Tratto

Tratto

4743 N 20th St

Phoenix, AZ 85016

(602) 368-3273

Chris Bianco opened this restaurant after the success of his downtown pizzeria. The menu here is expanded, and reservations are accepted. I arrived @ 7:00 with two companions and was seated immediately. The waiter was friendly, and had a good knowledge of the food and how it was prepared.

We decided to order several entrees and share them so that everyone could taste. We ordered the Papparadelle with Bolognese Sauce, Beef Braciole or Involtini if you are in Italy, and a Pizza Margherita. The Papparadelle came with fluted edges, cooked reasonably al dente, with an excellent Bolognese sauce loaded with chunks of meat. I found it to be on par with any I have ever eaten, though on a personal note I prefer the pasta to be more rustic and hand cut or torn into uneven "rags".  

My companions did not care for the Beef Braciole as much as I did, but allowing for different tastes as well as living in vastly different locations, I can accept that. I found the meat to be beautifully cooked, nicely presented on a bed of cooked cauliflower, and served with some properly roasted onions. Many people who make this dish tend to overpower it with lots of cheese and bread crumbs wrapped up in the beef. Unlike many variations on this recipe, this one was not overly salted or spiced, which I personally appreciated, as the flavor of the range fed beef came out nicely.

Many reviewers have said that the pizza is the best in the United States. I would differ with that opinion. Certainly, the pizza is very good, but I've eaten many a pizza that I felt was as good. The crust has a good flavor, is nicely thin with a nice edge, but the one we were served had an undercooked center that flopped down when picked up. The cheese is handmade on the premises, and is a real treat, melting into a lacy puddle swimming in a pool of an excellent sauce.

My biggest criticism was with the basil. This pizza is supposed to represent the Italian flag - 3 colors - red (sauce), white (cheese) and green (basil). The pizza was cut into 6 pieces and 5 leaves of basil were put on it. One person would not get a real piece of pizza margherita. Worse still, to me is that you only get a leaf of basil. Which bite do you eat it with? In my mind, the best pizza margherita I have ever eaten had a chiffonade of basil sprinkled all over it, so that you got some basil with each bite. My understanding is that that is how the pizza was supposed to be made originally. You wouldn't serve the queen one leaf of basil, now would you?

I must make mention of the bread that came with the meal. I don't know if it is made on the premises or not, but it was wonderfully crusty, with a chewy interior and a superior texture. It was served with a little extra virgin olive oil, and was really excellent. Overall, the premises were clean, though a little noisy at times. I'm hoping that Chris will put a whole lot more basil on his pizza's, as that is a basic part of the flavor of it. 4 stars for excellent service, good food, and general cleanliness.

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

11051 N. Black Canyon Highway
Phoenix

I ate at Pappadeaux exactly one year ago, and decided to give it another try. I arrived by myself at 5:15, and was seated immediately.

My first impression was how very noisy it was. All the wait staff was busy yelling at each other and most of what they were yelling was personal business and not about orders.

The waiter sat down at my table and asked "what are we going to eat?" I was wondering if I had to feed him too. I'm not used to having the waiter sit at my table.

I started with a dozen Blue point oysters on the half shell. After a 15 minute wait, the oysters arrived. At $17.95 a dozen, they don't come cheap, but to be fair, they were without any sand or grit. On the down side, some of the oysters were just put haphazard on the plate, and lost all of their wonderful liquor in the ice. Also bad was the horseradish, which tasted old and had absolutely no heat at all. After dumping the entire amount of horseradish I was given into the oyster sauce, I still had to add a generous amount of hot sauce to bring it up to a tolerable level.

For the main course, I ordered the large order of Fried Shrimp ($22.95). The waiter assured me that these were butterflied shrimp, and they were ordered with a baked potato ($2.95 extra). I was also offered a loaf of fresh baked bread. After an interminable amount of time, the shrimp finally showed up, having been brought by a different waiter. Generally, butterflied shrimp are around a U-10 size - large meaty morsels that will normally fill you up after eating perhaps a half dozen. What came to me might have been U-25 or U30 shrimp, which were improperly cut all the way through so that it looked more like a butterfly than a butterflied shrimp. It came with a tiny cup of tarter sauce. I had to ask the waiter which particular shrimp the tarter sauce was for, as it certainly was not enough for them all. I ended up ordering 5 more cups of tarter sauce. As for the potato, it was close in size to a small football, and could have used a little more baking.

