciao I was really excited to try Digestif.
For our first visit, we went around 5 o’clock for dinner with a group of 5 of us. The place was empty when we got there. Our reservation originally had been for 4 people, and when we asked for a table for 5 they seemed very confused as to how to make that happen (put two of the fifty empty tables together, perhaps? Maybe a chair at the end of the table?) It took the host and two staff members to figure out where to put us and a little snippy, «I’ll see what we can do». Not a big deal, but just a *little* pretentious.
Anyway, I ordered the ravioli ($ 17) on that visit. The description sounded excellent, but it was so over-​soaked in butter you couldn’t taste any of the other ingredients. If my memory serves me, it was also one ravioli — for $ 17, albeit handmade, but still. $ 17? Really?
We decided to give it another try today for lunch with a group of 6. I ordered a sandwich with prosciutto and some other Italian meats ($ 15?). Again, the description looked great, but the best part about the dish were the fries. It was just kind of mediocre. That seemed to the be the consensus from everyone else. It was just… «ehh».
If you have friends that are into Absinthe, this is the place to be. Apart from that I think this will be my last visit. I’ll stick with the tried and true Cowboy Ciao across the street next time.

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.