The Chilled Seafood Platter was a delightful surprise, with fresh shrimp, mussels and crab, and an innovative presentation of calamari.

Casino restaurants are notorious for serving decent food in large portions and pleasant surroundings to people who have striking it rich at the top of their lists and dining a distant second.

But given Tucson’s paucity of steakhouses, this upscale offering at Desert Diamond Casino is worth the trip without the chips, particularly because it may be the Tucson area’s best tweener steakhouse.

The prices are more reasonable than the upscale a la carte steakhouses, while the fare, service and surroundings are notably superior to the kitschy, Wild West joints.

The clinchers for us were the starters and the desserts – both of which are common shortcomings at steakhouses.

The Chilled Seafood Sampler ($14.95) was impressive enough to hold its own against any freestanding restaurant, steakhouse or otherwise. The hubcap-sized platter featured four large shrimp, four large mussels, four crab claws, a good 8 ounces or so of bay shrimp ceviche, and a similarly large serving of calamari salad. The shrimp, mussels and crab were of excellent quality and freshness, and would have been worth the price of the platter. We were expecting the ceviche and calamari offerings to be little more than gestures, but they were our favorite parts of the plate. The bay shrimp were kept in the lime juice to an exacting finish, as they were nicely supple and delicately acidic.

The orange-hued calamari strips were cleverly camped in a light sauce of ginger, sesame oil and citrus, and were teamed with julienned peppers and vegetables in a vibrant, delicate Asian motif. It was one of the more innovative presentations of calamari we’ve encountered, good enough to be an appetizer all by its lonesome.

Next to arrive were generous dinner salads and a flatbread foccacia that struck us as a delicately sweet lavosh. Both of these came with the entrees.

The Rib-Eye Beef Brochettes ($19.95) entree featured 10 medallion-sized cuts of rib-eye skewered with red onion, tomato and mushrooms. The meat had been expertly charred to carry a good payoff of grilled flavor without bringing any of the bitterness from too much charring. There was an extra rich, roastiness to the meat that had us thinking truffle oil may have been in there.

We chose the middle-of-the-road sized Prime Rib as our second entree – the 12-ounce steakhouse cut ($18.95). If the cut we were served was 12 ounces, we’ve been getting ripped off at other joints, because the slab seemed notably bigger than the standard median offering. It was a good 2 inches thick, was nicely stopped at medium rare, and was delicately imbued with natural juices, rather than ratcheted up with beef stock or other enhancements. The interior pink was dense yet supple, while the gray, outer perimeter beyond the ring of fat was softer, richer and saltier – all in all, a respectable and well-roasted prime rib. The 10-ounce English cut goes for $16.95, while the 16-ounce Desert Diamond cut is $18.95.

The beef here is Sterling Silver Premium – they tell you so with little, black plastic sign skewers that the server thankfully removes tableside. It’s a status I’ve encountered at a couple of other steak joints with good but not spectacular results. This was the best Sterling Silver beef I’ve encountered, and it doesn’t hurt that they grill it with precision and serve it in impressive portions.

Rather than sautéed until limp and flavor-challenged, the seasonal vegetables that sided both entrees were colorful and firm, the zucchini a little too much so, as it was a tad bitter.

We had little room for dessert and weren’t overly enthralled with the choices until they arrived.

The two wedges of Chocolate Hazelnut Cake ($6.25) looked impossible to finish, but we nearly did just that. Two layers of cake sandwiched a light cream layer and topped with ganache, the cake came off much more sophisticated and diversely flavored than its hulking demeanor led on.

Rather than an overpowering sweetness, it was airy and ultramoist, with a mellow, milk chocolate theme and a faint but pleasing note of pungency from cream cheese (or possibly mascarpone). The Streusel Baked Peach Cobbler ($6.25) was dominated by a scoop of vanilla ice cream the size of a softball, but the skillet of cobbler beneath had me steering around the ice cream to get at the ideal match of toasty, crumbly pastry and mild, fresh peaches.

With two coffees and a club soda, the tab for the whole deal came to $73.85. If that sounds like a lot, you haven’t loaded up at a steak place lately, as that’s $30 to $50 less than what I’d expect to pay at an upscale steak joint and not much more than I would at a cowboy joint with foil-wrapped baked potatoes, store-bought dinner rolls, canned green beans and middling steaks.

You may have never ventured to a casino just to dine, but if you’re looking for a good steak and an excellent appetizer, it’s a safe bet you’ll come away from Desert Diamond’s steakhouse feeling like a winner.

If you order the Streusel Baked Peach Cobbler, work around the ice cream to get to the crumbly sweet cobbler underneath.

———

AT A GLANCE

Address and phone: 7350 S. Old Nogales Highway, 294-7777

Prices: Appetizers $8.95 to $14.95; side orders $3.25; entrees $16.95 to $28.95; desserts $6.25

Hours: daily 4 to 10 p.m.

Bar: Full

Vegetarian options: Colossal Onion Bloom ($8.95), Flambéed Garlic-Cremini Mushroom ($3.25), Broccoli Florets & Gruyere Cheese or alla Polonaise ($3.25)

Desserts: Several, including Chocolate Hazelnut Cake ($6.25), Tiramisu Cake ($6.25) and Streusel Baked Cobbler ($6.25)

Sonora Querida Asadero is reminiscent of a hidden treasure of a restaurant in San Carlos or Rocky Point.

What: Sonora Querida Asadero

Address and phone: 4749 S. 12th Ave., 889-0923

Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily

What was ordered: Ceviche Tostada ($3), two Marlin Tacos ($3 each), Carne Rajas Tacos ($3), Caramelo ($2), Limonada ($1.50), and Jamaica ($1.50) for a total of $18.38 including tax, within our Cheap Eats goal of a meal for two for less than $20

Comments: ¡Que suave!

My 10-year-old daughter keeps telling me to stop using the word cool, because these days, cool stands for “constipated, out-of-touch, out-of-style loser,” she says. If I’m impressed with something, rather than calling it cool, I should call it sweet, she says.

I can’t call something sweet. It just sounds too cute and cuddly to be uttered by someone as jaded and misanthropic as me. Fortunately, there’s an excellent Spanish alternative – suave – which is more literally translated as smooth, but covers the same ground as cool.

And this South Side taco joint is very cool indeed.

The fare is authentically coastal Sonoran, with a nice selection of beef and seafood tacos, tostadas, tortas and sopas.

The Ceviche Tostada was probably my least favorite selection on a recent visit, which is saying something, because it was one of the better ceviche tostadas I’ve had on the South Side. Though the portions of seafood were moderate, the octopus, shrimp and fish were fresh and bouncy, the pico was mild and unassuming, and the corn tortilla was fried to order.

My companion had high praise for the Marlin Taco, noting that it was “exquisitely infused with the sensation of standing at a taco stand on the beach at Guaymas.” The marlin chunks were reddened by a tangy, zingy sauce, and the thick, flour taco shell was nicely grilled yet slightly puffy.

My favorite was the Taco Rajas. The teaming of good carne asada, fresh roasted peppers and melted Mexican white cheese had the kind of roasty, salty, slightly greasy payoff that so many beef tacos lack.

All six selections we devoured came to the table somewhat mild and unassuming, which made for ideal customization with the diverse condiment tray delivered to the table. The tray included red and avocado salsa, cilantro, onions and limes, allowing us to trick out and crank up the flavor profiles as we saw fit.

The look, feel and service here are no-nonsense. They don’t have to try to sell you on the authenticity with trinkets, decorations and other trappings. The food supplies all the authenticity you need to be transported to that little off-the-beaten-track place in San Carlos or Puerto Peñasco, the place you seek out even before you unpack the car at the hotel.

And that’s very cool, and maybe even sweet.

Service: Tableside service was friendly, prompt and bilingual, which comes in handy for gringos, as the menu is in Spanish.

Bar: no

Children’s menu: no

Web site: no

The addition

of shrimp makes

the Double L's

chile relleno pop.

This venerable South Fourth fortress has a reputation as one of those “safe” Mexican eateries, the kind of place you can take everybody in the office or family, even the ones who give the hard G sound to saguaro and agua.

What started as a drive-in in 1948 has grown into a compound that has a bulletproof, somewhat restaurant-at-the-hospital look and feel. I prefer the north dining room to the other two, as it’s a little more festive, has a little more color and lets in a little more light.

