AZ Restaurant Week

I love restaurant week!  I'm sure other states have it, but I've only been in Arizona.  If you haven't heard of it, it's a week long affair of restaurants that offer $30 or $40 prix-fixe menus.  It's a great opportunity to check out places you haven't been previously or places that aren't in your everyday budget.  I love food and this week gives me a great opportunity to scope out some good stuff.  Both places we tried this round were $30 menus.  We planned a group event at Tommy V's Urban Kitchen & Bar and overall I would give it a B-. 

I started with the Strawberry Baby Greens Salad, then went with Eggplant Torte, Butternut Squash Ravioli, and finished off sharing the Cannoli Sundae Vanilla & Chocolate Gelato and the Lemon Almond Torte with Flaky Butter Crust.  The salad was decent, but nothing fancy.  I'm not sure why I chose the vegetarian option because that's so not me, but it was pretty good.  The desserts were good, the cannoli sundae was better than the lemon torte.  That's saying a lot coming from me because I love anything lemon.  I would venture back for happy hour, but probably not to have dinner.  Just didn't have the wow factor.

Food loving people.

Later in the week, we hit up Crudo and I can't say enough good things; A+.  I started out pretty basic with the Fresh Mozzarella with Marinated Tomatoes which was awesome.  You can't really go wrong with bread, cheese, and tomatoes; so classic and fresh.  Eric had to try the Crispy Pig Ears as an appetizer.  I gave them a shot and they were pretty chewy and not really my thing.  The main dish was the hardest part to decide on; I eventually went with the Short Rib with Crispy Potato.  Amazing.  Eric went with the Squid Ink Risotto; oh my goodness, I don't even have words.  We also got a side of Creamy Polenta for the table to share and it's awesome; the best polenta I've ever had.  Oh the desserts are heaven as well.  Eric had Olive Oil Cake with Berry Compote and Ricotta and I had the Salted Orange and Carmel Budino with Chocolate Pot De Cream.  Mine was essentially a mason jar full of carmel chocolate goodness.  I can't recommend this place enough, the service was outstanding as well.

With our good friends Jessicah and Brian.

Awesome wine off their list that I haven't been able to find in a store yet. Definitely visiting this winery next time I'm home in Cali.

I love to hear and read about other people's adventures to discover new and yummy places to visit, so please share.  Restaurant week happens twice a year in AZ, once in the Spring and once in the Fall.  Don't miss out!