Tonto Bar & Grill: It’s Just Up The Creek
Featured Posts,Table Talk
Every time we drive way up north to Cave Creek, two things run through our minds: 1) Bryan’s Black Mountain BBQ is up here—time to eat some real ‘que!, and 2) man, it’s kooky up here. Who are these people? Are they all stoned?
Cave Creek, really more than any part of the Valley, is a land unto itself. Up there, time stands still (again, maybe it’s the pot). The area retains a true sense of Arizona authenticity, people still wear cowboy hats, tight jeans, and don’t Foursquare. Even the newer businesses like Brix Wine Bar feel right at home with places that have been there forever, like the Horny Toad or Tlaquepaque.
We headed up that way last week for a story we’re doing in SIPS Magazine for Alliance Beverage – we needed to take a photograph of a bartender with a Don Julio holiday cocktail. The place: Tonto Bar & Grill. Now, Tyda’s been there a bunch of times but never ventured past a burger and a beer, Phillips had never been. So we stayed to eat dinner.
We’re not going to run through a full dining review of a place that’s been there over 15 years and still commanding a wait on weekends (and not because it’s small – there’s over 200 seats). We don’t have to sell you on a place that’s sitting right in the middle of tourist country yet it seems 90 percent of the diners are actual local regulars. A lot of tourist spots couldn’t care less about the quality of their food because they’re just looking to turn and burn tables. Not Tonto. Tonto makes a believer of everyone that walks past the mesquite trees and through the doors.
And now, thanks to our dinner last week, we may see Bryan’s BBQ a couple times less. (Sorry, bud.) Tonto was that good. The flavors are masterfully Southwestern—chile-based, hearty, and deep. Like Houston’s, you could taste the consistency. Every dish had run through its tweaks a long time ago, and by now, it’s perfected. Plus, the service is like a big family – they’ve obviously got their groove down, helping each other out working the whole place when needed.
For dinner, we started with a tortilla-crusted crab cake that came three medium-sized dabs to a $12.50 order. Lumpy, flavorful, no trace of funky fish whatsoever. Next door was a jicama and roasted chili slaw that could have literally been a stand-alone dinner salad. Swirl the crab around in the chipotle chili aioli, grab a couple jicama shavings along the way, and you’ve got the perfect way to start a meal.
It was tough to decide between two of Tonto’s best-selling entrées: the root beer-braised beef short ribs and the mesquite wood-grilled beef tenderloin medallions. Although the medallions are slathered in peppercorn sauce and come with fire-roasted onions, red pepper mashed potatoes, and portabella mushrooms, we went with the former.
Again, score. The short ribs were ready for fork shredding and juicy as hell. Reposing next to them: a pile of soft sweet potato slices done au gratin with caramelized onion and leeks, and green beans topped with garlic and smoked Arizona pecans. This entrée costs $26 and was absolutely perfect.
We also tried the Mexican white shrimp tacos. Medium-sized shrimp came swimming in a stew of ancho chili-simmered peppers and onions, along with white corn tortillas, avocado crema (whipped guac), and escabèche slaw. A steal at $15, this entrée coulda-shoulda-woulda taken gold at the Arizona Taco Fest, had they entered. In true EAZ style, we used the tortillas from this dish with the short ribs of the other to make an impromptu taco. Delicious!
Although we skipped on the wine this evening, we spotted Long Meadow Ranch cab and Dutton-Goldfield pinot on the list – a couple of our faves. But for your visit, we recommend the 15-liter magnum of Heitz. And a cab.
Seriously, watch your drinking up there – it’s a long, dark drive home for most of us city dwellers. But you’ll be so focused on deciding what to order, it’s likely you’ll just get a Bud Light to focus on the food.
Tonto Bar & Grill
5736 E. Rancho Manana Blvd.
Cave Creek, AZ
480-488-0698
www.tontobarandgrill.com
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