It had been a while since I passed through the double doors at Double L, and I was pleased to encounter a new menu that comes with the old one. The addition features a comprehensive array of seafood entrees, cocktails and soups and new traditional entrees such as Calabacitas, Chilaquiles, Chicken Mole, Milanesa, Sonoran-style Barbacoa and tortas.

Let your “hard G” companions order off the old menu, but if you want Guillermo’s best, go with the new one.

We started a recent visit with the Campechana (assorted seafood cocktail ($10), a parfait glass loaded with shrimp, scallops, abalone, a pair of larger oysters and ceviche-style fish in a gazapacho-ish bath with fine-diced cabbage, celery and onions.

We initially found the spicing on the cocktail base to be overly mild, but later realized it was well-gauged to showcase the generous and diverse array of good quality seafood. The sultry scallops and near-crunchy shrimp were notably impressive, and though we split the small version of the cocktail (the large goes for $12), it was more than enough for both of us.

We weren’t up for a cheese crisp or a quesadilla, so we ordered the Calabacitas entree ($7.95) for a second starter.

The zucchini, onions and bell peppers were nicely sautéed, but rather than the cream sauce we’re used to with Calabacitas, this one came with an Italian-dressing-style sauce that we found off-putting and overly piquant.

The Milanesa ($8.95) entree off the new menu also came out a little different than versions to which we’re accustomed, as the breading had the grit of cornmeal. Rather than a floppy, elephant-ear cutlet, this one was a little bit stiffer owing to the breading, but the beef itself was moist and flavorful.

The breading was kept thin enough to not steal center stage from the beef, and though we’d have preferred the texture of the breading to be more along the lines of a thin, chicken-fried steak, the added cornmeal did add a bit of pleasant sweetness to the dish.

Our other entree, the Chile Relleno de Camaron ($13.95), delivered a payoff every bit as flavorful and impressive as the Campechana. The relleno batter had just the right sizzle and crispness of egg whites and was stuffed to burrito size with medium-sized shrimp, a well-roasted, carefully seeded Anaheim chile, and good, mild Mexican white cheese. The sweetness and pull of the shrimp added a flavor and texture to the relleno without taking away from what would have been a first-rate relleno all by its lonesome.

Beans and rice that came with both entrees were above average by “safe” Mexican standards, as the beans had a husky flavor and were topped with melted Queso Fresco, and the fluffy rice had soft notes of chicken stock and tomato rather than the overbearingly salty and soggy versions one often encounters.

Desserts brought the only real disappointment of the night, but it was a big one. The Flan ($3.25) was altogether inedible. The caramel sauce was burnt to such a degree that it rendered the whole affair into one that tasted like we were eating an ash tray. I gave the flan a second chance on a follow-up visit. This time, the lack of ash-laden sourness revealed the custard for what it was – a thin, flavor-challenged version that tasted a lot like the little Jell-O-sized boxes of powdered flan mix you get for 59 cents at Food City.

We fared much better with our other dessert, a generous cube of Almendrado ($3.25). The spongy, gelatin meringue was layered in the colors of the Mexican flag and generously slathered in a blond almond sauce with lots of tiny bits of minced almond. Almendrado is an uncomplicated treat, the meringue itself offering not much more than pillowed sweetness and the almond sauce an equally simple teaming of almond flavoring and condensed milk. While this somewhat one-dimensional enterprise is not for everybody, there’s a quiet appeal in the tender, puffy affair that I’ve always been a sucker for, and Guillermo’s Almendrado is one of the better and more generously portioned versions I’ve encountered.

The icing on the cake, or Almendrado as it were, at Double L is the service, which is as professional as you’ll get at a restaurant, Mexican or otherwise. The servers know all the regulars and the menu backwards and forwards (even the new one), swoop in as soon as a glass or the chip bowl empties and couldn’t be more attentive and prompt.

These are not your itinerant, uncaring loafers in a holding pattern while they finish school, or glorified busers who don’t know their cabezas from holes in the ground. They’re career servers, lifers who have raised their families off the tips you leave at these sturdy wooden tables, and they, as much as anyone or anything at Double L, are the reason this restaurant has prospered for 68 years.

While the old menu is all most people need to keep coming here, the new one has infused this local institution with a considerable dose of energy that separates it from sleepier “safe-Mex” standbys.

Guillermo's Double L is a mainstay on South Fourth Avenue.

Almendrado, a light gelatin meringue topped with almond sauce, is a great ending to a meal.

———

AT A GLANCE

Address and phone: 1830 S. Fourth Ave., 702-4583

Hours: 11 a.m-10 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays

Prices: Appetizers from $5.75 to $8.25, soups and salads from $1.95 to $9.50, entrees from $6.95 to $18.50, desserts from $1.45 to $3.95

Bar: full

Vegetarian options: Several, including Calabacitas ($7.95), Chilaquiles ($7.95), Chilango Burro entree ($7.95) and Vegetarian Topopo Salad ($8.50)

Desserts: Sopapillas, Flan, Almendrado and Choco Taco

Latest health inspection: A good rating Feb. 12. A critical violation was reported for potentially hazardous foods not held at proper cooling temperature.

Once you get past the beans and rice, the food at Rodolfo's is uninspired.

What: Rodolfo’s Taco Shop

Address and phone: 1708 W. Ajo Way, 741-1831

Hours: 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 7 a.m.-9 p.m Sundays

What was ordered: Fish Tacos Plate ($6.58), Steak Ranchero Plate ($6.58), side of guacamole (63 cents) medium lemonade ($1.37) and medium drink ($1.37) for a total of $17.87 including tax, well within our Cheap Eats goal of a meal for two for less than $20.

Comments: So much for the bean-ometer.

There’s a longstanding belief among local foodies that you can judge the quality of a Mexican or fast-Mex eatery by the quality of the beans. If they’re clumpy, overly dark brown, and the taste of them has you visualizing someone twisting a can opener, the rest of the food will probably be similarly uninspiring.

But if the beans are smooth to nearly runny, have that certain gray pallor, and bring to mind a big pot of pintos soaking overnight, you’re probably in for good eats, no matter what the eatery looks like.

Rodolfo’s passed the bean test with flying colors and also did pretty well with the rice. The beans were home-cooked and nicely textured, and the rice was slightly crispy and not laden with salty stock. Both sides had us thinking we’d found a diamond in the rough, as this Southwest side taco shop is most definitely rough in the looks department.

The dining area is a mass of dingy white with fast-food booth units and nothing in the way of furnishings or enhancements. It’s just the kind of no-nonsense, no-effort atmosphere, hole-in-the-wall that can sometimes blow you away with authentic, vibrant fare. Given the quality of the side dishes, we were expecting to be impressed.

Boy, were we in for a letdown.

The Fish Tacos plate sported a pair of medium size, store-bought variety corn tortillas, stuffed with finger-sized breaded fish planks and topped with a dry, largely unseasoned pico de gallo. There was no Baja-style mayo or sour cream sauce, no salsa, no lime, no sprinkling of Cotija or Queso Fresco, nothing to jazz up the diced veggies and blander-than-bland fish, which had a preponderance of breading and not a lot of cod, if it even was cod. As the corn tortillas were merely warmed rather than fried, they sealed the whole deal on what was an exercise in nothingness. We tried to spruce the tacos up with the side of guacamole we ordered, but it was a mild, watery disappointment more along the lines of avocado salsa than serviceable guacamole.

The look of the Steak Ranchero plate made us a little more hopeful. It featured a good 6 ounces or so of cubed steak, covered with melted cheddar, diced onions and tomatoes. While it did sport at least a little bit of a flavor profile, the beef underneath the toppings was devoid of any payoff of charring, nor did it carry any notes of marinade or seasoning to speak of.

On previous visits, I’ve had a decent carne asada burro at Rodolfo’s and an above average bowl of Albondigas.

A steady crowd of folks come in for something to go, and there are probably some things on this menu that get done pretty well. Then again, lowly Los Betos gets a steady crowd and even does at least one thing somewhat well – the Carnitas gut-bomb burrito – for those so inclined.

Ask a regular what’s good, and you may get something that measures up to the beans and rice at Rodolfo’s.

Either that or order a beans-and-rice burrito.

Service: Order and pick up your food at the counter.

Bar: no

Children’s menu: yes

Web site: no

Most recent health inspection: A “good” rating July 7, 2008. Critical violations were reported for potentially hazardous foods not held at proper cooling temperature and for foods not correctly date marked.

