Friday, May 25, 2018
Pasta Brioni
4416 N Miller Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Companion and I visited this restaurant during Arizona Restaurant Week. Pasta Brioni has been in business for many years, and has had a good reputation.
We started out with an appetizer of Calamari Fritti. The calamari was properly fried and was nice and tender, though the marinara sauce was a bit watery and lacking in tomato taste. Rolls were also brought out and were served with a compound butter made with sweet butter.
Next were our salads. We both ordered the Caprese Salad, which had nice pieces of mozzarella, thick slices of tomato, and balsamic vinaigrette along with a chiffonade of basil.
For the main course, companion ordered lobster ravioli and I ordered linguini pescatore. This is where we ran into problems. The ravioli was much more al dente than it should have been, though the flavor was fine. The linguini was actually under cooked thought the seafood in it was definitely over cooked. The other problem was that the sauce was thin and watery with virtually no tomato flavor. I don't like to post about problems with food, but this was definitely in need of help and was not finished by me.
Dessert was Mascarpone Cheesecake and Flourless Chocolate Cake. Once again, I got the short end of the stick. The cheesecake had a funny flavor that I did not care for. The chocolate cake was like a big slice of chocolate fudge and is to be recommended.
Service was good as was cleanliness.
Overall, this meal was a disappointment. I can only hope that it was this meal and not a regular meal of the restaurant.
3 stars
Prado
Omni Hotel & Resorts
4949 E. Lincoln Drive
Scottsdale, AZ
In keeping with my tradition of visiting restaurants during Arizona Restaurant Week, we visited Prado. Prado is a Spanish themed restaurant located in the hotel.
Companion and I arrived at 6:30 and were promptly seated. The hotel has valet parking, however your ticket will be stamped by the restaurant which will give you free parking.
Restaurant week features a prix fixe menu which in this case was $44 per person. I started out with a roasted beet salad set with frisee greens, balsamic vinegar and some blue cheese. The beets were nicely tender and were beautifully sweet. Companion had a mini loaf of bread filled with Brie cheese and served with a lemon curd. The mixture of flavors was wonderful. We also ordered their crispy Calamari which was absolutely fabulous.
For main courses, we both ordered the Paella. Companions was cooked nicely, and mine was mush. Instead of properly cooked socarrat which is the crispy rice that should be on the bottom of a good paella, I had mushy rice and peas. The maitre d came over to our table and asked how the dinner was. I told him honestly that it was fair. He offered to take the dish back and change it for something else, which I appreciated but declined to do. However, it should be noted that he did let the chef know about this problem. Without the socarrat, paella just isn't paella regardless of how good the flavor might be.
For dessert, companion ordered the Crema Cata, which is very similar to a creme brulee. Companion pronounced it very good. For myself, I ordered the Berry Crumble, which was loaded with berries and was quite tasty with a ball of vanilla ice cream on the top.
Dings - The dining room was on the noisy side due to the bar being in the same area with a T.V. set blaring and showing a game in which many were cheering. It would be nice if there were some way to separate the bar from the dining room.
There is a guitar player in the front of the dining room trying his best to be entertaining. Unfortunately, the bass notes carry throughout the dining room but the melody is totally lost.
The restaurant is clean, and service is excellent.
4 stars for cleanliness, service, and outstanding appetizers.
4949 E. Lincoln Drive
Scottsdale, AZ
In keeping with my tradition of visiting restaurants during Arizona Restaurant Week, we visited Prado. Prado is a Spanish themed restaurant located in the hotel.
Companion and I arrived at 6:30 and were promptly seated. The hotel has valet parking, however your ticket will be stamped by the restaurant which will give you free parking.
Restaurant week features a prix fixe menu which in this case was $44 per person. I started out with a roasted beet salad set with frisee greens, balsamic vinegar and some blue cheese. The beets were nicely tender and were beautifully sweet. Companion had a mini loaf of bread filled with Brie cheese and served with a lemon curd. The mixture of flavors was wonderful. We also ordered their crispy Calamari which was absolutely fabulous.
For main courses, we both ordered the Paella. Companions was cooked nicely, and mine was mush. Instead of properly cooked socarrat which is the crispy rice that should be on the bottom of a good paella, I had mushy rice and peas. The maitre d came over to our table and asked how the dinner was. I told him honestly that it was fair. He offered to take the dish back and change it for something else, which I appreciated but declined to do. However, it should be noted that he did let the chef know about this problem. Without the socarrat, paella just isn't paella regardless of how good the flavor might be.
For dessert, companion ordered the Crema Cata, which is very similar to a creme brulee. Companion pronounced it very good. For myself, I ordered the Berry Crumble, which was loaded with berries and was quite tasty with a ball of vanilla ice cream on the top.
Dings - The dining room was on the noisy side due to the bar being in the same area with a T.V. set blaring and showing a game in which many were cheering. It would be nice if there were some way to separate the bar from the dining room.
There is a guitar player in the front of the dining room trying his best to be entertaining. Unfortunately, the bass notes carry throughout the dining room but the melody is totally lost.
The restaurant is clean, and service is excellent.
4 stars for cleanliness, service, and outstanding appetizers.
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