Judi Friedman and Jerry Lankin
We’re two SaddleBrooke foodies forever seeking great places to eat!
Your Cooks have been way out of the kitchen! We spent three weeks in Europe (one in Paris, one on the River Seine, and one in Amsterdam) eating in some fabulous restaurants during our vacation! We also want to celebrate our first year (we started in May) writing restaurant reviews by doing something new for our column. We have selected our Top 6 dining choices that we have included in our column.
First, in Paris it is almost impossible to get a bad meal. Notice, we said, “almost”! Our favorite was a Michelin one-star restaurant, Café Monsieur, which was across the street from our hotel. Excellent service with some incredible choices, such as escargot, monk fish in an incredible sauce, leg of lamb that melted like butter in your mouth, with incredible mashed potatoes. Right next to our hotel was Café Mademoiselle, which served a hearty French Onion soup, which we needed after our late arrival. This little bistro is not far from the Opera House. While walking in the Marais, there was a small take-out place featuring lobster rolls! We were looking for a snack and shared one roll. It was excellent, and we found out that the lobsters come from Canada. While in Paris, we left the city for a day and went to the Champagne region, booking a tour with parischampagnetour.com. It was an incredible excursion. We were picked up at our hotel, driven to the area, and went to two different champagne makers and had a fabulous lunch (sadly, we didn’t note the name).
In Amsterdam, while we were only there for five days, we had some amazing dining experiences! We went to a rijsttafel at Indrapura Restaurant. A rijsttafel is a traditional Indonesian meal that is commonly served in the Netherlands. There were 16 small dishes with all sorts of flavors, textures, and sauces. It was exceptional. The other two restaurants (both near the Centraal Station) were so outstanding that we went to each of them twice. The first was The Seafood Bar. Given that it was cold, windy, and rainy, we started with lobster soup (not bisque) and had a wonderful clam dish in a delightful citrus, creamy sauce. Our main was a turbot—outstanding! The second time we went there, we had the seafood grille. It featured a variety of fish, mussels, and calamari—more food than we could possibly finish. The other restaurant was Gio’s Cucina Italiana Ristorante, also in the Centraal Station area on a small side street. It was about the best Italian food either of us ever had. The first time we had beef carpaccio, porcini pasta, and a lamb shank, followed by an incredible tiramisu. The second time we had a light cracker, which was covered with prosciutto, figs, and whipped ricotta cheese. We followed that with gnocchi in a hearty beef tomato sauce, and our main was an incredible grilled tuna dish with sautéed spinach! Dessert was a homemade cannoli.
Enough of our adventures in Europe and back to Tucson! The six restaurants we chose (and not an easy decision) were Vivace, Guadalajara, Michelangelo, the Persian Room, China Valley, and Sushi on Oracle. Each of these restaurants stood out in different ways. The order of our choices is arbitrary.
Vivace is a favorite of many people we know, and your Cooks are no exception. Always excellent service, delicious food, good wine choices, and in some of their dining areas, some beautiful views. It is a great place for lunch or dinner and definitely for special occasions.
Guadalajara is, in our opinion, the best Mexican restaurant in the area. It is also near and dear to your Cooks, as that is where we went on our first date! Excellent guacamole and salsa (mild, medium, or hot) made at your table, incredible margaritas, and very flavorful and interesting menu choices. Great for small or large groups with consistently good Mexican food in a festive atmosphere.
Michelangelo is another Italian favorite for either lunch or dinner. Nice, small outside patio to enjoy when the weather cooperates. Food and service are always consistent, and the desserts are something else! Jerry loves their Happy Hour, so one day we will enjoy it together and let you know!
The Persian Room is a dining experience. From the elegant waterfall when you walk in, to the helpful and knowledgeable server and dishes that are as exotic as they are flavorful, this is a great place to enjoy a wonderful experience. Our server was an excellent guide in explaining the offerings, and we were not disappointed in our choices. If you’re looking for something unusual and out of the ordinary in the best way, the Persian Room is a great choice.
China Valley was a close-by find! Thanks to friends for this recommendation. We really enjoyed the fresh, interesting options for dinner. They will also make accommodations if you have specific needs. This is a small, simple place offering great Chinese food with excellent service.
Our last, but certainly not least restaurant on our Top 6 list is Sushi on Oracle. Both of your Cooks love sushi and didn’t expect to find such high-quality, super-fresh fish, as well as great innovation in their combinations of special rolls. Our experience is that they serve the freshest quality sushi and sashimi dishes!
We hope you have enjoyed our column this last year as much as we have enjoyed exploring restaurants in our area. By the way, we are often asked if the restaurants pay for our meals. Definitely not! We pay for our own food, and we don’t tell them we are there to write a review either. This allows us to be able to freely review a restaurant. That works for us.
Thanks, and here’s to another year for fun dining!