The food at Primo doesn't come cheap, but it is worth it. But it's only open for dinner, so plan your visit carefully.

Some guy from Peoria who is here for the National Association of Hose and Accessories Distribution conference probably knows more about one of the best restaurants in town than the average Tucsonan.

Sure, it’s cloaked in a resort with three other eateries way out on the West Side, only serves dinner, is not a member of the Tucson Originals, and is a chain of sorts, though it’s a chain with just three links.

Still, with a chef as celebrated as Melissa Kelly at the helm and a menu this dedicated to local sourcing, organic produce and overall excellence, it’s a little surprising that Primo has flown under Tucson’s collective culinary radar for most of its four years at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa.

Kelly, who among other accomplishments, won the James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef: Northeast in 1999, shuffles among Primos in Maine, Florida and Tucson. That she has out-localed the locals in dedication to organic, locally produced ingredients and the way they’re showcased at her Mediterranean eatery speaks to her lifelong dedication to rustic, family-style food and her considerable résumé in fine dining.

Primo doesn’t just talk the local talk, sprinkling a few herbs from the chef’s garden and calling it good. That was clear from the onset on a recent visit with the arrival of the Salad of Roast Beets ($10). Thin petals of beets cloistered a mousse-like core of Black Mesa Ranch goat cheese topped with a crunchy fresh, bright green frisée and studded with meticulously sectioned blood oranges.

This is one of those dishes that arrives in such an artful form you’re convinced it couldn’t possibly taste as good as it looks. It didn’t. It tasted even better. It wasn’t so much the superior quality of the beets, goat cheese and other characters or their flawless preparation – though that certainly didn’t hurt matters – as much as the truly inspired way they were teamed. That beets and goat cheese would have me waxing this rhapsodic is a testament to the excellence at work here.

Our other starter, the Antipasti Misti ($14), featured Pancetta, Mortadella and Genoa Salami sliced paper-thin, juxtaposed to quarter-inch thick wedges of artisan cheeses, and rounded out by a smattering of sweet peppers and diminutive olives.

The Braised Lamb Ravioli ($25) was emblematic of a recurrent theme at work here, a seemingly contradictory marriage of rustic, family-style comfort and five-diamond-level precision and presentation.

The lamb in the trio of large house-made ravioli had an uninhibited, earthy piquancy that was set off by the sweetness of roasted red peppers and fresh pea shoots, the pungency of roughly crumbled feta, and the smokey, near meaty pay-off of thick-sliced roasted eggplant. This was an aggressively flavored entree, one that proved that showcasing organic elements doesn’t always have to be a delicate dance.

Our other entree, the Grilled Mahi Mahi ($28) was equally rustic yet refined, with the grilled fish possessing an elegant luster and delicate flakiness. That polish was intriguingly countered by a pair of rustic Italian comforts, panelle and pepperonata, the former a crisp chickpea polenta cake and the latter a melange of stewed peppers, onions, tomatoes and garlic in olive oil. Grilled artichokes and crisp arugula nicely rounded out the affair.

We kept to the Italian classics with desserts – Hand made Cannoli and “Zeppole” (both $8.50). The pair of large cannoli dipped in chocolate were considerably upgraded over the traditional versions, as the sweet ricotta filing was studded with pistachios and served with tangy, purple Amarena cherries. Zeppole are Italian doughnuts that lack holes but more than make up for with an eggy, briochelike interior and a fritterlike exterior. We were expecting a small collection of diminutive Zeppole, but were served a bowl of 10 hand-ball-sized gems.

There are three other eateries at Starr Pass, which take some of the pressure off Primo to appeal to what can be an overly wide demographic of guests. That allows it to have a decidedly nonresorty menu. At the same time, the eatery takes advantage of the pluses a resort can provide – a great view, a dining room with lots of room between tables, and a notably intimate, soft-sounding space dampened with thick carpet, a refreshing departure from the norm of stained concrete and the din it creates.

Anyone who has shopped for organic food knows it isn’t cheap, and consequently, neither is Primo. Even by resort standards, moderate-size entrees that round to $30 may be off-putting to some, particularly given the times. A restaurant that does as earnest and masterful a job at walking the locally sourced, organic walk as this unsung gem is worth those prices and then some.

———

AT A GLANCE

Address and phone: 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd., 792-3500

Prices: Appetizers from $9 to $14, pizza from $13 to $16, entrees from $24 to $34, desserts $8.50

Hours: 6-9 p.m. daily

Bar: full

Vegetarian options: Porcini Tagliatelle ($24), Pizza Blanca ($15), Pizza Margherita ($13), Pizza Funghi ($16), Salad of Roast Beets ($10), Panzanella Salad ($11)

Desserts: Several, including Hand- made Cannoli, “Zeppole” (Italian doughnuts), Black Mesa Ranch Goat Cheese Cheesecake and Rustic Apple and Walnut Tart with cranberry compote and Vanilla Gelato.

Latest health inspection: An “excellent” rating Dec. 5, 2007. No critical violations were reported.

Jackie Ward prepares a sweet crepe at Cafe Zope Creperie and Espresso Bar.

What: Café Zope

Address and phone: 344 N. Fourth Ave., 623-3700

Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, with extended hours Fridays and Saturdays for as long as customers come through the door.

What was ordered: Ham & Brie Crepe ($7.25), Roasted Chicken & Lingonberries Crepe ($7.25), Italian Soda ($2.95) for a total of $18.86 including tax, well within our Cheap Eats goal of a meal for two for less than $20.

Comments: Fourth Avenue has seen its share of postage-stamp-sized cafés come and go, but this little creperie and espresso shop is something special.

There’s a meticulous, artful quality in the simplicity of Café Zope, which seems to capture all of the elements of a European cafe save the cigarette smoke.

What you see is what you get, as the clean lines and airy, calming layout are mirrored in the precise, quietly profound fare.

Don’t settle for the small, yet comfortable interior seating if there is a free table in the rear patio. The small herb garden and wood tables, chairs and fencing give off a vibe not unlike that of a Japanese rock garden, an ideal setting in which to savor the savory crepes.

The Ham & Brie crepe floored us. The teaming of the thin-sliced ham, mild brie, roma tomatoes and organic baby spinach leaves surrounded in the expertly crafted crepe was a mesmerizing melange. The crepe itself was expertly crafted, with just the right crisping and browning on the exterior and a delicate, spongy pull to its interior. Even the sprinkling of fresh ground pepper was impressive, as if the grains were individually counted to complement the crepe with just the right heft of heat. It’s the kind of culinary experience that puts the brakes on the frenetic, workaday pace you take for granted, slowing every part of your routine to a crawl.

At first glance, the post-card-size crepe would seem to be underportioned for the $7.25 price, but as with the best that Europe has to offer, it’s not about quantity, but rather quality. Though you finish the crepe wanting more, you feel as though you’ve gotten every penny’s worth of value and then some from the experience.

My companion was equally enamored with the Chicken & Lingonberries crepe. Though the chicken breast had a redeeming depth indicative of slow, careful roasting, I found the lingonberries to be teamed with the chicken in a ratio that somewhat overwhelmed the chicken and the crepe with its tangy, jammy power. As my companion noted, if you’re not fluent in lingonberry, this creative coupling may not be the crepe for you.

We couldn’t leave without sampling the scones, and both varieties held to the standard this four-month-old café seems to set with every part of its operation. The Nutella and Chocolate Chip variety had a clean glaze that gave a fritterlike appeal to the scone. The Nutella was judiciously incorporated, contributing a carefully gauged essence of sweetness that nicely played off the chocolate chips, with the texture of the scone itself riding a good balance that was ever-so-light crumbly yet not dry.

Similarly, the Orange Cinnamon scone had just enough of its advertised ingredients to make their presence known without compromising the easy charm of the scone itself.

Café Zope features a variety of sweet, Swedish and savory crepes ranging form $3.25 to to $8.95. A savory variety with smoked salmon, scallions and cream cheese served with dill sauce is on my short list. Another savory crepe with curried garlic shrimp, spinach and tomatoes drew a rave review from a friend.

This is not just another cute, little café on Fourth Avenue. This is one of those places you take those friends of yours who are so hard to impress. If they’re not overly impressed with Café Zope, I’m not overly impressed with your choice of friends.

Service: Order at the counter and the food is brought to your table.

Bar: no

Children’s menu: no

Web site: cafezope.com

Most recent health inspection: A “good” rating Jan. 13. Critical violations were reported for food separation, packaging, segregation and substitution methods not preventing food and ingredient contamination, and for foods not correctly date marked.

