Saturday, August 29, 2009

Bloom review - The Epitome of Consistency



There are a few restaurants that I look forward to going to and recommend to friends with little hesitation. Bloom is definitely on my short list of such places. It is located in Scottsdale at the shops at Gainey Village. My boss was in town and we needed a place to have a dinner meeting, so I recommended Bloom. I hadn’t been there in a few months, so I got to see if they still had the right recipe for success.

Happy Hour

Bloom has an open floor plan with two tiers of tables and booths. It has a retro-modern feel and it’s a swanky looking place. The bar is a nice size that curves vs. being an ‘L’ shape. Bloom knows how to do happy hour and they now run it daily from 3:00 – 6:00p. The Happy Hour menu has over a dozen offerings and is mainly stocked from their dinner menu’s “appetizers and salads”. That is great because Bloom does small plates as well as anybody. The Crisp Calamari and the Spicy Tuna Tartare are both excellent.

Their drink specials during happy hour are awesome, especially if you’re a wine lover. ALL their wine is half off, not just a select number of labels. The 50% discount applies to flights, by the glass, or the whole bottle. That basically means the bottle cost is really retail (or less). You can order a very nice glass of wine and a couple small plates of food and get a great meal for $20 (including the tip).

Dinner

We sat in a booth on the upper tier. The booths are ‘U’ shaped, deep, and comfy. From here, you have a good view of the whole restaurant. They were a little less than half full this night and it was very easy to carry on a conversation across the table. Our server seemed a little disconnected and preoccupied. She would ask us if we needed something and would almost be walking away before we could answer. It almost felt like she was asking things because she had to, not because she really cared to know the answers. Other than that she was pleasant and fairly attentive.

The wine list is very nice and is broken into groups by color and then varietal. Some varietals are split between more inexpensive options and separate “Sommelier’s Selections”. Everything is available by the glass or within a flight and the list is fairly comprehensive, albeit they are mainly New World offerings. It’s a nice approach that allows you to try something new without having to pony up for a bottle. Wine markup was pretty consistent at 2x retail. We both went with a flight of Zinfandel ($15) that consisted of: Klinker Brick, Rosenblum (from Paso Robles), and Seghesio. I happen to like all three of these wines and it was a nice presentation of zin from Lodi, Central Coast, and Sonoma.

Bloom’s food offerings can be a little eclectic with some of the ingredients, but trust me when I say it all works well together. The dinner menu split between “Appetizers & Salads” and “Entrees”. All of the salads are excellent and I usually opt for one of them as a starter. The dinner entrees cover all areas of food: vegetarian, pasta, pork, lamb, beef, poultry, and seafood. There may be one or two options from each, but they all look delicious. I really love having the problem of too many good things to choose from.

That night we each started with a salad. I opted for the chopped spinach with gorgonzola, glazed, pecans and green apples. The spinach is tossed with very light, sweet-tangy vinaigrette and it is one of my favorite salads. My boss ordered “The Everything Chopped Salad”. I initially thought it may be some lame knock-off of the superlative chopped salad at Cowboy Ciao, but after it arrived I saw it was indeed its own unique creation. A variety of greens, vegetables, nuts, bacon, and fruit with a mild and creamy cucumber dressing all had my boss smiling. Two thumbs up from her.

We had held off on ordering dinner until we finished the salads and we decided that we would opt to split an entrée. The server told us the specials. Bloom has an ‘ever changing’ ravioli and that night it was a mushroom variant with a butter and cream sauce. I could feel my arteries hardening just hearing about it, so we took a pass. The other special was a skin-on whitefish that had my boss turning green around the gills, so that was out, too. Since we still had parts of our zin flights left, we focused on some meat dishes. The contenders were: Aged New York steak with crimini mushrooms, Herb crusted rack of lamb, Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, or Roasted ribeye with Roquefort potatoes. Each sounded divine in its own right, but the roasted ribeye just called to me, so we opted for that.

