Coup des Tartes (Phoenix, AZ)

Every year, the Arizona Restaurant Association hosts Arizona Restaurant Week.  Typically, restaurant week occurs in the fall, but with the popularity of the event, a spring event is now held, with 2011 marking the first spring restaurant week in Arizona.  We love to take advantage of the special discounts offered by the local restaurants, so this time, we decided to try Coup des Tartes, a small bistro-style French BYOB restaurant in Phoenix.

During restaurant week, each establishment will offer a prix-fixe menu for either $30 or $40 per person.  Coup des Tartes presented the following options for their menu:

Knowing us, we wanted to try as much of the menu as possible, so we ordered different items for each of the courses.  We started off with our server bringing us two different types of fresh bread and a butter herb mixture.

And since it was a BYOB, we brought a bottle of the 2007 Antica Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that we enjoy so much.

First Course: Escargot & Parmesano Salad
The Escargot was much more tender and flavorful than we have had anywhere else (or when we try to prepare it at home).  And the leftover sauce was rich, buttery, and garlicky, which was great for bread dipping.  The Parmesano salad was a classic Caesars salad.  The dressing was pleasant; nothing special but overall a good start to the meal.

Second Course: Filet Mignon & French Style Braised Short Ribs
The beef was an Austrian Grass Fed Filet Mignon, which was topped with caramelized onions and an aged port glaze and served with haricot verts and mashed potatoes.  The beef was cooked perfectly at medium rare and was tender and flavorful.  Carli also commented these were the best haricot verts (French green beens) she had ever had.  The French Style Braised Short Ribs were slow roasted in a classic Mirepoix and served with sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes.  The short ribs were absolutely delicious.  The meat fell apart at the slightest prodding from my fork and had a wonderful rustic French character.  I don't recall the exact flavors of the sauteed spinach but I do recall them being seasoned nicely, teetering to the point of almost being over seasoned but not crossing that line.

Dessert Course: Four Berry Tarte & Creme Brulee
The Four Berry Tarte is composed of a shortbread crust filled with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries topped with an almond crumble and served warm with vanilla ice cream.  Coup des Tartes creme brulee is a classic creme brulee, with a nice caramelized crust and topped with a fresh strawberry and mint.  We also ordered a latte to go with our desserts.  Both desserts and the latte were a great finish, each living up to the expectations set by the previous courses of our meal.

Carli and I are both big fans of French cooking and Coup des Tartes only enhanced our enjoyment of that style of cuisine.  For us, Arizona Restaurant Week got off to a great start and we look forward to trying another restaurant before the event ends.

http://www.nicetartes.com