Server Alejandra Morales Bunker brings food to customers (from left) Maria Bejarano, 1-year-old son Isaac Bejarano and Jorge Bejarano at El Merendero Restaurant.

What: El Merendero Restaurant

Address and phone: 5443 S. 12th Ave., 294-1522

Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays-Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays

What was ordered: Chicken Flautas lunch special ($5.99); Combination #10, Chicken Tostada, Ground Beef Taco and Cheese Enchilada ($7.50); and two limonadas ($1.50) each for a total of $17.87 including tax, well within our Cheap Eats goal of a meal for two for less than $20.

Comments: The parking lot at this South Sider rarely has more than one available spot at lunchtime for good reason.

El Merendero serves dinner-grade Mexican fare in a pleasant though boisterous setting at notably lunch-grade prices.

Though the seafood selections drift out of the Cheap Eats ceiling, a host of generous combination plates can be had for 7 or 8 bucks, and the daily lunch special at $5.99 is the choice of many.

Chips, two types of salsa (one a purée and the other a pico de gallo) and limes arrive at the table soon after you sit down, and the breakneck servers are quick to refill the chip bowl and drinks.

In what works as an excellent way to help the servers more quickly expedite the orders flying out the kitchen, you pay your bill in a little cubby near the kitchen.

We went with the Wednesday lunch special – Chicken Flautas – and were immediately impressed by the moist chicken, the thin, delicately fried tortillas and the portions, which are uniformly generous here. Also of note were the sides of refried beans and rice. A nice topping of good Mexican cheese works good pungent and sweet flavor into the smooth refrieds. As for the rice, my companion hailed the fluffy, canary-hued offering the “best Mexican rice I’ve ever had.”

Our other plate, Combination #10, was equally impressive. The chicken tostada served on a medium-sized fried corn tortilla rather than a small one, and was built along the lines of a Topopo salad, with a faint smear of beans and lots of lettuce, avocado, onions and chicken of the same quality as came in the flautas.

The ground beef taco was also larger than the standard offering and had a nice tang of tomatoes and Mexican cheese to complement the beef. Rounding out the trio was a decent cheese enchilada and the aforementioned excellent rice and beans.

South 12th has some good Mexican eateries, but most are more of the fast-Mex variety – El Gorrion, Los Jarritos, El Potrero, Güero Canelo and BK’s. With a dining room that features tiled floors and comfortable booths, El Merendero is a little more upscale by comparison, along the lines of Los Portales on South Sixth Avenue or Micha’s on South Fourth.

El Merendero can sneak up on you as you head south on 12th, so just keep your eyes peeled on the east side of the avenue for a parking lot filled with cars, and you’ll find your way to good eats.

Service: Tableside service was prompt and friendly.

Bar: Full

Children’s menu: Yes

Web site: No

Most recent health inspection: A “good” rating Jan. 15. Critical violations were reported for potentially hazardous foods not held at proper cooling temperature; food separation, packaging, segregation and substitution methods not preventing food and ingredient contamination; food contact surfaces and equipment not cleaned frequently and properly to prevent food contamination; and foods not correctly date marked.

El Merendero's cheese enchiladas are accompanied by notably good sides of beans and rice.

Saga serves Japanese fare with a distinctive Mexican twist.

This midtown sushi bar is friendly, casual and more than a little unpredictable.

With a menu that leans heavily on rolls as opposed to nigiri and sashimi and which draws a considerable bit of its signature from its marriage of Japan and Mexico, Saga is nothing if not distinct.

Though the spartan ambiance essentially is fast-food furniture personalized with original paintings covering the otherwise bare, white walls, there’s something pleasing about its humble simplicity.

More often than not, one server handles all the restaurant’s diners. That’s one of the significant wild cards with Saga. While the servers are proficient, they’re not overly attentive.

The rest of Saga’s unpredictable nature stems from its sushi, which ranged from average to somewhat-below-average on three recent visits. That Saga offers less than a dozen nigiri selections but more than 100 different rolls speaks volumes. This is a serviceable sushi purveyor that emphasizes the teaming of flavors and textures in creative combinations over the showcasing of individual cuts of fresh seafood, not unlike a band that sounds good when everybody is playing but not so good when somebody takes a solo.

We started a recent dinner with a great example of what I like about Saga, a blend of Mexican and Japanese cuisines in the form of a Jalapeño with Crab appetizer ($3). The plump jalapeño had a near-perfectly fried batter that had a nice sizzle, a clean crispy texture free of doughiness but not overly fried. The jalapeño had been skillfully seeded, which left enough head room to enjoy the nonspicy earthiness and acidity of the pepper. The stuffing was real crab (not Krab), and it was generously portioned and excellently showcased by the pepper, breading and the topping of mild chipotle sauce.

Not nearly as impressive was the Shrimp Tempura starter. ($7). The five skewers of shrimp and their tempura shells struck us as underfried, as the tempura was a little mushy. The white skewers of shrimp beneath the tempura were striped with black, as none of them had been deveined. For those unfamiliar with the subject, “deveining” is a euphemism, as these are not veins, but rather, um, digestive tracts. Suffice it to say, I’m not overly fond of digestive tracts.

The pairs of sushi we encountered that evening were subpar, as they were skimpy portions and a little less than pristine. The Maguro Tuna ($3.50) was sliced rather thin and was largely devoid of flavor. The Salmon ($4) crossed the line from buttery to slimy and fatty. The Hamachi ($4), though it came in much more generous portions, was notably stiff, spongy and overly fishy-smelling. The Red Snapper ($3.30) was the best of the bunch – supple and fresh tasting – though a tiny garnish of onions and peppers were a little heavy on the spicy heat.

All of the sushi struck us as somewhat awkward to eat, owing to somewhat cavalier slicing and sushi rice that although sufficiently moist, seem to crumble and clump into disarray.

The Mexico Roll ($10) was much more to our liking. The interior contained a nicely balanced grouping of avocado, crab and shrimp, and the roll was topped with avocado, cream cheese dotted with sesame seeds and thin slices of Maguro tuna. The crab and sushi at the core of the roll were notably good – moist and sweet – and the section topped with cream cheese made for an appealing counterpoint of pungency.

As with seemingly 90 percent of the eateries that promote it on their menus, the “3 Leches” cake ($4.50) was unavailable, as was the Chocoflan ($4.50). We went with regular Flan ($3), which came as a decidedly large wedge of well-made flan of the custard-leaning variety that was laden with plenty of burnt caramel.

The Red Bean Tempura Ice Cream ($4.50) was dominated by the bed of tempura pastry and a topping of whipped cream. The small amount of red bean ice cream between the pastry and the whipped cream was devoid of bits of red bean, and the shell of pastry was a little on the gummy side.

On a subsequent lunch visit, I opted for a lunch combination of Beef Teriyaki and a trio of Nigiri ($8.50). The teriyaki plate was nicely put together. The paper-thin sliced beef was outfitted with carefully julienned carrots and onions, and the teriyaki sauce was sweet and light, indicative of authentic versions made with roughly equal parts Sake, Mirin and dark soy. The Nigiri – salmon, tuna, and red snapper – showed a marked improvement over my last visit. Though the salmon offering was unspectacular, the tuna was amply portioned, glistened in freshness and had that buttery rich payoff of good Maguro. The snapper was also portioned more favorably than our previous visit and the garnish was kept to more pleasing, less overwhelming level.

While we didn’t exactly go gaga over the sushi at Saga, there is enough originality in the Mexican/Japanese offerings here to make it worth a visit. I recommend the rolls over nigiri and sashimi, as most of the customers – and Saga draws in respectable numbers – seem to. Or go with the teriyaki entrees.

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AT A GLANCE

Address and phone: 2955 E. Speedway, 320-0535

Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. weekdays; noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays.

Prices: Appetizers $1.50 to $9, sushi and sashimi $2.50 to $10, entrees $7.25 to $9.75, rolls $4.50 to $10, desserts $3 to $4.50.

Bar: Beer and sake

Vegetarian options: Many, including Avocado Roll ($3), Cucumber Roll ($3), Healthy Roll ($6), Vegetable Fried Rice ($6.50), and Vegetable Yakisoba Noodles ($7.25)

Desserts: Ice Cream ($3), Tempura Ice Cream ($4.50), Flan ($3), Chocoflan ($4.50), 3 Leches cake ($4.50).

