Last year (December 2017) PA’LA Wood Fired Cooking was the most anticipated restaurant opening for Phoenix. The chef/co-owner is highly accomplished and has worked for many of the most cherished restaurants in Phoenix. PA’LA is not the usual restaurant. This is a high quality casual order at the counter restaurant with very limited menu offerings that slant fresh seafood and also slant slightly Italian. On my most recent visit they offered a few mostly Italian inspired tapas plates, a seafood grain bowl and a sandwich. PA’LA is a small but cozy restaurant. There are a few tables inside and outdoor seating.
We started out by sharing a tapas plate of anchovies with crackers.
The anchovies were plump for anchovies and were dressed with quality olive oil and lemon. They were sprinkled with a fruity slightly spicy red pepper that might be have been Aleppo pepper. Three crackers were served on the side.
My main was a grain bowl topped with Rhode Island Skate called the Navarro Bowl.
This meal was very unusual. The bowl consist of five grains, seeds, beets and cannelloni beans that are dressed with oil, vinegar, a few herbs and seasoning. The skate is unlike any fish I had before. It’s unusually flat….no more than a quarter inch thick. Instead of flaky meat like most fish is this one is sort of stringy but tender and very mild. Skate is a very unusual fish choice to serve. Very few restaurants in the country serve it for a number of reasons. Most fisherman don’t even catch the skates and throw them back into the water because the fish has very little edible meat. Skate meat also spoils much faster than other fish………….Anyways…The fish is seasoned with some fresh herbs and a spicy red powdered pepper. This taste more flavorful and is very different than my last Navarro Bowl I had at PA’LA. The grains here have different textures. Some grains are chewy, some pop, others burst and the beans are creamy. The chunks of beets are earthy and bright. The bowl was nourishing, didn’t seem heavy but was also filling.
My husband had the Sandwich….A grass fed beef sandwich with poblano pepper, spinach and chimayo chile powder.
The sandwich was made on Italian Style wood fired flat bread and came with a tasty salad that was made of very ripe sweet tomatoes and peppery greens. The sandwich is very flavorful and delicious. The meat was also tender.
That was my trip to PA’LA.
I’d say PA’LA is worth a Fork!
www.PALAKitchen.com
Everything is subject to change and your exsperience may or may not differ.