After I finished the main course, the original waiter reappeared, and promptly sat himself down at my table again. His question was "What dessert are we going to get tonight?". After looking at the dessert menu and the prices of the desserts, I opted not to have any.

I was extremely disappointed in the restaurant, and have downgraded it since my last visit. I'll give them 3 stars, but I must say it was a challenge not to give them 2 stars this time. They have cheapened the food, the service is poor, and the noise close to unbearable. I'd give it a lot of thought before going to eat in this restaurant. 3 stars

Addendum - since publishing the original review, the owner has contacted me and offered a replacement free meal. Since I take no free gifts from anyone, I have accepted the offer and given it to one of my employees.

All Pierogi Kitchen

All Pierogi Kitchen
1245 W. Baseline Road
Mesa, AZ

Sometimes you find a gem in a place where you never thought you would find one. This is a gem! The owner (and employees) come from the Ukraine, and the food is as authentic as it gets.

I've eaten there a number of times now, and the food is consistent, flavorful, and wonderful.

I started with a bowl of borscht. This wasn't the stuff from a jar, but real, homemade borscht with sour cream in the middle. I know that in the Slavic countries, borscht isn't necessarily made with beets, and even sometimes has meat in it, but this was so good I could have made the entire meal out of it. Even a beet hater would have enjoyed this.

Next, I ordered the Sample Plate ($13.88). A stuffed cabbage roll, a polish sausage, and 6 pierogi. Eating the stuffed cabbage brought back wonderful memories of my mothers cooking and tears to my eyes. It was a big roll with wonderful sauce on top - not too spicy and piping hot exactly like my mother used to make. Next I tried the polish sausage. Again, different than what you get in most places - flavorful, but not overly spiced, and not a trace of grease. Finally were the pierogi. I ordered mine fried, and they were perfection. In the assortment that I ordered were potato, cabbage, sauerkraut, cabbage and mushroom, and potato and cheese. They were all fabulous and served with a side of heavy sour cream and sauteed onions. In particular, the sauerkraut and the cabbage deserve high praise. The cabbage was almost naturally sweet, and the sauerkraut was not the typical sour stuff you usually get.

They also have sweet pierogi made with cherry, blueberry, apple and cinnamon, prune, and other flavors that you can order. Everything is handmade on the premises (you can even see them making them in the back) and the pierogi are cooked to order.

In the front is a small grocery section which has all sorts of imported foods. The only reason they did not get 5 stars is because there is no atmosphere at all. It's basically a grocery store with 6 tables that you may have to wait to sit at because of the crowd. If you are only interested in having wonderful food, home made, made by wonderful people who are genuinely interested in making sure you have a good experience and leave stuffed, then this is the place for you.

I'm usually happy to write my reviews and share them, but this is the first time I'm hesitant to have it published. The place is already busy and I'm afraid I won't be able to get in if they get any more business!

4 stars for excellent food, attentive service, and cleanliness.

Bavarian Point Restaurant

Bavarian Point Restaurant

4815 E Main St

Mesa, AZ 85205

We visited this restaurant as a party of 9 on a Saturday evening. Upon arrival, a busser tried to seat us, and had a problem understanding that we were a party of 9 apparently due to a language barrier, but it was quickly straightened out and we were seated in short order. Warm bread with real salt butter was quickly brought to the table for our enjoyment.

None of us wanted an appetizer, though they have a very nice list of them, and 8 of us opted for the salad bar, while one opted for soup. The salad bar was small but nicely laid out. I must say that I had the best beets of my life there, and another of our party said she had the most wonderful green beans she had ever eaten. Kudos for the nice start to our meal!