Latest health inspection: A “good” rating Nov. 20. A critical violation was reported for food contact surfaces and equipment not cleaned frequently and properly to prevent food contamination.

Mike Bonnell (above, left) and Jody Maciulla have lunch at Mario's

What: Mario’s Pizza

Address and phone:

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 4 to 10 p.m. Sundays

What was ordered: Slice and a drink lunch deal ($2.99), Slice with one topping and a drink lunch deal ($3.35), Garlic Cheese Bread ($3.50), Hot Wings ($6.50) for a total of $17.70, well within our Cheap Eats goal of a meal for two for less than $20.

Comments: Back in the late ’50s, a place called Marco’s Pizza opened on East 22nd Street, and a couple of years later, Marco’s No. 2 showed up at 3157 N. First Ave.

Though Marco’s No. 2 had about a 20-year run, by the late ’70s, the quality of the pizza served there was often characterized by a word that’s commonly associated with the characters that came after Marco’s. I’m old enough to have “dined” at No. 2 at least a couple of times, and despite that my adolescent palate was exceedingly forgiving, I concurred with that common characterization.

Marco’s No. 2 changed hands in 1979. Maybe it was a fortunate coincidence, but in what was likely a cost-saving maneuver, the big sign on the building that used to read Marco’s was ever-so-slightly modified, and Mario’s Pizza was born, serving “pizza how it oughta be.”

As then-Citizen food writer Jeff Smith wrote in 1984, it took him and more than a few other people a couple of years to shake the reputation of the former pizzeria and give Mario’s a try, but once he did, he came away with a favorable opinion.

A quarter of a century later, this humble neighborhood haunt is still going strong, serving good if not astounding New York-style pie at prices that would be reasonable even by Marco’s-era standards.

For $2.99, the lunch deal gets you a slice of pizza and a bottomless fountain drink.

While the crust of the pie is classic New York – the thin, floppy variety you fold to eat – there’s a tad more sauce than you’d expect by Big Apple standards. The edges of the crust give away a nice hint of oregano in the dough, and though the slices aren’t the humongous wedges you find at places such as Local Dough and Mama’s, they’re ample for the price.

My companion opted for ham on his slice, which took the meal deal all the way up to $3.35. The ham was meticulously and generously arranged on every bit of available space on the slice.

We could have walked out of there with what may well have been an all-time Cheap Eats record for frugality of $6.85 including tax, but that would have meant passing on the Hot Wings and Garlic Cheese Bread, which still kept us under the $20 ceiling.

The dozen hot wings ($6.50) were respectable if not overly memorable, the chicken was fried to a good crispy exterior, free of the annoying breading that ruins a good hot wing. They were served in a puddle of sauce that was appropriately hot rather than the overly macho variety preferred by those middle-aged compensation dudes who still wear athletic jerseys and/or drive ‘Vettes and/or are stoked to be “getting the band back together.”

The Garlic Cheese Bread ($3.50) came in a little pricey, particularly compared with the pizza slices, as it essentially was a hoagie roll served open-face with melted mozzarella and parmesan. The offering was significantly upgraded by a 4-ounce cup of marinara that was refreshingly authentic, as it had a subtle, tangy verve and lacked the sugar often added to tomato sauce at pizza joints.

Mario’s also serves a respectable fleet of a dozen subs/sandwiches priced from $5 to $6.95 and dinner selections of spaghetti, lasagna, meat, chicken fingers and deep fried shrimp for $5.30 to $8.50.

Signature pizzas include “The Carnivore” (pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, meatball, beef and extra cheese), “The Cowboy” (beef, bacon, cheddar and green chiles), and “The Pounder” (a full pound of cheese on a 14-inch pizza).

By any other name (with the exception of Marco’s No. 2), Mario’s is an endearing little pizza joint that’s easy on the wallet if not overly easy on the eyes.

Service: Order at the counter and your food is brought to your table.

Bar: Bottled beer

Children’s menu: No

Web site: No

Most recent health inspection: An “excellent” rating March 10, 2008. No critical violations were reported. Mario’s has received nine consecutive “excellent” ratings dating to April 5, 2004.

Owner Vince Vollero (right) slices a pizza at Mario's Pizza, which is located just south of East Fort Lowell Road on First Avenue.

The fillet in the Salmon asado was superb, but the sides were lacking. Here, it's served with a Margarita Fantastica.

Take Suzana Davila’s Cafe Poca Cosa, cross it with Sam Fox’s Sauce, and you’re somewhere in the ballpark of this lively, easygoing midtown eatery.

There’s a commendable amount of cleverness, creativity and hard work going on at Zivaz, and more often than not, you can readily see the fruits of such labor in the bustling lunch and dinner crowds.

In addition, Zivaz has seemingly hosted one special event after another since opening three years ago, with tequila and wine tastings, fundraisers and other outreach events, which are always well publicized with ads and e-mail blasts.

They’re trying pretty hard with the food, too. The menu makes an urban, fast-casual stab at Mexican fare that walks a tricky line between accessibility and authenticity. Quite often, it accomplishes both. In a few instances, specifically with side dishes, it accomplishes neither.

We started a recent visit with the Fantastic Mini Flautas ($5.95), which despite our predilection to dislike them for their boastful moniker, were pretty close to fantastic as flautas go. More like upscale mini-chimis that tasted as though they were baked rather than deep fried, the puffy yet nicely browned tortillas enveloped notably fresh and moist chicken meat and bits of pepper and onion.

Interesting but a little less impressive was our other starter, the Patatas ($5.45) a large plate of fried-to-order potato chips drizzled with a chipotle-garlic aioli and chile sauce, flecked with fresh cilantro. I wasn’t overly enamored with the way the aioli worked with the chips until I tried one that contained a decent smattering of cilantro. With enough cilantro, the offering worked, but it was only through high-grading the plate for chips that had piles of cilantro on them that I came away impressed with the concept.

Entrees featured generously portioned, well-prepared proteins but a trio of uninspiring side dishes. The Salmon Asado ($12.95) featured a fillet that had been grilled to a good char yet was still moist and flaky beneath the stripes. The advertised achiote marinade made its presence known, as the fish had a subtle yet meaningful edge tartness and spicy heat, a nicely unique essence.

This is well-conceived dish would be more than worth its $12.95 were sides of beans, rice and salad of a little better quality. They came off as something of an afterthought to my companion and me. The black beans were rendered to a state not unlike what one commonly encounters with standard refried beans, though pinto beans seem to hold up better flavorwise than black beans do cooked to this level. Beside the flavor-challenged beans was a rather pedestrian serving of yellow-hued rice, which, aside from a saltiness imbued by either chicken or vegetable stock, were equally as unimpressive as the beans, though the two sides did work a little better when combined.

The salad of mixed greens were dry and limp, though the drizzling of sweet, tangy vinaigrette perked them up a bit. We couldn’t help thinking that this offering could be significantly upgraded if the greens could be lightly tossed in the vinaigrette to order rather than just piled on the plate as is and squirted with dressing.

The Pollo en Rajas ($10.45) was the highlight of the meal. An excellently grilled chicken breast steeped in a green poblano chile sauce and topped with cheese, corn, zucchini and pepper strips, it sang with a full-bodied ensemble of sweetness, spicy heat and earthy depth. It was tantalizing and satisfying from the first to the last bite.

On a separate visit, I ordered the Sopa Tlalpeño ($7.40), another well-conceived, well-executed teaming of flavors and textures. The light chicken broth was well studded with fine-minced zucchini, peppers and onions, garbanzo beans and chunks of chicken, then topped with avocado slices, tortilla strips and dollops of sour cream and a smokey chipotle purée. The soup provided numerous combinations of flavor profiles with the wealth of constituents, all of them pleasing in their own ways.

Desserts showed a commendable effort to please, as they were amply portioned and outfitted. The Orange Mandarin Flan ($5.95) came as an extra-large wedge of custardy flan served over fried tortilla chips dusted with cinnamon and sugar, and was accompanied by a ramekin of mandarin orange in syrup. There was enough orange flavor in the flan to make it distinctive, but the flavoring was nicely kept in check so as not to obscure the payoff from the otherwise authentic-tasting flan.

A large wedge of cheesecake came as a multicolored affair, with pink, orange and yellow regions of the moist but pleasantly airy cake giving off hints of fruitiness. As with the flan, the signature stylings made their presence known but didn’t take away from inherent appeal of the well-made cheesecake.

