So much of the classic movie “Home Alone” has infused popular culture that it’s sometimes hard to remember all the tropes derived from it. One of them is the phrase “filthy animal.” The words are heard as an insult from one gangster to another during a fictional film within a film that Kevin McCallister watches and then uses to scare a visitor away. The full wording is “Keep the change, you filth animal.” In this increasingly cashless and inflationary era, there isn’t much change to keep anymore, but the words “filthy animal” persist as a restaurant name in Tempe.
Filthy Animal is a product of Pretty Decent Concepts (PDC), the same folks behind Wren and Wolf, Carry On, Creampuff, and Cleaverman in downtown Phoenix. Having established itself firmly in the center of the state’s largest city, PDC is now focusing on another urban core, downtown Tempe and the Mill Avenue district, with several projects there. Mill is a street that has struggled with vacancies and closures recently, so Filthy’s arrival is a welcome development in the effort to make one of the region’s most walkable areas into a dining destination again.
Filthy Animal’s habitat is a prime spot at the intersection of Mill Avenue and University Drive, five blocks south of Mill Avenue / Third Street station on the A Line and along the route of the Tempe Streetcar. Bike racks are found right by the front door, which addresses the busy corner of downtown Tempe’s two major thoroughfares. Two shaded patios flank each side of the restaurant’s entrance, providing something not found at other PDC restaurants to date, a lively area for outdoor dining with a good view of Mill Avenue street life and passing streetcars.
Inside, there has been a bold redesign of the space, which previously housed an outpost of the PF Chang’s chain. With that brand having lost its luster, a complete renovation was in order, and the result at Filthy Animal follows a template first established at Wren and Wolf. That approach includes seating that is nearly all banquettes; dark, dramatically lit interiors; big plants, an open kitchen, and an unusual emphasis on taxidermy, or at least the appearance of it. That includes mock stuffed leopards in prominent places and slightly surreal images of animals on the wall.
The menu also follows a pattern first seen at Wren & Wolf, albeit with some variations of its own. The approach is a little bit steakhouse with a whole lot of Asian and Latin American influences. Yellowtail tiradito is accentuated by tangy peaches, a smooth avocado crema, a little bit of habanero for spice, and crisp quinoa providing another textural sensation. An order of Filthy’s milk bread is a popular item to share. The dough is soft and sweet as expected but enlivened by scallions, bits of almond and kalamata olives, and tomato butter presented as a little ball on top.
The same approach extends to salads like a Caesar given a bit of kick with the addition of roasted shishito peppers and a crisp sheet of tapioca “chicarron.” A spicy peanut and tomato salad evokes a mixture of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavors reminiscent of Thai cuisine. Smoked greens, which features a somewhat unfamiliar unexpected use of bok choy as a salad vegetable with avocado, edamame, spring peas, and black sesame, are dramatically brought to the table under a dome that allows for a sudden release of aroma when it is lifted by the server.
The boundary between appetizers and entrees can be fluid here. Skewers, for example, can serve individually as snacks or appetizers, but several of them combined can function as filling main dish. Among them, the oyster mushroom skewer is among the most satisfying, especially when paired with the accompanying kosho aioli, a condiment that appears also with the bomba rice, Filthy’s version of risotto with short grains combined with Israel couscous. Campfire branzino also features pearls of couscous below grilled fish with a corn foam on the side.
Steaks are typically paired with chimichurri and arugula salad, whether filet or ribeye from the dinner menu or a more accessibly priced flatiron steak frites with meat, greens, and potatoes from the lunch menu. The ultimate indulgence is a tomahawk steak for two or more people with all the preceding accompaniments, along with the addition of bone marrow. The restaurant has also recently added a weekend brunch menu that adds eggs to the steak dishes while also incorporating cross-cultural interpretations of classics such as pancakes and eggs Benedict.
Among the desserts, the dense but delicious cheesecake is multi-faceted with a tres leches topping, pecan crumble, and a sweet foam on the side. A blackberry dark chocolate entremet features both berry and cacao flavors working in alternation with a mousse inside a berry shell and a separate scoop of ice cream on the side. Beverages tend to be equally complex with cocktails like Jungle Thyme, a rum drink with mixed fruits and sprig of thyme for a savory and ornamental note, and Have You Heard of Mezcal, which is simultaneously smoky and spicy.
If that proves too fiery, it’s possible to return to rum with the Wise Decision, which uses fresh sage to balance muddled raspberries. Although the emphasis is clearly on mixed drinks, there is also a wine list and modest selection of draft beers, including White Rabbit from neighboring Pedal Haus. Just as Kevin McCallister was finally reunited with his family, Mill Avenue will eventually rebound as a dining destination. Even if there’s no longer much change to be kept, change is inevitable and constant, and Filthy Animal is part of the evolution of downtown Tempe.
740 S. Mill Ave., Tempe AZ 85281
https://www.thisisfilthyanimal.com
PHX Rail Food 