The kitchen split the entrée evenly onto two plates for us, which was a nice touch as most places usually do a single plate of food and give you two empty plates to divvy it up yourself. The ribeye was served on top of mashed potatoes spiked with just the right amount of tang from the Roquefort cheese. It also came with sautéed French-style string beans that were crisp and tender. The steak was cooked perfectly as ordered to medium-rare and was very juicy. Everything was excellent and it turned out to be just the right amount of food. I will add that it is so nice to actually get some sides included with your dinner selection. I’m sure you’ve picked up on the fact I’m not a huge fan of strict a la carte menus.

Neither of us had room for dessert, but it’s not for a lack of wanting it because the selections are very tempting. The best bet is always the “Bars of Sin”. Don’t even ask what it is, just order it. It has won awards for best dessert and after you have it, you’ll understand why.

Final Take

Bloom continues to impress me. The menu is always full of fresh and inviting options. Some items are mainstays and others get tweaked or replaced as time goes on, but it always seems to have something for everybody. The service is usually good and the wait staff is always friendly. I feel it is well priced and you get real value for your dining dollar. Whether you want an easy happy hour or a formal dinner, Bloom delivers it all with aplomb. I have eaten here several times already and I can easily say that Bloom has solidified its spot on my short list of places to dine in the East Valley.

Overall Grade = A- (excellent)

The EV Foodie

Friday, August 28, 2009

About the East Valley Foodie



Hello, I am the East Valley Foodie and I welcome you to my blog. I will provide my personal take on some of the eateries & drinkeries scattered around the eastern side of Phoenix. Yes, I may venture outside this culinary realm on occasion, but with so many places to try in just this one area I think I'll have plenty to blog about for a while...

About the Foodie

Who is the East Valley (EV) Foodie? I am a male 30-something who has a serious love for great food and wine. Sorry, I don't have any formal training. I'm not a master sommelier, either. I'm just a guy who knows a delicious meal when he's served one. I also am aware of what good service is and whether I'm receiving it.

I have lived in the East Valley for about six years now. Prior to that I have lived in the Midwest and in New England. I have always had a love for food. I was cooking meals by the time I was about 6 years old (I didn't say they were good meals) and am very at home in the kitchen. I love all types of cuisine - from unredeeming bar food to a true gourmet spread. If done properly, I feel all food can be great.

I also love good wine. Yes, other libations have their place in my heart, but wine is the real choice for most food pairings in my book. There are certain varietals that appeal to me more than others, but I try to be open minded (even when someone swears that ice wine from Minnesota is "the BOMB"). I am not a wine snob, but I am picky. I don't care what the bottle costs. Some cheap wine is just that and some expensive wine shouldn't be. I base it on how it tastes and its all around appeal.

As much as I love to cook, I definitely enjoy letting someone else deal with it on occasion. Phoenix has so many amazing restaurants and I just hate to let them go to waste. I usually eat out at least once a week and since I live in the East Valley, that is where I tend to go out.

Yes, I have a day job, but only because I can't figure out (yet) how to make enough money talking about food and wine. Maybe we can help to change that....


About the Blog

Food and wine are a hobby of mine and I'm often consulted for advice by friends, family, and co-workers. I love discussing these items with people. My wonderful girlfriend suggested I blog about my foodie passion and I thought it was a great idea, so here I am.

I'm new to the blogging scene, so I really don't have a formula that I have decided to follow yet. I may try different styles and formats. I may also blog about something that is not a restaurant, but I promise that it will still be "foodie approved".

There are so many places to eat in the East Valley and it seems new spots come and go weekly. So many choices, so few days in the week. My hope is to provide useful information on these places. This way potential customers can get some real feedback on restaurants and make an informed choice before spending their hard earned cash at one of them. Also, restaurant owners will see how they are doing in the eyes of customers (well, at least this customer) and hopefully be open to any feedback that is provided.

I welcome your comments and look forward to helping out my fellow Phoenix foodies.

Enjoy...


The EV Foodie

Roka Akor review - Serious sushi with a few flaws


I had heard nothing but good things about Roka Akor, so I was excited to dine there last Friday. It is a Japanese restaurant located in Central Scottsdale that features "Sushi and Robata Grill". 'Robata' reminds me of a certain song by Styx, but I was willing to roll with it anyway. Besides, "Bon Appetit" recently named them one of the top 10 sushi places in the U.S., so we owed it to ourselves to check it out.