There’s an intriguing tweener aspect to Zivaz. Though you order at the counter and serve yourself drinks at the beverage station, the servers who bring your food are as attentive and professional as you’d expect with traditional service, and the atmosphere, furnishings and tableware are upscale without being stuffy.

This fast-casual yet upscale Mexican eatery has carved a niche that’s somewhat similar to Fox’s Blanco Tacos + Tequila and the Flores family’s El Charro Cafés but has a distinct, undeniable signature all its own.

Diane Canez (left), Sandy Canez and Mariza Haley enjoy lunch at Zivaz Mexican Bistro.

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AT A GLANCE

Address and phone: 4590 E. Broadway, 325-1234

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays – Thursdays, 11 a.m .to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

Prices: Appetizers from $4.95 to $8.45, soups and salads from $3.45 to $11.95, entrees from $7.40 to $13.95, desserts from $4.45 to $5.95

Bar: Margaritas, beer, wine and tequila shots

Vegetarian options: Several, including Mexican Sushi ($5.45), Ensalada de Guacamole ($5.95), and Milanesa de Berenjena – breaded eggplant with corn, zucchini, red bell pepper and poblano mix ($9.95)

Desserts: Orange Mandarin Flan ($5.95), Churros Rellenos ($4.45), Cheesecake ($5.95) and Chocolate Cake ($4.95)

Latest health inspection: An “excellent” rating Jan. 16. No critical violations were reported.

What: Game On Sports Grille

Address and phone: 6453 N. Oracle Road, 797-1233

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily

What was ordered: Pastrami Hoagie ($4.99), Chicken Pesto Panini ($7.29) and one lemonade ($2.29) for a total of $15.75 including tax, well within our Cheap Eats goal of a meal for two for less than $20.

Comments: This is how the little guys can beat the big chains.

Game On has a quality of fare that sails way over the bar of standard sports-bar grub, enough so that even those who couldn’t care less about sports will want to make this Northwest Side newbie a destination for lunch and dinner.

Housed in what was formerly a Chuy’s and open since November, Game On has a clean, sleek look, and comfortable booths and tables. They’re not doing things on the cheap and quick here, and it shows in the dining room, and more importantly, in the food that comes out of the kitchen.

There is an impressive dedication to quality ingredients and made-to-order foods that was evident from the first bite to the last.

We went with the regular-size Pastrami Hoagie ($4.99) rather than the large size. The hoagie served to us was cut in half and was generously piled with some of the better pastrami we’ve tasted in these parts. The pastrami was vibrantly peppered and supple in texture, and was nicely complemented by mustard, mayo and a good match of melted Provolone. The potato-flour hoagie was fresh and soft, delivering that just-right pull of East Coast quality bread rather than the overly inflated dough balloons the chains normally serve. The side of cole slaw was equally impressive as the strands of cabbage were shredded to a fine dining-style precision. The slaw here is obviously dressed and seasoned to order, as the cabbage was fresh and crunchy, not limp and soggy.

The Chicken Pesto Panini ($7.29) featured chicken breast that was pounded thin and nicely seasoned and sautéed rather than the going-through-the-motions chicken sandwiches of other purveyors, where the chicken breast is a big, neglected blob that’s dry, unseasoned and largely flavorless. The panini also featured melted Provolone, tomato slices and just the right amount of thin-slice pancetta to add a salty edge to the sandwich.

The fries served with the panini were hand-cut and fried to an ideal texture and flavor. For my money, hand-cut fries are at their best when they’re ever so slightly limp, as this yields a subtle sweetness that’s lost if they’re fried too crispy.

Though Game On has free Wi-Fi and a nice layout of TVs – including 19-inch flat-screens at each booth – my companion and I found ourselves ignoring the sports coverage because we were so focused on savoring the food. Try saying that about your normal sports bar.

This is a well-conceived, well-run locally-owned eatery that should be able to carve out a healthy niche of loyal customers, regardless of the economic climate and the full-court press of competition from chain joints.

Service: Tableside service was friendly and attentive.

Bar: Full

Children’s menu: Yes

Web site: No

Most recent health inspection: Passed opening inspection in December. Has yet to undergo its first unannounced inspection.

The paella dish is one of the specialties at Sur Real Latin American Cuisine

This December addition to the wealth of eateries along this stretch of Skyline Drive is a welcome one.

Though pricey (like everything else up here), Sur Real’s Latin American offerings are distinctive, entertaining and nicely presented. The response to this foothills newbie has been notably good. Weeknight reservations can be hard to come by, something you can’t say about too many places these days.

Not everything bowled us over at Sur Real, but for a place with a menu as far-reaching and industrious as this one, it impressed us with bright, evocative flavors, excellent service, and all in all a pleasant albeit somewhat surreal experience.

We started with the Hot Stones ($14), which featured a dozen delicate, little strips of raw tenderloin served with chimichurri and ranchera sauce, salsa verde, sea salt and a bullfrog-sized stone heated to 500 degrees with which to cook the diminutive slices. Sizzles sang out from the stone as we applied the strips, which cooked to medium rare in less than 30 seconds or so. The tenderloin was of excellent quality, and the sauces were all impressive. The pleasantly thick chimichurri had a potent sting of vinegar that was well-played with the smooth purée of parsley, garlic and oregano. The salsa verde had a refreshing, almost sticky quality that gave the steak a silky coating of sharp tomatillo and peppers. The ranchera sauce – our favorite of the three – was aggressively spiced yet mellowed by a pleasing depth of husky pepper flavor, the kind of payoff that the trinity of peppers give to a good mole. We could have done with a few more strips of tenderloin for the $14 price tag, but were impressed with the dish’s constituents and they way it was presented.

The Colombian Arepas ($9) were more than sweet enough to be on the dessert menu, but my companions and I were refreshed by having such a touch of sweetness for a starter. Three masa patties that looked like medium pancakes in diameter and thickness were filled and topped with Cotija cheese and sided by a slaw of cilantro, lime and cabbage, drizzles of sweet cream and strokes of Aji, a puréed Peruvian green sauce. The Arepas, already sweet with good masa, were pulled to the edge of dessert by the sweet cream sauce yet cleverly pulled back by the salty and pungent cotija and Aji. This is a fun starter everyone should try.

Intrigued by the comprehensive selection of Latin American specialty meats on the menu, we made a beeline for the Latin American Sampler ($25), which features 4 ounces each of four different offerings, your choice of side, a salad and tortillas.

We were most impressed with the least exotic of the meats – the Carne Asada – which was luxuriously lean, excellently seasoned in chile, onion, garlic and beer, and topped with a mild, puréed salsa. Almost as pleasing was the Carnitas, with the slow-roasted pork shredded to a near-Machaca featheriness and refreshingly essenced with a healthy amount of citrus.

The Alcatra, lean slices of strip loin marinated in garlic and herbs, were almost blue around the marinated edges, nicely pink in the center and served similar to rare roast beef in temperature and thickness. The Alcatra went well with the ramekins of the same trio of sauces we enjoyed with the Hot Stones, while the Asada and Carnitas needed no enhancing. The only downer was the Pollo Mojo, as the Cuban-style chicken was a little dry and not greatly imbued with the advertised garlic, pepper, oregano and sour orange. The side of black beans was supremely good, the beans soft but not mushy, steeped in a rich, smoky broth studded with ham, and topped with a generous amount of crumbled cotija.

Our other entree, the Plantain Crusted Snapper ($22), was a generous slab of snapper that was gently prepared and of good freshness. Rather than encrusted with plantains, the snapper was topped with five or six dime-sized pieces of Plantain chips and two or three tablespoons of coconut flakes. The snapper sat atop a bed of Dominican rice that, while adequately prepared, didn’t do a lot for us, though a moat of mango butter perked up the rice a bit and pleasantly accented the fish.

Desserts were a mixed bag. We loved the Tres Leches cake ($10), a thick, tall wedge that held up much better than the usual soppy versions, moistened with just the right amount of condensed milk. We were less than enamored with the Trio of Flans, as the coconut, almond and vanilla flans were no more than a couple inches in diameter and a half-inch tall, and weren’t all that flavorful.

While the service was first-rate and the plates, glasses and silverware tastefully modern, the rest of Sur Real is surreal, to put it mildly. It’s like those dreams where the conversation or situation remains the same but the room keeps morphing. The layout and decor of the place looks as if it was designed by a team from a reality show – the team that lost the challenge and had to vote one of its members off the show. There are several different themes going on, and though each works in its own little micro-environment, in the grand scenario they lead to a confusing morass of competing styles, colors and objects.