Our waitress came back to the table to tell us about the evening's specials. 3 of us ordered the Pork Osso Bucco from the special menu. Others ordered Jagerschnitzel, Weinerschnitzel, and one ordered a plate of scallops. A few of the items on the menu were not in keeping with German/Bavarian food, but it was all quite tasty. All portions were big; big enough to satisfy the biggest appetite!

The Osso Bucco was cooked to perfection, falling off the bone tender, and with a terrific, silky smooth sauce from the cooking with mushrooms in it. All the schnitzels were properly pounded out thin, and just about completely covered the plates. The only word for them is huge. Companions all pronounced them to be excellent. The companion that ordered the scallops pronounced them to be perfect.

Most of our party took home a doggy bag, though I seriously doubt any of the dogs would get a bite of this hearty food.

Dessert was unanimously Apple Strudel. It was different than any apple strudel I have ever eaten, and was not the highlight of the meal, though the sauce it was swimming it was heavenly. I probably could have ordered and drank an entire cup of the sauce!

Other reviewers have mentioned slow service in their reviews, but we found the pace of service to be just right. A constant stream of guests were seated while we were there and it did not seem to have an effect on the service.

The place was clean, and the only dings were that the ladies room needs to be spiffed up a bit, and the A/C needs to be turned down a degree or two. If you like hearty portions of German/Bavarian food I commend this place to you. 4 stars

Pier de Orleans - CLOSED

Pier de Orleans - CLOSED
61 E University Drive 
Mesa, Az 

We went to dinner at 6:00 on a Saturday night. After cocktails at the bar, which were decent, we were seated at our table.
I hate to make generalizations, but this place reminded me of someplace from back in the 60's. It seemed old, with music from the 50's and 60's playing in the background.
I started out with 2 appetizers - the gulf oysters (5.95) and the escargot (5.95). Oysters were supposed to be 80 cents each, yet I was charged the $5.95 for a half dozen. I don't mind paying the price for a good oyster, but these were not plump or very tasty. I had to really doctor them up with a bunch of horseradish and Tabasco sauce. The escargot were nicely cooked and served with a nice piece of Parmesan bread, but here again, the menu calls them Large, Meaty Snails in Garlic Butter, but what I got were anything but large, though they were, to be fair, very tasty.
One of my companions got the pecan shrimp (5.95) and said they were o.k. while another companion had the calamari, which she pronounced was pre-frozen and off tasting. To it's credit, the restaurant took it off the bill.
I had the seafood gumbo supreme (13.95), which had shrimp, bay scallops, oysters and one small crab claw in it. For me, the gumbo did not have the kind of seasoning that one would expect to be in a real gumbo, and again, I ended up doctoring it up a lot to make it suit my tastes. After doctoring it, the taste was fine, though the crab claw was definitely not fresh and tasted off. I ended up placing it on a plate on the side and abandoning it there. The meal also came with a cup (they call it a bowl) of soup. I elected to have the clam chowder. To their credit, the clams were nice sized and not overcooked, but on the down side, the broth was a bit thin and watery.
Other companions had seafood d'Orleans (12.95), Cajun sampler (11.95), and Cajun jambalaya (12.95). Comments made by our companion from New Orleans,was that it tasted exactly like Zatarains and they would be surprised if it wasn't. Other companions mentioned that the food lacked seasoning and seemed quite bland to them. Sanitation was, unfortunately, not up to quality standards. While the tableware and table were clean, none of the tables in the room were cleared while we were there. The dirty dishes were left on the tables from their "Early Bird" diners. While we were there, no other diners entered the restaurant, so I would have to assume the dirty dishes were there for at least and hour and a half or more, waiting to be cleared.
The restroom was clean and mostly stocked. In all, I would say that this was a bit of a disappointment. Serving previously frozen food does nothing to help a restaurant gain customers, nor does serving food that is off do much. Two stars.