Happy Hour

There were four of us dining and we started off in the bar area to take advantage of happy hour before sitting in the formal dining area. The look of the lounge is sleek, but pretty generic. If Ikea offered Japanese themed interior decorating, Roka Akor would probably be their main customer. Nothing bad about that, but it felt a little sterile to me. Our server was very pleasant and she was attentive without being annoying. Happy Hour drinks were well priced ($3 beers, $6 wine and martinis) with a decent choice of libations. The standout was probably the Saketini my girlfriend ordered: simple drink done well. They also offer Shochu, which is like a Japanese vodka, but nobody tried it this go-round.

The Happy Hour food menu is a nice size and reasonably priced ($2 - $7). We ordered the Crispy Fried Squid, Spicy Sashimi Salad, and 2 orders of the Butterfish. The plate sizes were enough that everyone got some of each. Everything was fresh and tasty, with the Butterfish being the favorite.

Dinner

We finished our happy hour drinks and made our way into the dining room. The first thing I noticed was the noise. It was about 7:30p and the dining room was maybe half full, but the sparsity of the decorating mixed with very tall ceilings meant all the various conversations echoed off everything. Do not expect a cozy meal with conversation you can easily hear if the place is full. Our server was nice enough, but seemed a little out of sorts as if he were new or nervous.


The wine list was a bit disappointing with very few worthwhile bottles under $50. There is good wine to be had, but be prepared to pay for it. Wine markup was anywhere from 2x - 3.5x retail. Ordering our wine was a bit of a process as they were out of a Syrah I wanted off the main list and the alternatives suggested by the server and the little-too-annoying sommelier were not doing much for us. I finally went with a 2006 Canonball Cabernet Sauvignon - fruit forward Cab that paired well with dinner.

The menu is split into different areas: Appetizers, Sashimi & Sushi, Tempura, and Robata Grilled items (sides and entrees). As seems to be the current trend, entrees are served a la carte (no sides). As a group we decided to order several things and share them. We picked items from all over the menu, so there were a mix of small plate and large plate items. One thing to note is that the food arrives very quickly and it seems to show up in a random order. We were expecting apps and smaller plates to appear first, but it was a hodgepodge of apps and entrees. A few minutes later, more plates of food arrived before we were even done with the first round. The table was crowded to say the least. The presentation of the food is excellent and you can tell the chefs take pride in their creations.

Food Highlights:

  • Sashimi Chef's Selection - This was amazing. The chef chose Tuna, Scallops, and Yellowtail and it was seriously the best sashimi I have found in the Valley.
  • Robata Grilled Asparagus - Tasty soy glaze and grilled perfectly to crisp-tender.
  • Robata Grilled Lamb Cutlets - 3 very nice sized lamb loin chops. Grilled medium rare and served with a Korean chili sauce. These were a big hit at the table.
  • Roka Akor Rice Hot Pot - What a nice surprise this was. A cast iron pot filled with mushroom infused sticky rice. Very savory and just amazingly good - we scraped every last bit of it out. The only issue was it took so long to arrive compared to the other food, that we thought they forget about it.
Food Lowlights:

  • Spicy Tuna Roll - this was surprisingly boring for a 'spicy' roll.
  • Beef Tataki with Salad Greens and chili ponzu - This was a letdown. Should be renamed "miniature beef roll-ups with zero character". Instantly forgettable...
  • Japanese Eggplant Tempura - Slightly overcooked and very bland, even with the supplied sauce.
Final Take

Roka Akor is bound to be a Scottsdale hotspot. It has that generic hipster vibe to it that just seems to pervade many Scottsdale eateries. The food they do well is excellent and easily eclipses the lackluster items. Stick with their signature dishes (Robata Grilled items and the Sashimi) and you will be pleased. I'd also recommend asking your server to space out the food orders a bit to allow you to enjoy each course a bit more.

I will be back again, but I may just hang in the lounge area next time. It's a little quieter and the seating is bit more intimate. Plus, I still need to see what the Shochu is all about...


Overall Grade = B (very good)