Stoic, off-white columns and wall tile give way to black carpet with splashes of blue, green and red, mauveish brown tables inlaid with black and white, red-cushioned wood chairs, and black banquettes punctuated with multicolored polka dots and lined with a chartreuse collar. Running along the tops of the veneered banquette panels is a 2-inch lateral strip of light that modulates from light blue to magenta. Recessed ceilings are lined with angled, backlit photos of tropical plants, while several overhead flat panels play the same loop – a pilot’s view of a jet cruising through clouds.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Strike that, as there’s no way you can get an accurate picture of this without taking it all in for yourself. The motif we actually preferred was in the hallway to the restrooms and the restrooms themselves, an understated scheme of ornately stylish sconces, mosaic floors and controlled hues with clean lines. There was also a stately looking chef’s table at the west end, a bastion of refinement in the otherwise raucous festival of anything goes.

All this at a place that already has all the visual drama an eatery could ever ask for out the windows that run the length of the restaurant – a terrific, second-floor view that stretches from the Tucsons to the Rincons.

Sur Real is nothing if not stimulating, and though we were a little overwhelmed with the layout and decor, the food more than made up for the visual clutter. It’s nicely conceived, well-prepared, and offers a refreshing range of pleasing tastes and textures.

Though the decor of the dining room at Sur Real Latin American Cuisine is wanting, the view from the second-floor room is not - windows look out over three mountain ranges.

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SUR REAL

Address and phone: 3001 E. Skyline Drive, 529-2644

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

Prices: Appetizers $8-$14; soups and salads $8-$13; entrees $14-$28; desserts $8-$12.

Bar: Full

Vegetarian options: Colombian Arepas ($9), Calabacitas, roasted corn, spinach and pico de gallo tacos ($12), Nachos with Oaxaca and Queso Menonita with pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole and house salsa ($12)

Desserts: Flourless Chocolate-Cinnamon Torte ($9), Trio of Flans ($9), Passion Fruit and Mango Mousse ($9), Spanish Artisanal Cheeses ($12), Tres Leches Cake ($10), Mexican-style Ice Cream ($8), Churro Sundae ($10).

Latest health inspection: Passed opening inspection in December.

The Eggplant Napoleon with herbed goat cheese and roasted tomato beurre blanc at Feast

Feast is an electron.

You can never know just where it will actually be, but you’re sure to get a charge out of it.

A study in contrasts the likes of which Tucson has never seen, this midtown marvel is simultaneously hip yet homey, regal yet irreverent, and meticulously classic yet unflinchingly nonconformist. More important, it’s just about the most fun you can have with fine dining.

Feast always seems to give you something along the lines of that good-kind-of-nervous you get just before embarking on a trip somehow coupled with the easy calm of an hour in the backyard hammock. It’s homey comfort food made from ingredients you’d never have at home.

Take the Lobster, Corn and Scallion Bread Pudding ($7.50). Looking something like a small souffle or a large, calico cupcake, it had that playfully bouncy and deep-roasted flavor of the best turkey stuffing Grandma ever pulled off infused with luxuriously sweet and succulent gems of lobster and scallions. Moated in a silky Parmesan cream sauce, this is the kind of dish that makes me wish chef/owner Doug Levy wasn’t so dedicated to changing his menu every month, because I’d order it every single time.

Our other starter, the Eggplant Napoleon ($5.75), featured crispy, mellow eggplant chips layered with goat cheese and served in roasted tomato beurre blanc. It was refreshing to enjoy eggplant in such a distinctly non-flimsy fashion, and the chips were nicely set off by the pungency of the chevre and the acidity of the sauce.

We couldn’t resist the Saddle of Rabbit ($16.50), as Levy is the kind of chef who gets you to order dishes you thought you’d never order. Stuffed with chicken livers, pancetta, artichoke hearts and leeks in a fresh thyme jus, the outer shell of roasted rabbit had a rich, hearty payoff somewhere between duck breast and pork loin. The complex nucleus brought different combinations of salty, earthy and zingy hits with every bite. Nearly as impressive as the main offering were the elegant sides of mashed potatoes and kale, with the latter confoundingly prepared. Purging the bitterness from kale without cooking it into leaves as limp as wet newsprint is no small feat, and this vibrant, crunchy offering could make kale lovers out of even the most nonherbivore customers.

The Pan-roasted Monkfish ($19.50) was a beautifully prepared offering of a notably ugly ocean creature. Monkfish is a muddy-hued bottom feeder that sports a pancake-flat head with wormlike filaments that arc up and out and lure prey into the vicinity of its nightmarish maw. That the tail of such a beast could be so luxuriously supple in texture and flavor – it’s known as “the tenderloin of the sea” – is yet another seeming contradiction that fits in well here. The fist-sized, pearly white offering had a texture approaching that of a diver scallop and a clean, sweet flavor profile that was near lobster-like. The monkfish was nicely spiked with a salty yet mellow Nantua sauce, a creamy bechamel with crayfish butter and tails. The sauce just as appropriately complemented a pungent, asparagus-studded risotto.

As with everything else here, desserts were imbued with uncommon creativity and verve. The Warm Molasses Cake ($5.75) delivered a powerful payoff of hefty, near-licoricelike molasses. The dense, dark cake had me remembering the chocolate gingerbread cake of my youth and was nicely sided by a ramekin of creamy compote of caramel, pear and cardamom.

The Mascarpone and Dried strawberry Monte Cristo with Berry Sauce ($6) was the closest thing to a disappointment we had in the entire meal, and even that was a split decision. My companion loved the imaginative affair, which featured slices of dry French Toast layered with dollops of mascarpone, tangy dried strawberries and a gingerly strafed berry sauce. Though I appreciated the bridling of sweetness in which to take in the unfettered mascarpone and tang of the fruit, I found the offering to be a tad on the dry side and a bit underpowered.

As with every month’s menu, March’s features a diversity and creativity you’d be hard-pressed to find at any other eatery, with offerings that include Mussel Pot Pie, Vietnamese Beef Salad, Ducklava (phyllo dough layered with duck confit, pistachios and honey), Roasted Beet Cake, South Carolina Baby Back Ribs and a Merguez Sausage sandwich with collard greens, preserved lemon and veal demiglace.

Based on my experiences and those of essentially everyone else I’ve ever spoken to about Feast, you really can’t go wrong no matter what you order, though you’d be crazy not to start with the Lobster, Corn and Scallion Bread Pudding.

The Masacarpone and Dried Strawberry Monte Cristo at Feast

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FEAST

Address and phone: 4122 E. Speedway, 326-9363

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays

Prices: Menu changes monthly, but prices currently range from $5.75 to $13.50 for appetizers, $3.50 to 9.50 for soups and salads, $8.50 to $9.75, for sandwiches, $14 to $21.50 for entrees, and $5 to $6.50 for desserts.

Bar: full

Vegetarian options: Several, including Eggplant Napoleon ($5.75), Poached Beet and Garlic Salad ($9.50), Roasted Beet Cake ($14), Parsnip Salad ($8.50), Feast Grilled Cheese sandwich ($8.50) and Swiss Chard-wrapped Spoonbread ($14).

Desserts: Dark Chocolate Espresso Tart with Chantilly cream ($7), Banana Crumble ($6.50), Warm Molasses Cake served with Caramel Pear-Cardamom Compote ($5.75), Marscapone and Dried Strawberry Monte Cristo with Berry Sauce ($6), House-made Ice Cream ($5), and Chocolate Truffle Cookies ($0.65 each).

Latest health inspection: A “good” rating Jan. 28. A critical violation was reported for foods not correctly date marked.

Pamela Traficanti (left) and Mary Meade enjoy lunch at Burger City, a downtown joint that's part of a nonprofit arts organization.

What: Burger City

Address and phone: 47 N. Sixth Ave., 903-0919

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-3 a.m. Thursdays-Saturdays

What was ordered: JL Hooker City burger ($6.75), MX Border City burger ($6.75) and two fountain drinks ($1.50 each) for a total of $17.84 including tax, well within our Cheap Eats goal of a meal for two for less than $20.

Comments: Tig Collins has done it again.

The executive director of ArtFare, a nonprofit organization that provides studio and exhibition space for performing and visual artists and arts programming and workshops for children and adults, Collins is an unstoppable one-woman force in redeveloping downtown.

