Lynn X.
Yelp
Hello Everyone: This review is for a recent experience at Soul Cafe in Scottsdale, Arizona.
My husband and I have been to this restaurant previously, but since we ordered different entrees than normal, I am posting this review as well.
Ambiance: Soul Cafe is normally busy, starting with the Happy Hour crowd, so we usually go for dinner early into the night when the noise is "less" and we can talk at a normal level in the restaurant seating area.
Service: We've had Lisa as our server a couple of times now and she always does a nice job.
General Manager: Annamarie is the General Manager. She constantly circulates around Soul Cafe checking on everyone, helping process payments, keeping the flow going in both the bar and dining room area. She is very pleasant and we always enjoy our conversations with her.
Regarding the Food:
Salad: We ordered the Arizona Wedge Salad to split (based on previous visits, this is large enough to split). Cost: $16.00
The salad is an iceberg lettuce wedge, cherry tomatoes, avocado and jalapeño bleu cheese dressing topped with jalapeño bacon. I enjoy this salad because I like spicy food. For those of you who don't care for spicy food, I would recommend one of the other salads on the menu. This time the salad was served with quite a bit of dressing, perhaps too much (which had not happened in the past visits). Otherwise, it was as fresh and "crisp" as previous visits.
Entrees: My husband ordered the Chicken Piccata at $24.00. The portion received was enough for dinner and then a small portion to take home for lunch. But, surprisingly he indicated the angel hair pasta was overdone and the chicken was tough (I noticed him "cutting" the chicken longer than should have been necessary for chicken). The chicken filet served was larger on one end and smaller on the other (not beat to the same thickness throughout prior to cooking), so this may explain why some of the chicken was tough.
The sauce was nice, but the dish overall would have benefited from more sauce than was served because the sauce was on the chicken only as you can see from the photo. But, overall the flavor was nice, not too acidic.
I ordered the Bison Short Ribs, a menu special for that evening at $42.00. This was served with blue cheese risotto and broccolini. The broccolini had a nice smoky flavor to it and was not overdone. My only complaint was it was served next to/on top of the blue cheese risotto, so everything on my plate tasted like blue cheese (since the meat was on top of the risotto as well). The broccolini would have benefited from being served on a side plate so I could have enjoyed the smoky flavor and perhaps even squeezed a little fresh lemon on top of it. The risotto was nicely done, perfect actually. The blue cheese flavor was just enough (not overpowering).
Regarding the Bison Short Ribs: I found them to be particularly fatty and the rib membrane had not been removed before braising. The membrane does not dissolve in braising, so after cutting into the rib I found myself trying to remove the membrane and large pieces of fat off of the pieces I cut off to eat our table. But, I stopped after two bites and decided to take them home with some risotto instead, so I could cut off the membrane and remove the fatty sections at home. The meat was fork-tender and the rib bone fall off the meat without effort. But, the overall quality of the meat (very fatty) and the membrane not being removed and being very chewy took away from what could have been a delicious dish, especially at $42.00. The demi-glace had a nice flavor (not too salty).
Bread: Because my ribs had a glaze and husband's dish had sauce, we also ordered the bread service. This is a ciabatta bread served with nice a nice slice butter. There is a charge for bread service, but it is worth it when you order dishes that have wonderful sauce to enjoy.
Dessert: We ordered the Key Lime Pie at $14.00 to split for dessert. The size of the pie is plenty for two people and is served with whipped cream. The pie is tart, but not too tart. If you prefer a "very" tart key lime pie, you can ask for a lime wedge from the bar and squeeze it over the top. Annamarie told us they only make "so many pies" a day at Soul Cafe to keep them fresh since the crust texture is important! Therefore, if you enjoy pie, with a nice crust which is fresh, this is the restaurant to order one for dessert. (Sorry, we started eating the pie before I snapped a photo!)
Along with our pie we ordered a decaf cappuccino at $6.00 each. There was a nice amount of foam on the top of the cappuccino and some cinnamon on top when served. The only complaint we had was there was not any sugar on the table nor were we offered any. We like to put sugar in the raw on top of our cappuccinos, but everyone was so busy and we did not want the coffee to get cold, so we just enjoyed it as served.
Enjoy your visit to Soul Cafe!