The June issue of Phoenix Magazine is out and Ellen Jeffords files a thorough review of her dining experience. Did she like it?

Its name alone, lacking a tagline that explains its cuisine, makes it sound as if it could be a children’s clothing boutique

In the evening, lights are so dim it’s difficult to read the menu or see the food

Starters include a well-crusted, creamy polenta cake ($9) sparked up and enriched with tarragon butter and glazed with melted cheese. It’s the best cornmeal you’ll ever taste. Beautifully presented, classic carpaccio ($12) could have used a side of crostini.

Some things are simply inexplicable. Arancini ($9), fried rice balls, were completely missing the essential cheese stuffing and, thus, were dry and dull.

Seafood is beautifully handled. Firm yet moist black cod ($26) holds up well to a textural polenta cake and vibrant ratatouille, and flaky, mild salmon ($25) is paired with an imaginative veggie-laden couscous singing with flavor.

Concluding:

somewhere inside this overblown mishmash of styles and intentions, a good Mediterranean-inspired eatery is struggling mightily to get out.

See complete review page 167 Phoenix Magazine’s June Issue.   Ph. Richard Maack

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