RigaToni's

 1850 E Warner Rd.
 Tempe, AZ 85284

Rigatoni's is part of a nationwide chain of Italian style restaurants catering to the family style dinner.

The restaurant is crowded, noisy, and seems to do a large business in take out.

Companion and I arrived for dinner at 6:15 without a reservation, and had to wait for 30 minutes to be seated. This was our mistake, as we usually have reservations, but were unaware of how full the restaurant would be.

After a full 30 minute wait, we were seated. The hard surfaces in the dining room reflect all the chatter at the tables forcing most people to shout at each other instead of having a quiet conversation.

Our waiter showed up after a wait of 17 minutes and asked about drinks. Companion asked for a drink that the bar had no knowledge of (Caesar) and eventually settled for a glass of water. I had a glass of tea that was decent.

15 minutes later our waiter arrived with our drinks, salad, and bread. The bread was nice, but when he was asked for balsamic vinegar it arrived 12 minutes later after the bread was cold and mostly gone. The salad, he assured us was very special. I can only guess that his idea of special and mine were entirely different. The salad had an almost sawdust texture which I attribute to the crab that was put in it. It would have been lovely had it been even back fin crab, but this was picked crab of the lowest quality.

As I perused the menu I noticed the Seafood Special of the Day. Our waiter did not seem to know much about it and scurried off to learn more. After some time he returned to announce that the Seafood Special was not on the menu nor had it been for some time, yet there it was, in black and white.

Returning to the menu, I selected the Seafood Bake. Had I taken the time to really look at the ingredients, I would not have selected it since it contained the same crab that was in the salad, in the same sawdust like texture. Companion ordered the Pasta Jambalya. Apparently someone can't spell Jambalaya or they didn't want to mislead people into thinking this was a real jambalaya.

Our food arrived in record time. My Seafood Bake I am sure, never saw even the door of the oven much less the inside. The number of shrimp was very nice, but I have still not figured out how one shrimp could be overcooked to the point of almost falling apart and the others were cooked properly. As for the newburg sauce it was supposed to be cooked in, it was close to non-existent and what little there was had little or no flavor.

Companions Jambalya. had some excellent andouille sausage that had real bite to it along with shrimp and chicken. Once again, the cream sauce that was supposed to accompany it was sadly almost missing.

Dessert was supposed to be apple bread pudding, but sadly, there were no apples to be found and the blob of ersatz whipped cream quickly melted onto the plate causing the pudding to swim in it.

While I would like to be generous in my evaluation, poor service, food that is advertised but not available and food that is not properly prepared forces my hand.

2 stars.

Chuck's Butcher Block Meats

6606 E McKellips Rd
Ste 104 
Mesa, AZ 85215

While I normally only review restaurants, I could not in good conscience not review this establishment.

I was making Bistecca alla Fiorentina, which requires a huge porterhouse to make it correctly. Restaurants usually use a rather small porterhouse in the area of a pound and a half. I was looking for something a bit more of the same size used in Florence, Italy. While we don't have their breed of cattle here, we do have some nice angus beef. Calling all around the Phoenix area for the cut I wanted, I only found 2 places that  had what I wanted and that could have it for me while I waited. Settling on Chuck's was an excellent choice. My "small" porterhouse was about 4.5 pounds and about 3.5 inches thick. Best of all, it was prime beef, nicely marbled and cleaned of bone dust and excess fat particles. I also tried some other items from the shop, notably smoked pork chops and chile sausages, but I digress.

As a person who has quite literally eaten my way around the world, I've certainly developed a palate for quality beef, and this cut was right up there with the best. Seasoned with nothing more than Maldon Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper, the meat was lovingly caressed with beautiful extra virgin olive oil and allowed to rest for 12 hours. At the appointed time, this mammoth piece of beef was removed from the fridge and allowed to come to room temperature. 

The beef was cooked on an open fire at high heat for 10 minutes on the first side, 8 minutes on the flip side, and 5 minutes on the bone side. After a rest of 5 minutes, the beef was sliced. 

Magnificent, tender slices of fillet and strip steak adorned the platter showing off their beautiful rare to crusty coloration.  Served with roasted fingerling potatoes, roasted shallots, and some lovely bearnaise sauce this was a meal fit for a king. 

The beef barely needed to be chewed, as it fairly melted in my mouth. Washed down with a nice Lambrusco, it was excellent. While this is a bit on the costly side, it was well worth it. Not only did it make a wonderful dinner, but it will again, and probably also make some nice lunches.

My review is 5 stars for quality, service, and cleanliness of the premises. 

Highly Recommended!