Today Kirk is really busy. Cathy is busy. But Ed (from Yuma) recently got back from a weekend in Phoenix where he ate food.
Tina and I were in Phoenix to look at stuff in art museums,
go shopping, and eat some interesting food. On Friday night, we got a
reservation for Bink's Midtown, the newest restaurant of Kevin and Amy Binkley,
who have gained a reputation for innovative culinary approaches.
It took us a couple of minutes to find the location which is
in a converted old house and is not located at a street corner nor in a strip
mall. At night, this sign should help you find the restaurant:
In addition to a large patio area, whose 8 – 10 tables were
fully occupied when we arrived at 6:45, the restaurant offered 2 or 3 sizable
rooms decorated with vegetable/plant paintings along
the white walls and white butcher paper atop white linen on the tables. While the
focus was clearly on the food, not the decor, the rooms were cheerful, tasteful,
and utilitarian although a bit noisy when all of the tables were occupied.
The emphasis in the restaurant is on fresh local produce. A list of dishes featuring local produce comes attached to the main menu
with a clothes pin. Cute and functional, I gotta say:
The produce-centric items were divided into Cold, Hot, and
Salad sections, with a couple of soups at the bottom:
The wine list was a single page divided into whites and
reds. While a modest list by fancy restaurant standards, many choices in both
categories would have satisfied us. Some wines were also available by glass and by
carafe.
After talking with the helpful server, Tina and I decided on
one item from each produce section as well as an appetizer and a main course,
all of which we would share. We would start with a carafe of white wine, but we
wanted a Pinot Noir from Oregon (Purple Hands) to accompany the duck. Our white
wine choice, an anonymous riesling from Alsace, was the first thing to show up
at our table:
It was a good match for most of our dinner as the wine
opened with fruity and flowery notes, but had a smooth dry finish, making it
very versatile.
The beet produce plate arrived next:
We were delighted. The thinly sliced cool yellow
beets were accompanied by salted hazelnuts, blueberries, chunks of feta goat
cheese, and a few baby greens. The dressing was a mild olive oil and berry
vinaigrette. Two major interplays dominated the dish. There
was a sweet salty balance, the berries and beets playing off against the cheese
and nuts. Similarly there was an interesting textural variation with the
crunchy hazelnuts at one polarity and soft berries and creamy feta cheese at
the other. Wow! An outstanding beginning.
We were about halfway through the beets when the arugula and
fig salad landed on the table. About a minute later, the duck breast flew in
from the kitchen. A cast-iron bucket of mussels found a spot near the middle of
the little two-top, and a cast-iron serving tray filled with the slices of
summer squash gratin plopped down on the one small part of the table not
already occupied by food, utensils, and wine.
The chaos seemed overwhelming at that moment. Where to
start? How to eat all of these things at once? I was on the verge of a foodie
meltdown when Tina decided we should do some prioritizing. The cold salad could
wait for later. No point in attacking the duck without the Pinot Noir to go
along with it, and there was no point in requesting that wine since
there was no place for it anywhere on the small table anyway.
So we concentrated on drinking the pleasant riesling,
finishing the wonderful beets, and savoring the mussels and the squash while
they were hot and fresh from the oven. The perfectly prepared mussels were
bathed in a light creamy curry sauce with pronounced lemongrass flavors:
Although that picture doesn't show much – black mussels at
the bottom of a black cast-iron bucket are not the most photogenic food items –
the mussels were outstandingly tender and fresh. The accompanying bread was
slightly sweet and had an interesting texture: firm, but not chewy or crunchy.
I wished I had more of it to soak up the flavorful broth.
The summer squash gratin was also very nicely done. While
the menu described it as a "purée," the serving tray contained thin
interleaved slices of yellow and green squash:
The slices were perfectly cooked, not soft and not raw.
Overall, the dish emphasized their flavor, and the Parmesan stayed in the
background. If this had been served as a side dish in a steakhouse, I probably
wouldn't have paid much attention to it, and that would've been a shame,
because it was splendid. So good that I had to remind Tina to eat some of it before I gobbled it all up.
At this point, we got the attention of a waitperson who cleared
some table and brought over the carafe of Oregon Pinot Noir (and appropriate
stemware) (sorry, no picture). Now Tina and I could turn our attention to the
remaining 2 items.
The sizable arugula salad had a lot going on:
The arugula itself was mounded on top of strands of
spaghetti squash, covered with shredded pecorino Romano, and dotted with halves
of black mission figs, chunks of dried apricot, and pieces of pecan. The menu
says there was a horseradish/honey dressing, but I didn't notice it. To me, the
emphasis in the salad was on the ingredients, and each bite was a little
different than the one before. As with the beet appetizer, sweet/salty tastes
and a range of textures predominated.
Finally, we turned to the roasted duck breast, still warm
enough to make for pleasant eating:
We had requested the duck to be medium rare and were both
pleased that it had not been overcooked. The crunchy skin accented the smooth
rich flavor of the waterfowl. The seasoning was perfect for my palate; first the savor of duck breast
filled my mouth, and then the notes of Chinese 5 spice contributed to a long
and complex finish. The Purple Hands Pinot Noir was a perfect match, having
enough earthy body to stand up to the duck.
Although the simultaneous arrival of most of the dinner was
a bit disconcerting, and the noise made it sometimes hard to converse, Tina and
I really enjoyed our night at Bink’s. The food preparations were all tasty and
most of them were very imaginative as well. We also appreciated the emphasis on
local and seasonal produce. Considering the quality of ingredients and the
skill of preparation, the price of our dinner for 2 seemed like a good value
for a special meal:
Next time, we will order a fewer dishes at a time and take
more control of the organization of the meal. The originality of the
preparations and quality of the food really deserve a more leisurely pace, and
each plate is worthy of a diner's attention and focus.
Bink’s Midtown, 2320 E Osborn Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016; (602)
388-4874; Open 11Am (10 on Sunday), closed 10 pm (11 Fri & Sat).