T.Cook’s at the Royal Palms invited us to try out their newly created menu and in a word it was delightful. In May of this year Chef Todd Allison joined the restaurant and after making some other changes built out this new menu and brought T.Cooks back to its original Mediterranean focus. Some of the other changes he has brought about includes; an interactive dining experience utilizing the fireplace area of the room, expanded the on-site garden, and brought back a few classics including the pesto. “Coming back to Arizona has been an exciting experience, especially seeing how significantly the culinary scene has evolved and how educated and enthusiastic diners are,” said Allison. “Taking T. Cook’s back to Northern Mediterranean-inspired cuisine was a natural fit for me. It’s what I know and what I’ve built my culinary background on for the past 10 years. I’m sourcing directly from that region to make each dish as authentic as possible, while also supporting local farmers and ranchers. The combination of the two makes for a memorable dining experience.”
So now that we know the background, let’s get to the good part, the food. Starting off the extravaganza was the Grilled Spanish Octopus. Plated on a wood board were charred green beans, crispy calamari, roasted tomatoes, artichokes, and a lemon-caper aioli. The star of course was the grilled Octopus, which was meaty but tender to the bite with just a hint of the grilled exterior taste. Perfectly size for two as a shared plate it was not the overwhelming size of the typical calamari. Even if you are squeamish about eating octopus you will quickly get over that with one small bite. Next up we enjoyed the pan roasted Hudson Valley Foie Gras. Distinctive in its combination of flavors Chef Allison plates the foie gras on a quarter portion of a thyme waffle and incorporates a piece of fried chicken. The plate is then drizzled with estate citrus maple syrup. Never in my right mind would I think to combine such flavors but this was a true work of genius. Make sure to get a bit of all the pieces of this puzzle to unlock the wonderful taste of this dish. The salty and sweet work in tandem with each other as the thyme of the waffle comes to life. From the fireplace selection we tasted the Spanish Choriqueso, presented in a small cast iron bowl with pieces of flat bread for dipping or in our case spooning the creamy queso. It was simply perfect. Not too spicy just a hint of heat with charred scallions, if we didn’t have more to come I could have eaten the whole serving. Additionally, we tasted the braised beef short rib with comes as two small pieces of short rib topped with a ravioli filled with ricotta cheese and arugula all sitting in a parsnip puree. We discovered the ravioli had a sweet taste to it we couldn’t figure out over the arugula peppery filling. We were told that basil is also added and we agree it was a nice addition to balance out the other flavors. Last as a palate cleaner of sorts we went with the heirloom tomato salad which comes with the most creamy burrata chese I have ever tasted, watercress and a balsamic and olive oil combination. Interesting experience during this course was one plate included what tasted like a small amount of sea salt on the bottom of the dish, while another plate did not. Either way it worked and of course the salt lover at the table got the one without and the salt avoider got the one with the salt. Switching plates did the job and we could refocus on the burrata.
For entrees we had a hard time deciding as there were many wonderful sounding options to choose from but in the end we went with the Pan Roasted John Dory and the Maine Lobster Carbonara. The John Dory was a nice flaky fish which had a very nice lemon-caper sauce on top. It came with small Yukon gold potatoes and artichoke barigoule which were a perfect accompaniment for this New Zealand fish. Our server brought us a pairing of Tattinger champagne which was unexpected but really did bring out the flavors of the dish. If you feel like splurging I highly recommend it. The Maine Lobster Carbonara was rich but without being overbearing or extremely heavy. The lobster was well presented and distributed within the pasta along with pancetta, broccolini, capellini, and a parmesan cheese. It is a lobster lover’s dream and one that will make you glad you hit the gym earlier in the day.
For dessert we tasted the Bread Pudding and the Orange Pana Cotta. As a bread pudding lover it was a no brainer but we were surprised to find that the pana cotta was actually the table’s favorite desert. The bread pudding is made with croissants and is different every week. That alone sold the table on it and we believed it would be the hands down winner in this small dessert contest. It came as a chocolate bread pudding with coconut flakes. Warmed and dozing with flavor the coconut and chocolate were both strong flavors and in doing so limited how much we could eat of it. Thankfully the ice cream topping it also smoothed things out. The pana cotta however was perfect in every way. Topped with huckleberry compote and candied ginger, you only needed a little of the fruit to accentuate the pana cotta flavorings. Of course, we thought the perfect combination included the homemade cinnamon graham crackers dipped with just a little of everything. The crunch from the cookie, the sweetness from the fruit, and the smooth mellow pana cotta were just a perfect way to end this food extravaganza.
More Information: T.Cook’s