Despite the fact that ArtFare isn’t one of those favored organizations that gets rent for $1 from the city or Rio Nuevo funding, Collins and ArtFare have transformed a three-block stretch of Sixth Avenue north of Congress Street from what was a gloomy, largely vacant eyesore into a bustling little menagerie of activity. The newest addition to ArtFare’s enterprise is Burger City, formerly a short-lived diner and later an even shorter-lived pizza joint.

What Collins has been able to achieve at Burger City – with the help of a few savvy restaurant people she’s reluctant to name – is a uniquely casual yet up-tempo eatery that’s pulling in equal numbers of suits, bohemians and every other demographic. Burger City has the kind of buzz and verve that the downtown development brain trust promises yet never seems able to deliver.

Though she’s tight-lipped about the details, Collins divulged that Burger City is functioning as a nonprofit test bed for what the restaurant partners plan to develop as a franchise.

It’s a ridiculously simple yet clever formula – a narrowly focused concept that takes advantage of ArtFare’s considerable wealth of starving artists, who helped decorate the place and staff it, and many of whom live upstairs in the historic building.

The menu has a dozen burgers (though the Mem’fis City is currently unavailable because of the peanut butter debacle), a grilled veggie sandwich, corn on the cob, fries and sweet potato fries.

On our last visit, we went with the JL Hooker City and the MX Border City burgers. There is nothing on the menu bragging on the burgers with terms like Kobe, Angus, Silver City or otherwise, but they’re plenty good, cooked to order, and served on fresh rolls from Viro’s Bakery.

The Hooker City featured crispy prosciutto, blue cheese and beer-battered onion strings. The pungent cheese held sway, but was nicely complemented by the salty prosciutto and sweet onions. The Border City teamed a Queso Fresco, tomato, lettuce and a smear of refried beans with a spicy seasoning blend. These aren’t gigantic burgers, and they don’t jump off the plate with aggressive flavor profiles. Their unique toppings impress in a way that makes them easy to enjoy but don’t overwhelm the fresh ground sirloin and chuck.

A nice little touch here is the Pickle Bar, which offers a half-dozen types of pickles, and includes pickled cauliflower, beets and an interesting offering of sliced radishes in a creamy marinade. Also of note are the hand-cut sweet potato fries, which were prepared to notably precise pommes-frites standards.

If you’re like me, one gourmet burger here will pique your curiosity to come back to try a different one. On my short list are the Zorba, which features tomato, feta, tapenade and spring mix greens; the Hass, with tomato and avocado salad, white cheddar and toasted Panko crumbs; and the Abruzzo, a meatball patty with marinara, mozzarella and Grana Padano.

All proceeds from Burger City benefit ArtFare, and if the buzz keeps building here (and there’s not reason to think it won’t), the organization’s artists might not qualify as starving in the time it takes Rio Nuevo to come out with its umpteenth modified development plan.

Service: Tableside service was friendly and prompt. This is the kind of comfortable hangout that almost makes you wish the servers weren’t quite so fast or your lunch break wasn’t quite so short.

Bar: no

Children’s menu: no

Web site: artfare.wordpress.com/burger-city-menu

Most recent health inspection: Passed opening inspection in December. Has yet to undergo first unannounced inspection.

The rich, mellow French Onion Soup Gratinee at Joel's Bistro is always a good choice.

Before Joel’s Bistro came along, this cottage in Geronimo Plaza was one of a multitude of star-crossed restaurant locations in Tucson.

Seemed like every six months or so a new restaurateur would try to make a go of it here, only to be added to the string of previous failed eateries a half year later.

Chef/owner Joel Suira has been able to hang on where others had to let go because he’s grabbed a decent breakfast and lunch crowd with excellent crepes, quiches and other well-prepared fare. He also seems to do a good catering business.

When it comes to dinner, Joel’s is packed when there’s a show at Centennial Hall or something else going on the UA, but on most other nights is, well, what some would call intimate and others would call downright dead.

We were the only diners on a recent weeknight, an experience I’ve had three other times here since the bistro opened five years ago. How Suira can offer up to 10 different specials on some night with such a feast-or-famine fickle dinner crowd and a lilliputian kitchen is indeed a mystery.

The French Onion Soup Gratinee ($6) is consistently first-rate and held true to form on this quiet evening. The broth was rich yet tastefully mellow, the onions sweet and ever-so-yielding, and the cheese generously portioned and expertly browned. Though the bowl doesn’t look that large, the offering can easily be split as an appetizer of sorts.

We also split a rather pedestrian-looking Vegetarienne Salade ($8.95), that proved to be anything but average owing to Suira’s signature house dressing, which toes the line between Italian and Ranch and has uncommonly nice hints of Dijon, vinegar and something of a floral essence.

Our choice of entrees this evening were specials that are listed often enough to be considered menu items: A Tournado of Beef and Roasted Salmon Beurre Blanc combination ($22.95) and Coq Au Vin ($19.95). While they were well-prepared in classic French tradition, they suffered slightly from the fact that some of both dishes seemed to have been prepared at least in part in advance and held before being finished to order. Though there is nothing unique or necessarily bad about this practice – it’s what allows bistros and cafes to offer lots of menu items – we were a little disappointed with the results given the prices.

The Tournado was of ample size and tenderness and arrived with a nice level of caramelization and carefully wrapped in bacon. We ordered it medium rare, and though the beef indeed had the appropriate medium rare suppleness, the color was that of a medium-well finish, probably owning to the fact that it had been braised, stewed or held in its sauce long enough to be stained by it. The flavor also seemed to suffer from the long exposure to the sauce, as it lacked the payoff normally delivered by a nice cut of grilled beef. The roasted salmon was excellent, with a fresh, pristine flakiness and sweet flavor complemented by a spot-on beurre blanc sauce. The problem here was the portion, as the fillet was not much bigger than my thumb.

There’s no denying Suira’s acumen as a French chef, as the Coq Au Vin was near flawless in the luxurious yet close-to-the-vest nature of the broth, with the wine expertly offset by the mushrooms, garlic and other ingredients. As with the Tournado, the problem here was that the chicken seemed a little long in the tooth. It was less than tender, and even the most interior of the meat was stained a hue that was browner than even the beef.

Both entrees came with excellent sautéed-to-order vegetables and mashed potatoes that were nicely spiked with garlic and shallots.

Desserts, which are outsourced from a good bakery, made for a pleasant finish. A cakeish Tiramisu ($4.95) was refreshingly arid and thoughtfully restrained as the cocoa, espresso and sugar were carefully kept in check to give a better showcase to the mascarpone and light cake. The Trio Cheesecake ($4.95) a fixture at Joel’s, is always a pleasant ending. A round, multi-layered, affair, it features a cookie foundation followed by a silky, chocolate cheesecake, a sultry white chocolate mousse and a healthy topping of ganache.

I went back to Joel’s for lunch a few days later for the cute, little personal-size quiches he seems to sell by the hundreds. Everything about the quiche (this one featured shrimp and crab, though technically, I think we were talking krab), was truly exquisite, from the perfectly flaky crust to the sumptuous eggs, cheese, herbs and spices.

Maybe it’s too much to ask of a UA-area restaurant that does the lion’s share of its business before 5 p.m. to pull off dinner in as fresh, vibrant and excellent a manner as it does with its solid breakfast and lunch fare. I can’t help thinking if this bistro scaled back its menu options, the precision and considerable talent Suira has would be better showcased and better appreciated as a dinner destination.

VAL CAÑEZ/Tucson Citizen

Joel's Bistro is tucked into a corner of charming Geronimo Plaza in Main Gate Square.

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JOEL’S BISTRO

Address and phone: 806 E. University Blvd., 529-7277

Hours: 8 a.m to 3 p.m and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays

Prices: Salads from $5.25 to $8.95, Soups from $5.50 to $6, entrees from $16.95 to $24.95.

Bar: BYO

Vegetarian options: Fromage de Brie sandwich ($8.50), Broccoli quiche ($7.50), Spinach and Swiss cheese quiche ($7.50), Vegetarienne Salade ($8.95)

Desserts: Vary, but currently include Tiramisu ($4.95), Mango Cheesecake ($4.95), and Trio Cheesecake ($4.95)

Latest health inspection: A “good” rating Oct. 20. Critical violations were reported for potentially hazardous foods not held at proper cooling temperature, and for foods not correctly date marked.