Heirloom An American Restaurant

»Phoenix Report: Heirloom and Marcellino

Just returned from 5 days at the Marriott Desert Ridge. I had the opportunity to dine at Heirloom with a local friend. It was SOOO good! We had the Tomato Soup for a starter which was lovely. I ordered the bacon wrapped pork on polenta for my main course. it was lovely. The pork was perfectly cooked and the polenta was soft and rich and wonderfully prepared. My friend had the gnocchi as her main...+READ Just returned from 5 days at the Marriott Desert Ridge. I had the opportunity to dine at Heirloom with a local friend. It was SOOO good! We had the Tomato Soup for a starter which was lovely. I ordered the bacon wrapped pork on polenta for my main course. it was lovely. The pork was perfectly cooked and the polenta was soft and rich and wonderfully prepared. My friend had the gnocchi as her main course and loved it as well. The restaurant is in a mall and was not very busy when we were there. In fact, there were only two other tables dining on this particular Wednesday evening. But, our waiter was terrific, the wine list (even for glasses of wine) was extensive and we were able to spend several hours catching up. The homemade sorbets and ice creams finished off a lovely meal. If you are looking for hustle and bustle, not for you. But, if you are looking for wonderful food and a setting that will allow you to enjoy your company then this is a place you should put on your list.

A few days later, on Saturday evening, we dined at Marcellino. We originally had a table for 6 reserved but when we arrived we changed to 5 since one of our party fell ill shortly before leaving for dinner. The hostess was terrific about it and offered to switch us to a lovely round table to allow us more ability to converse with each other. The restaurant is a bit loud and slightly difficult to hear conversation. That said, during the evening we were treated to three operatic performances by one guest who happened to be dining there that evening as well as a duo (man and woman) who had been scheduled to perform. They were truly wonderful singers. If you are not someone who appreciates opera you may do well to inquire whether there are performances planned for that evening. It was a complete surprise to us but we loved it.

On the food side, I enjoyed fresh buffalo mozzerella with tomato, prosciutto, and red pepper, a spicy pasta dish with seafood, and tiramisu for dessert. My guests had the papardelle with lamb ragout. And, we ordered the apple tart as an additional dessert. The food was delicious. The wine was great as well!

This was a 5 star dining week. Loved both places and would highly recommend each of them!!-COLLAPSE / REPLY (by rjlebed, created November 15, 2010)

Was back at Heirloom recently to try items off the new November menu. My favorite this month is the new terrine of quail with mushrooms and cider. This was served as a slice of the terrine finished on the grill on a circle of vinaigrette with depth from quail stock, garnished with dainty beech/buna shimeji mushrooms, and accompanied by a baby spinach, carrot, and red onion salad tossed with...+READ Was back at Heirloom recently to try items off the new November menu. My favorite this month is the new terrine of quail with mushrooms and cider. This was served as a slice of the terrine finished on the grill on a circle of vinaigrette with depth from quail stock, garnished with dainty beech/buna shimeji mushrooms, and accompanied by a baby spinach, carrot, and red onion salad tossed with bacon-mustard dressing, nicely paired by Paul with a Mosel-style riesling. The walnut-dusted sweetbreads with cauliflower two-ways (roasted and pureed) was also very good, paired with an Italian vermentino/malvasia/chard blend, as was the sauteed citrus-lemon calamari “a la fresca” on top of a mushroom and parm risotto. I loved the sorbet and ice cream dessert. Four ramekins filled with two sorbets - rosemary with red wine (my favorite) and sweet-tart cranberry with apple, and two ice creams - almond-chocolate and banana nutmeg (my husband's favorite). This was an especially nice finale with the suggested pairing of one of my favorite sweet wines, a Hungarian tokaji - 1998 Oremus Furmint Noble Late Harvest.

Enjoyed a pre-dinner glass of wine at the al fresco bar again at The Herb Box and said hello to Gary (and promised that next time we'll be there for dinner!) Also had a chance to chat with Dave Johnson, who mentioned that he is going to be the sommelier at the wine bar at the new Oakville Grocery in Scottsdale. I'm really looking forward to visiting next month when it opens....

