Mora Italian Restaurant is by Celebrity Chef Scott Conant of Food Network and our local Pomo Restaurants. Mora Italian is a glamorous, stunning, modern somewhat upscale but also casual Italian Restaurant. The atmosphere is a mix of grand, rich and playful with an energetic vibe at prime time.

On my past visits to Mora Italian the food ranged from the outstanding – very good. Not everything we tried but some things we previously tried are pictured below.

This time we decided to try the tasting menu. I note that nobody made me try the tasting menu by twisting my arm…..or holding a gun to my head………but it just sounded fun and worth trying and I was planning on trying two of the dishes anyway and I also always wanted to try the signature pasta dish (pasta al pomodoro)…………… The tasting menu (at this time)…. cost $58 dollars a person at your table for five courses. That seems reasonable and we always enjoyed the food here so we gave it a try.

First course was the Focaccia di Recco.

I’ve had this before from Pomo Pizzeria and from Pomo it was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted in my life. From Pomo the crust was also whisper thin…but crisp with a melty molten middle of flowing pungent cheese that taste better than pizza cheese. Sadly Mora’s focaccia didn’t compare. From Mora the texture and flavor of the cheese differed and didn’t get all melty and molten and also didn’t have that special flavor. The Mora focaccia tasted burnt and over salted and was slightly unpleasant. It also turned doughy…I didn’t feel like complaining…..I just figured everything afterwards would be fine. Below are two photos of the focaccia di Recco from Pomo Pizzeria in Scottsdale.

Second course was the best course for both of us. An arugula with goat cheese salad and the burrata…….no complaints here…….only praises.

Third courses were Polenta and Meatballs over Semolina Pudding.

The creamy polenta was accented with fresh mushrooms and very hard burnt chunks of bacon that I honestly thought were inedible pieces of burnt wood. The bacon was so overcooked that it impossible to bite threw (I thought they were burnt pieces of wood). The polenta would have been excellent if it didn’t contain the burnt wood-like bacon. On the other hand the Meatball dish almost was the best dish of the evening. It was flavored very well but unfortunately for us the meatballs were hard and dry………just overcooked……

Fourth courses were the Signature Pasta Al Pomodoro (plain pasta with sauce) and Fettuccine.

I can’t say in any way anything bad about the pasta al pomodoro….. The pasta was prepared to a perfect al dente. The tomato sauce was seasoned nicely and came with the perfect amount of basil to make it delicious. The Fettuccine didn’t have much flavor to it. It was studded with several extra large whole garlic cloves that seemed slow cooked till sweet. I thought maybe a little bit of some kind of pepper or more escarole might balance out the flavors more. At this point I feel the effects from all the carbs and I ate less than one third of the previous plates.

Fifth course was the Caramel Budino and the Chocolate Torte.

Both desserts were too rich and heavy for our taste….plus I had carbs way beyond my limit already. The Chocolate torte was heavy and rich like a cheese cake and the Budino was like a whole bowl of sweet caramel.

Picking up the car from valet was odd. We had to walk to the valet when our car was by the valet stand and then had to walk back to the restaurant so the valet could drive our car to us.

Turns out the Tasting menu isn’t always a good idea. It was too many carbs for me. I do note I did enjoy the food from previous visits to Mora Italian. For me it’s better if I pick out my own plates in a restaurant.

Even from a really Nice Restaurant The Forking Truth is that The Tasting Menu isn’t always a very good idea. www.MoraItalian.com

Your experience may or may NOT differ and EVERY FORKING THING is subject to change.

As a slight update the manager from Mora read a review from me and did apologies for the unpleasant burnt tasting focaccia and poor execution from some of the food that was prepared for us. He told me to make sure I say Hi to him the next time I dine with them.

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.

***UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS****The Barrio Cafe Grand Reserva is located in Phoenix Arizona and is an upscale modern Mexican Restaurant. The executive chef is James Beard Nominated Silvana Salcido Esparza. She is well known and famous for her tender flavorful Oochinita Pibil, Chiles en Nogada and her bright chunky Guacamole topped with pomegranate seeds. The menu offerings at Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva are about half vegan and half with cheese or meat. The menu offers a la carte options and tasting menu options that are vegan or non-vegan or flexible. Often special hard to find Mexican ingredients are used in dishes offered. Most of the dishes are very complex and some but not all do run extremely hot and spicy but also very flavorful.

The restaurant is only postage stamp sized. The dining room is a vestibule of about 8 tables. The bar only seats two.

The walls are an art gallery that tells Mexican Folklore.

Around the restaurant are amazing decorations. Much more than these photos show. Many whimsical things. Trees that are crocheted…..hanging dolls…lots of colors and lights.

Tonight they started us off with complimentary extra spicy but delicious nuts and seeds.

We shared an amazing dish that was made with fresh lime, cilantro, seaweed, a few different hot peppers, onion, radish, cucumber, watermelon, pear, pomegranate, sushi grade ahi tuna and some other special things.

OMG this is so refreshing, light, delicious and oh so spicy……but delicious…..I got sort of hypnotized. It’s almost too hot. ……but did I mention how Forking Delicious this is???? It’s so light and all the flavors pop!

We also shared the Huitlacoche (corn smut also known as the Mexican Truffle but it’s not truffle) with corn, chile, corn masa tortilla and salsa de xoconostle.

This was tasty…..but I think my mouth was sort of numb from the last dish and my spicy cocktail……I’m not certain that I was able to taste everything here…still tasty.

My dinner was a masterpiece. I had the Pescado en Mole de Rojas.

Pan seared Corvina, this unique delicious salsa d Xoconostle (cactus fruit) tatemado (fire roasted), red pine nut and rose petal mole sauce and vegetables. It was more delicious than I can describe. Different flavors were all around the plate. The salsa was more delicious than other salsas I’ve tasted…..Rose mole…who knew that this could be delicious? It was a very spectacular plate!

Same thing with the Amarillo con Chicharron de Pancita.

Here we had tender pork belly in a amarillo mole sauce also with different flavors around the plate and lots of fresh vegetables.

For dessert we shared this incredible light as air vanilla cream filled chocolate dome with orange mole and the plate came with these whisper thin tasty sesame crisps.

Everything was Forking Awesome!

Barrio Gran Reserva is always Worth a Fork!

www.BarrioCafeGranReseva,com

Every THING is subject to change and your experience MAY or may NOT differ.