A few months ago, the United States Mint placed its final order for the blanks needed to create pennies. With that action, the long-debated demise of the one-cent coin began, a move that puts the United States belatedly in line with allies such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, all of which have abolished their lowest domination coins. Even with the elimination of the actual pennies in our pockets, the phrase “pretty penny” has a certain nostalgic appeal. On Roosevelt Row in Phoenix, a restaurant with that exact name delivers many pennies worth of value.
Pretty Penny is the latest occupant of a space that has been home to multiple ventures under the umbrella of Pour Bastards Hospitality, a food and beverage enterprise that operates several establishments, many with names more colorful than Pretty Penny, at the east end of Roosevelt Row. In fact, Pretty Penny originated across the street before moving into its current space on the south side of Roosevelt. The location is five blocks east of Roosevelt/Central station on the B Line, and bike racks are found in multiple locations around the corner on Fifth Street.
Pretty Penny’s facade on Roosevelt is unassuming. There’s a small sign over the door accompanied by the phrase “In Taste we Trust.” Inside, the look is dark and compact with brick walls and tight seating, but windows along Roosevelt provide some natural light to make the space feel more open. Two disco balls hanging from the ceiling are a reminder of the space’s previous occupant, Disco Dragon. Reservations are encouraged, and appreciation for them is expressed with a delightfully retro place card at the table and a complimentary pour of prosecco.
The food menu fits on a single page, brief in format but diverse in terms of inspiration. A variety of global influences are woven together into an array of about a dozen dishes, about two-thirds of them small plates with the remainder being larger entrees. Two people dining together might do well by ordering three or four of them depending on the exact distribution between big and small items. For guests who want to “go big or go home,” the last item on the continuously changing menu is often a supersized shareable steak such as a ribeye or a tomahawk.
Some items might seem familiar at first but add a few distinctive touches from unexpected angles. The Caesar salad is a version of an Italian-American restaurant standard made more distinctive with the addition of flakes of bonito dancing on top of the romaine leaves and croutons. The leek risotto, which seems to have persisted as a favorite even as the rest of the menu changes periodically, is light and lemon-tinged with umami notes from parmesan and white mushrooms in combination with leeks and Japanese short-grain koshihikari rice.
Beyond salads and grains, Pretty Penny has a nuanced touch with vegetables. A dish labeled as “confit tomatoes” is really like a supercharged bruschetta with a based of Noble country bread, a layer of stretchy stracciatella cheese, whole baby heirloom tomatoes, and some slivers of green apple acting as a subtle presence to add sweetness, tang, and structure. Braised eggplant involves thin roasted slices of the vegetable with panela cheese and North African chermoula sauce. Roasted fingerling potatoes or carrots are simpler, but equally successful.
The menu always has some raw seafood items such as hamachi crudo prepared with yellowtail tuna marinated in citrus juices, fresno peppers, and sesame chili oil or tuna tartare featuring diced, uncooked fish with avocado crema below, sliced chilies on top adding a layer of spice, and an encirclement of rice crackers adding some a bit of a crunchy texture. A display screen mounted over the bar always highlights a few specials and menu additions, including delicacies like a daily selection of oysters and caviar, which the restaurant markets as “at cost.”
In terms of cooked seafood, branzino is cooked in a beurre blanc with capers, yielding a tender fish that is easy for two people to share. Among the entrees, another perennial is the lamb ragu with thick tubes of paccheri pasta in a pomodoro sauce with calabrian chilies. A grilled New York strip steak and a confit quarter chicken have been recent features on the entree menu as well. While the overall theme remains constant from one day to another, expect the exact configuration of the menu to change every few months to reflect seasonal adjustment.
There have been two consistent dessert offerings at Pretty Penny on recent menus. A dark chocolate budino is a thick pudding topped with a crumbly layer, bits of fruit, and some orange segments. The sabayon is a custard with fruit-forward taste, and a recent off-menu special was a peach cobber with vanilla ice cream. There is also a selection of port and dessert wine for liquid dessert options. For drinks earlier in the meal, the cocktail menu, like its counterpart for food, is organized such that lighter offerings are on top with boozier beverages at the bottom.
Some recent favorites have included a cucumber fizz, a drink with the kick of tequila and the sparkle of prosecco, as well as the Deja Vu, another tequila cocktail with vegetal notes from arugula and green apples. Other drinks have more of a gin or vodka base, and there is of course wine and beer. For mocktails, the Copenhagen line of sparkling teas is offered. With the United States finally abandoning its least valuable form of money, customers should leave their copper coins at home, but it is still a pleasure to find this Pretty Penny along Roosevelt Row.
509 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix AZ 85004
https://www.intastewetrust.com
PHX Rail Food 