Copper and Sage

SENTRY - WATCHING RESTAURANTS

Copper & Sage

322 E Camelback Road

Phoenix, 85012

Sometimes one is caught between reporting the truth and trying to sweeten bad news. I decided that only if I reported the truth would I be honest to myself and my readers.

Three of us went to Copper & Sage for dinner and were promptly seated. Our water glasses were filled with tap water and our waitress informed us that no other water was available.

Companion 2 ordered a “Respect Your Elder” cocktail. Upon sipping it declared it to be vile. After sharing it around the table we all agreed that whoever invented it has no idea of what a proper cocktail should be. Companion 1 and I both drank non-alcoholic drinks.

This still being Restaurant Week, Companions 1 & 2 ordered off the special menu and I chose to order off the regular menu.

Both companions ordered Hush Puppies as a starter and neither could eat much of it. I’ve never before encountered a hushpuppy with a liquid center. Disgusting was a proper description.

Companion 1 ordered Hot Chicken and Beignets. While each part of the dish was acceptable on its own, the combination was weird. Companion said they had never had a main course served with a dessert as an accompaniment to it.

Companion 2 ordered Duck Confit but was told that they were sold out. The restaurant had just opened for the night and it was difficult to understand how it could be sold out of food. They ended up being served Duck Leg Jambalaya. Not only was the dish overcooked but the flavors were quite different from what a “normal” jambalaya would be.

For myself, I tried several appetizers and a main course. I started with Fried Green Tomatoes. They were properly breaded and cooked, but then came the weird twist. Goat Cheese and Balsamic Glaze. Strange bedfellows to a southern dish. Next I tried the Bourbon Deviled Eggs. Properly cooked hard boiled eggs topped with overcooked bacon jam with no promised pecan on top and no chives added as described. While the flavor was decent it was hard to get the bacon jam out of my teeth. On to my main dish. I ordered Walleye Fish and Chips and was told that they were sold out! How can a restaurant that just opened for the evening be sold out?

I ended up ordering Shrimp and Grits. A plate of grits that had the same look and texture as oatmeal, with half inch chunks of over cooked pork down the center covered with 6 small shrimp. The grits had the same mouthfeel as wallpaper paste and the pork was inedible. I had ordered a dish of collard greens as a side dish. Crunchy undercooked collards with the same over cooked pork cubes and no proper vinegar or hot sauce with it. When I asked for some vinegar I was told the kitchen doesn’t have white vinegar but they sent out some cider vinegar and tabasco sauce. I’d have given anything for some Trappey's vinegar hot sauce.

I opted out of having any dessert but companions dinners came with it. Deep Fried Donut with Banana and Caramel Sauce. While the presentation left much to be desired the flavor wasn’t bad.

I must mention that the “bartenders” kept referring to sheets of paper on how to make cocktails. I’m not sure I have ever seen that in a running bar.

In this industry when something should be removed from a menu we say to 86 the item. In this case I would 86 the servers, the bartenders, the cook, and most of the food. The manager tried his mightiest to keep the ship afloat but with no food and no good help this is a sinking ship rapidly going down.

In all my years as a restaurant critic I have never written a review like this. I normally post my reviews within 24 hours of eating but in this case I had to really think about how to be kind in my writing and finally decided to be honest with my readers.

1 star

Sea and Smoke

 SENTRY - WATCHING RESTAURANTS

Sea and Smoke

2475 W Queen Creek

Chandler 85248

Companion and I had reservations for 5:30. We were seated as soon as we arrived.

Two different menus were offered to us, as this is part of restaurant week. After looking at both menus we decided to order off the regular menu, though some of the selections on the restaurant week menu looked tempting.

Companion started off with the Clam Chowder Bowl. We both agreed that the clams were very overcooked and had the texture of small erasers. The flavor was satisfactory, but the mouth feel was not proper. 

For myself, I had the Firecracker Shrimp, which was excellent. A nice size portion of what I believe was rock shrimp, battered and fried and then sauced. Served in a metal martini glass I would happily order it again.

For the main course, my companion ordered the Double Cut Pork Chop. It was perfectly cooked and came with an apple ginger pineapple sauce that was wonderful as well as whipped potatoes. The portion was too large to be finished, but a valiant effort was made!

My main course was Fish and Chips. A lovely cut of Haddock which was lightly battered and deep fried to perfection. It came with seasoned fries.

I was too full to have dessert, but companion decided to give it a try. This was the only disappointment in the meal. It was described on the menu as Macadamia Nut Bread Pudding, but tasted like no other bread pudding either of us had ever had. It left an aftertaste in our mouth that was hard to get rid of.

Sanitation was excellent and the restroom was spotless.

Service was properly timed and very good.

4 Stars

The Stone Korean Tofu House

 SENTRY - WATCHING RESTAURANTS

The Stone Korean Tofu House

1870 W Main Street

Mesa  85202

Companion and I were anxious to try this relatively new restaurant and arrived at 5:30. We were seated immediately. I was immediately struck by the lack of menus. Instead, you were to use your smartphone to look up the menu online. Based on what I saw on line and the prices on the menu I was taken aback by this.

We shared a Fried Dumpling appetizer ($8.99 for 6). In reasonable time a long plate with the 6 small dumplings was brought out. On the positive side they were nicely hot, but on the negative side they were oily and were with little flavor.

For main courses, companion ordered Seafood Soft Tofu Soup ($17.90). It came out boiling in the pot with a raw egg as it should be for companion to crack into it. While companion found it to be adequate, after tasting it I found the tofu to be nice but that was about all. To me, it was lacking a lot of flavor.

My main course was Beef Bulgogi Bibimbap ($16.95). The presentation was nice, but once again the food was lacking flavor and the meat was not like anything I have ever had in the U.S. or overseas. It can only be described as roughly ground pieces of beef. The bibimbap was served with proper gochujang sauce on the side. 

We were also served Banchan as is proper. Some of it was excellent and some was not. The cabbage and  the fried tofu was excellent, but the kimchi was flavorless and some of the dishes I had no experience with so I could not judge them. Missing from the table was any hint of garlic or perilla leaves which would have really helped flavors.

Service was nice and sanitation was reasonable. Although others seem to like the food there, I cannot be so generous.

3 stars being generous