house of tricks

i really enjoyed this restaurant; a new top 10 favorite for me. had the duck & lamb-pistachio pate for an appetizer. this is served with mission fig and brown sugar whole grain mustard. the flavors are unbelievably delicious. my main entree selection was a white miso glazed scottish salmon on shiitake mushroom risotto. prepared and presented very well. wine selection looks good. i opted for a belgian beer from their extensive craft beer selection. there is an outdoor eating patio in front of the restaurant. well shaded with trees, trellis, and umbrellas. fireplace and propane heaters are available for chilly evenings. this is a fine dining standout near asu.

we loved this place. we had the orange glassed chicken and the steak. the grits were also very good. we also had the soup of the day which was tomato eggplant it was great. we will be back.

duck was the best i have ever had! pea risotto complimented the entree. it a better entree than the pork chop & that was delish too! thinking of having steak , order the duck medium rare ! you will not be sorry, de friickin lish

what's not to love? :). house of tricks is my husband and my special occasion restaurant. elegant food, fabulous setting, fresh greens from local farms. we'd go once a month if they had live music.

arizona restaurant week dinner. arizona restaurant week friday 24th sept
very busy for a friday evening, service was surprisingly slow and not up to trick's usual par.
dinner menu
arugula and frisee salad with young beets, humboldt fog cheese, beet reduction and crushed pistachio yuzu vinaigrette
summer squash vichyssoise with rosemary and white truffle oil
petite thai style hangar steak with blistered cherry tomatoes, pickled red onion, candied rice and red curry emulsion
dulce de leche cheesecake brownie


-----11 apr, 2010-----

tempe 5 star gem. we had a late dinner here last thursday evening, with colleagues from out of town visiting on business. if you have never experienced it, it is truly wonderful, setback from the street, no advertising sign, two cottages with a wonderful patio for dining. in between the cottages is the bar, which has one of the best wine selections to anyones favorite. despite the salad mix up, the service, and food was outstanding.

and another cous cous. moroccan fruit and chicken shawarma salad. when i was about to order this, i didnt like the sound of 'preserved lemon vinaigrette'. i didnt want the chemical taste. but there was so much else going on in the dish, i didnt want to miss the works.when the dish arrived it turns out that the much afraid of vinaigrette turned out very tasty. while all the fruits could be eaten just by themselves, i dipped them too in it.

for a while i thought that the salad had some sort of very fine cheese in it and scolded myself for not paying attention to the menu. and towards the end, it struck me that i was giving cous cous the ignoble treatment of tainting my food. i am surprised at the kinds of couscous that are out there. at first i thought it similar to cracked wheat. first came couscous at elephant bar grill spiked with raisin and sweet. if that was my template then the israeli couscous with its pearly yellow grains, smaller than maize and the honey broke the mould of what is cous cous.
never heard of brown sugar bacon, showing up in a dessert. but it aint a shock, when there can be cupcakes with it.

great patio dining. i took my sister there from san diego. we really liked sitting outside on the patio,with fireplace going.
the menu has great features one was the mediterranan appetizer. fantastic! the martini's are great,especially the lemon drop.
i oredered the cioppicio,which was not good,so i was disappointed about that. my sister ordered the reuben,which was good.
it's a good place for drinks and appetizers and enjoy outside in az.

great place. this is one of my favorite lunch places. the food is very very good and the prices are very reasonable. it also has a great atmosphere...you will like!

great food, and cozy atmosphere.. this place has a great menu, and a wonderful ambiance. this would be a great place to take a date. this place has a casual but impressive atmosphere.

i wish "house of tricks" could be as good as the image in my mind.. i have tried it 3 times… all for the same reasons. love the idea of what house of tricks should be… service is always slow, some of the menu lacks both presentation / flavor and the pricing is a little high. the only exception is on the lunch menu is the steak salad…. it's great.

trix are for kids, i'm hungry y'all~ are you serious?. usually, in '99, my truckin' ventures on i-10 westbound prevented me from stopping in phoenix, i was usually headed to california~ this trip i had some ltlfreight drops to make around chandler...then, after i arrived, (early, i might add) the shipping/receiving dept. informed me that no more deliveries would be accepted 'til th' next morn, @7

i was tired anyway, so i parked th' rig against 1 of their delivery doors, walked back-inside, asked "so, where might i possibly find a spot-of-dinner here-abouts?"

an hour later i am lovin' "house of tricks"

the temperature that afternoon hit 115degrees,fahrenheit, but was easier2 handle than 97 in alabam~

look, i'm not going to tell all i enjoyed that evening, but it was arizonaawesome~~~too cool

next morning, since i had already parked th' rig on th' main receiving door, they removed th' 3pallets immediately, it took no more than 5minutes~

7-9 hours later i was walkin' santa monica beach,
(decided to stop there, if i had not, i would have wound-up in th' deepbluesea~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

in my my humble opinion, house of tricks is a fantastic place to dine; check-it-out~

my rating: (|) (|) (|) (|) { 4 out of 5 desertburgers }

presentation and the ambiance are great. but the taste and combinations are not so great. i would go back but there is no way i would recommend the dishes we had tonight. they need to work on how the dishes taste not just how they look and sound.

i love house of tricks. i really love house of tricks for lunch. it's a great atmosphere and the steak salad is delicious!

j. null. we've been going to house of tricks once or twice a year for three years. the service is always excellent. each time we go we try something new, and have never been disappointed

good, vertical food. good, eclectic mix of entrees. good yet limited wine selection. good beer selection.

the choices on flavor combinations and herbs made the food quite enjoyable. the only negative is the over-use of the "vertical" food presentation. it seemed like everyone's meal at my table with 11 people had their food presented in tall stacks or with surrounding pastry wraps.

given the stacks are quickly broken down, i do not consider this a very improtant issue. just enjoy the great food.