Comments on: Tarbell’s – Phoenix

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:42:06 +0000

Who are you kidding me- Tarbell’s good?! NOT at all. I ate there back in August and had the worst food. I had the halibut with peach, potato and spinach “hash”. First off, peaches and potatoes are a weird combo. The peaches were unripe, the potatoes were hard(I wonder if they even cooked them) and the spinach was mushy, not to mention that the fish was over cooked. Also had the mac ‘n’ cheese. Gross! There was very little cheese sauce and cheese which made the mac dry and tasteless and the breadcrumb top was burnt. And yes, 11 bucks for dessert is a rip off. What a waste of money and time. I will NEVER go back.

P.S. Mark needed to teach his line cooks how to use salt and pepper.

By: Geggie

Geggie — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:11:34 +0000

My fave is the mac and cheese! An order of the mac and cheese and a glass of wine at the bar and I’m a happy girl!

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:24:45 +0000

I had a rather mediocre to poor experience at Tarbell’s. It began with waiting 30-40 minutes past our reservation time to be seated. Service was mediocre to poor. My wife’s entre of acorn squash ravioli was comically small and consideted of 5 or 6 very small raviolis at the bottom of a massive bowl. We won’t be going back.

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:28:22 +0000

I was hoping Tarbell’s had changed for the better since I went a year ago. Went with my family(about 8 of us) and found all of our food ok, but not worth 30-40 dollars a plate. Service was fine and nothing tasted bad, but we all left feeling unsatisfied. In fact we went to delux afterwards for a drink and my brother ordered a delux burger and said he wished we had just gone there instead!

On the other hand, I have met Mark Tarbell multiple times and I know he cares about his restaurant, how its run, and the quality of food, which is why I’m confused as to why he has not recognized or fixed the problems many customers have noticed.

By: winedubar

winedubar — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:10:24 +0000

hi seth,

im with you..i think tarbell’s is solid, but for what you pay, i need more than solid, i need great.

i keep comparative cost lists in my head, and i think that tarbells is a bit more expensive than rancho pinot. and i’d rather go to rancho pinot – everything is more ‘great’ than ‘solid’.

and 11 bucks is just WAY too much for dessert..that is ridiculous.

By: Madge

Madge — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:59:04 +0000

It just so happens that Boris and I had an early dinner at Tarbell’s several months ago… and I’d have to say that we would echo your opinion on the experience, particularly the value:cost ratio. The food is expensive for what you get, and In My Opinion seems safe/bland.

As I sat eating my expensive burger (and you know how rare it is for me to eat red meat, Seth dear…), I thought to myself, “I’d rather be eating an more moderately expensive burger at Delux… right across the street.”

One thing I would say in Tarbell’s favor, though, is that it’s in a prime location. Walking distance, MINUTES, even, to Le Grande Orange.

By: Smuggo de Transplant

Smuggo de Transplant — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:18:43 +0000

I agree with Karyn,the jaded cynical Karyn.(I like her already) Any chef who has his name included in the name of his dishes 8 times on one menu – (and I didn’t count “tartare” as 2 – or even one – don’t push me!)you’d probably expect rainbow skies and lemon drops floating by. I had the cod with brussel sprouts and bacon. It was pretty good, not amazing, but pretty good. I ate at Red Rock in Vegas a couple of weeks ago at former Hell’s Kitchen personage Heather West’s place (I only assume she’s long gone?) – where Mrs. Smuggo had Calamari similar to what Mr. Seth described. She also had the pork chops, so this review reminded me of that. At Tarbell’s I had the Macaroni side (It’s on the menu as The Mark Tarbell’s “Mark and Cheese” Tar-tarrific, Tarbelltastic, Marksational Macaroni) and it was really good, so I give him a thumbs up for that. I dunno – they say TV makes you look ten pounds heavier – every TV chef place I eat at I feel 10 pounds lighter – in the wallet. Good review Seth!

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:08:48 +0000

The bread they serve tasted, to me, exactly like the bread at Mimi’s Cafe.

By: azhotdish

azhotdish — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:01:06 +0000

From the description of your meal, I’m surprised you would not discourage anyone from going there. $33 for an overcooked pork chop and tasteless sauce? No thank you. What is also perplexing is that you know Mark is aware of places like MJ and Simply Bread, so why is he not using them? Thanks for the write-up.

By: Karyn H

Karyn H — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:43:25 +0000

I have to tell you that I went there with a friend a few weeks after we watched the chef on the Food Network…I also see him in the mornings on Good Morning Arizona and his recipes always look great and he seems like a great guy. That said, we left the restaurant with the same kind of feeling that you had….we had a good dinner, but I guess we expected more? or maybe expected too much? We both enjoyed what we ate, so we didn’t fully understand why we felt almost let down…She said she’d go back again any time, but would order something different..I’m not sure if I’d go back or not.