Jacn-n-Grill

Jack-n-Grill
9310 Sheridan Blvd
Westminster, CO

Since seeing Man vs. Food on T.V., I have been interested in visiting this restaurant. Their main interest on the T.V. show was their 7 pound burrito, which is about the same size as a newborn child. My main interest was to find out if the quality of the food supported all the hype I have heard about it. Our party of 5 arrived about 6:30 in the evening. We had a wait time of about 20 minutes.
When we were seated, we were greeted reasonably promptly and our drink order was taken. We were served chips and a nice salsa which had good flavor, but which I wish was a bit hotter. Our waiter claimed that the chilies were from Hatch, but if they were, they tasted like no Hatch Chile I have ever eaten. The table next to ours was rather loud and boisterous and busy taking flash pictures, which was, unfortunately an annoying experience.
Companions 1, 3, and 4 ordered a Shredded Beef Burrito smothered in Green Chile, with Sour Cream and one plate with Guacamole on the side. Companion #2 ordered a Shredded Beef Enchilada Plate with Red Chile on the side. I ordered a Shredded Chicken Green Enchilada Plate Sonoran Style, which means it had 2 fried eggs on top.
On the positive side, all portions were of a good size, and would easily satisfy most appetites. Comments were as follows – Companion 1 said the food was just o.k., and didn’t know if he would come back again. Companion 2 said that here plate was fair, but the beans were underdone and made her mildly sick. Companion 3 said that the plate was o.k. Companion 4 said the beef was flavorless, and the plate was lukewarm instead of hot. My plate was lacking in flavor in spite of the supposed Hatch chilies, and the beans were totally undercooked and crunchy.
I spend the next day counting the tiles on the bathroom floor. While I had taken a doggy box of leftovers home, I threw it out the next day because I was not willing to take a chance on eating any more of it.
Sanitation was adequate as far as I could tell, but the restaurant is a bit cluttered, which makes it hard to truly tell. The bathrooms were adequately clean and reasonably stocked.
If you want to come to a Mexican style restaurant that gives you lots of food, and is a bit on the loud side, this may be the place for you, but if your passion is not to count the tiles on your bathroom floor, you might not wish to eat here. 2 stars for portion size and sanitation.

Gordon Biersch

Gordon Biersch
1 W. Flatiron Circle
Broomfield, Colorado

Four of us went to lunch at this restaurant. We were promptly seated and offered drinks. Since it was noon time, none of us wanted beer, but the menu shows a nice selection of brews. We started off sharing Southwest Eggrolls, which contained pulled chicken, blackbeans, corn, red peppers and pepper jack cheese. It came with a roasted jalapeno ranch dressing. Comments ranged from good to not bad but would not order it again. While it did have some spice, I felt it could have used a whole lot more,.
For the main course, 3 of us opted to order burgers, and 1 ordered a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich. The person that ordered the sandwich left 1/2 of it on the plate. Of the remaining 3 people, one ordered the Marzen Barbeque Burger, a 1/2 pound burger with bacon, cheese, and barbeque sauce on it. This person felt that the sauce was thin and watery, and could use more flavor. Both the remaining companion and myself ordered the Mushroom Swiss Burger. As the menu says that they cook all burgers to 155 degrees, I asked for mine to be cooked as rare as possible and companion asked for it well done. My burger came out medium well done, and as a result was fairly dry. In evaluating any place that serves burgers, one of my criteria is if the restaurant will cook a burger rare or medium rare. If the restaurant won't, that tells me that they don't trust their meat. If they don't trust it, why should I? The burger was topped with a big slice of tomato and some lettuce, as well as about a tablespoonful of mushrooms. Not at all what I expected for the prices they charge here. Most burgers are $10.95.
Companion ordered hers with home cooked chips, which were pronounced very ordinary. Two of us had the garlic fries, which were flaccid and oily though not lacking in flavor, and the other companion ordered the coleslaw, which he pronounced to be with little flavor and extremely crunchy. Service was adequate, but for what this place charges for items on the menu, it should have been exceptional. Most items on the menu vary from $10.95 to the mid $20.00 range. Sanitation was as it should have been.
Something that we all found disturbing was the location of the restrooms. One has to walk around the actual kitchen prep area to reach them, where they are located right next to it. This was a bit distasteful to say the least. The restrooms were properly stocked and reasonably clean.
Overall, lunch was a bit of a disappointment. Prices were high, and food preparation was poor to moderate. I give them 3 stars for service and sanitation.