Should add that both Heirloom and Herb Box are offering take-home Thanksgiving Dinners:

Herb Box
http://files.e2ma.net/15271/assets/docs/fall_holiday_carry-out_09__menu_.pdf

Heirloom
http://www.mculinary.com/turkey2go_michaels09.html-COLLAPSE / REPLY (5 Replies) (by Rubee, created November 12, 2009)

»DC Ranch in Scottsdale - The Herb Box and Heirloom

Had a fun time at DC Ranch last week visiting two of my favorite spots – The Herb Box, and Heirloom. Dinner with my girlfriend was planned at Heirloom, but I can’t go to DC Ranch without fitting in a visit to the Herb Box. Everyone is so nice and I just love Chef Becky and bartender Gary. On a perfect fall night, the patio and al fresco bar is a great spot to meet a friend (they also sometimes...+READ Had a fun time at DC Ranch last week visiting two of my favorite spots – The Herb Box, and Heirloom. Dinner with my girlfriend was planned at Heirloom, but I can’t go to DC Ranch without fitting in a visit to the Herb Box. Everyone is so nice and I just love Chef Becky and bartender Gary. On a perfect fall night, the patio and al fresco bar is a great spot to meet a friend (they also sometimes have live music on the patio). E joined me in a glass of wine (red blend for him, pinot gris for me) while we shared some crispy fried olives stuffed with blue cheese. He had planned on dropping me off and picking me up so I could enjoy the wine pairings at dinner, but after Gary tilted the TV so he could watch the game from outside, why would anyone want to leave!

Once my friend arrived, we left him there to enjoy the game, and dinner, while we walked over to Heirloom. I had been here before, and am a big fan of Chef DeMaria’s focus on local and seasonal. We had a great start as we were seated at a table that looked into the glass wall with a view of the kitchen. It was hard to decide as everything looked so good, but we finally chose as we nibbled on crunchy breadsticks and roasted pepper and white bean spread, and asked Paul to choose our wine pairings. What another excellent meal, with my favorite being the fabulous roast duck glazed with honey and orange. We shared:

Roasted ruby beets and chevre salad with chianti-tossed arugula and mache salad
Shrimp-stuffed artisan rigatoni with lemon-parsley pesto
Bacon-wrapped Diver scallops and “Uncle Ray’s Crab Bolognaise”
Cinnamon Roasted Pork Belly on White Bean Ragu & Apple Sauce
Singh Farms honey and orange roast duck with foie gras sauce and butternut squash tartin Grilled Colorado lamb T-Bone with a green peppercorn demi, mint pesto, and caponata
Custard filled "cake doughnuts" with lemon chiffon

Paul did an excellent job with the pairings – I especially enjoyed the classic NZ Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc with the beets, the Willamette Valley Domaine Serene Pinot Noir with the duck, and the Elio Perrone Muscato d' Asti Sourgal with those fantastic "doughnuts". So good.

I also like how the menu is divided into courses and small plates. Though we obviously ordered a lot, a nice meal can be had here with just two or three courses. Service was excellent, from the friendly general manager Jonathan, to Paul and Ross who took care of our table, and we were able to chat with Chef Taylor Domet about his passion for food (and his techniques for cooking that duck!).

It was getting late, so we met E back at Herb Box where bartender extraordinaire Gary had our glasses of wine poured before we even sat down. What service! Did I mention that I love the Herb Box? E made a point to tell me how good his pulled pork on ciabatta with sweet potato fries were. I’ve only had appetizers here, so I really need to come back soon for a full lunch or dinner (their new fall menu rolls out tomorrow). I've also heard that their breakfast and brunch items are fantastic. Sipping on wine and feeling the breeze on a beautiful fall night was a perfect ending to such a nice evening.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (5 Replies) (by Rubee, created October 14, 2009)