rusconi's american kitchen

in an unassuming shopping plaza nestled within the phoenix mountains, chef michael rusconi is crafting a haute-comfort menu that keeps the neighbors coming back. it's easy to think you might be in the wrong place – the nearest points of direction are an organic supermarket and a discount clothing store.

enjoyable but room for improvement. lovely little spot with varied small menu (just what i love to see!). my husband ordered the buffalo steak with apple bread pudding and roasted carrots which he enjoyed and would order again. i had what typically would have been ny strip with asparagus and mac'n'cheese but was replaced with fillet mignon as the server indicated the chef wasn't happy with the quality of the ny (loving the attention to quality) and i was more than happy to eat the perfectly prepared beef for the same price. mac'n'cheese and red wine reduction was good but could have been improved upon(perhaps too salty). i only offer the criticism since prices were on the higher end for phoenix so expect a little more. desserts, chocolate bread pudding (i know, my husband is obsessed) and creme brûlée were perfect. server was not very attentive and since it was tuesday night at 8pm (not a full house) there was no apparent excuse for it. we have higher service expectations for this price point. we would go back again to see if our next experience is improved since rusconi's has everything going for it.

it’s expensive, but worth it. my sister loved their truffle mac and cheese and i loved their steak! it’s a small space, so my family and i tend to get it to go since we are a huge party - but from what i saw when i went to pick up the food, the atmosphere seems really nice.

we were very happy with every aspect of the restaurant. it was great to see the manager helping in every aspect, from the hostess to helping the bus boy clear tables and then over to talk to the chef. the chef made sure every plate was perfect. at the end the owner who is also the head chef delivered desert and inquired about our meal. oops forgot to take a pic of dessert but trust me it was amazing. the whole place is fantastic!!

i think it's one of those types of places that's a hidden gem................::...:::::.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

chef rusconi is one of the best chefs in the valley, doing what he loves in his own restaurant. flavors and dishes are elevated and perfect for a swanky night or date night. definitely a treasure in this neighborhood.

amazing service & food. made a same-day reservation sunday, september 14th. was kindly greeted and immediately seated at our table near the bar. took our drink orders and made some great wine recommendations. between three adults we ordered the goat cheese and truffle fries to start and for dinner the salmon, steak medallions, and the lamb with a side of green chili risotto and savory bread pudding. the wait was a little longer than expected but the quality of food and service trumped all!! so good!!

extremely bad service. this place says they're open until 10:00pm; however, when our family of 4 walked in at 9:10pm, we were told that the chef called it a night since it was a slow day and that we should try one of the other restaurants around the corner. i've worked in various restaurants for years, have eaten at my fair share of well-named restaurants around the country,... and really have no respect for bad restauranteurs. i will never come back.

went back for dinner and it differed. last year i ordered the salmon brunch plate that's pictured here. this year i remembered how tasty it was and ordered the scottish salmon dinner that is very similar also pictured. my dinner cost a few bucks more and was smaller than the brunch plate. the salmon was good but not as succulent as the one i enjoyed last year. the one and one half fingerling potatoes that came with dinner seemed funny to me because that doesn't seem like a correct serving for dinner.
this time ok but not great.......


-----14 jan, 2013-----

brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. i tried a salmon plate with fingerling potatoes and brussels sprouts. the salmon seemed like high quality salmon and came out with a nice crust on it. it was also generous in portion. the poblano chile sauce gave the meal a little kick. my husband had a pasta with chicken dish. he said it was tasty but a little oily and he would have preferred more chicken but it still was good. yesterday it was very cold here and i don't think any heat was in the restaurant because when i left it was 43 degrees and it didn't seem any different than the dining room.

not so good.. went on a recent sat. night. specialty cocktails small & pricy. no mention of split plate charge. strip steak ordered med. rare came very rare. server spent more time with some friends at another table then with the rest of his tables. ordered another bottle of wine & had to ask twice for it. very, very noisy. hard to talk to other people at table. all in all they could do better. a c is a generous grade.

nice try. it really was a good attempt but the food was not quite there. just cause you use ingredients such as truffle and culinary " buzz" words it doesn't make it good unless you know what you're doing. i'm sorry but this place was not my favorite. probably will not go back.

server was great though. patrons were all seniors so not a hip ambience.

we had a great experience at rusconi's american kitchen. they just change the menu the night we were there. we thought the food was excellent we started out with the pork belly with shriner sausage and apple relish i had the rack of lamb and my friend had the salmon, she is from seattle and said it was the best salmon she's ever had. the service was very attentive and the food arrived very quickly. this is our fourth time into the restaurant. it has become our new neighborhood spot we highly recommend this new independent chef driven spot

we were hesitant to try rusconi's because of the relatively low rating. however, we were very impressed. everything was top notch. service, food, ambiance, etc. we enjoyed an amazing burger (caramelized onions w/ goat cheese) and salad (pistachio, arugala, prosciutto). can't wait to return to a neighborhood restaurant in a neighborhood needing more high quality options like rusconi's.

food is okay, but service will drive you away. rusconi's is a neighborhood restaurant for us; we've been there a dozen times, but what started well has evolved into a service disaster. the last two times (why i went back after the first bad experience, i don't know) have been absurd.

bad experience #1, we went for happy hour and one of our orders was the short rib sliders. over the hour we kept asking the bartender where our order was and kept being assured they were almost ready. finally they showed up one hour later and were burned to a crisp. we weren't alone as i looked down the line at the other diners, who also couldn't eat what had been brought to them. the bartenders knew the food was substandard and that noone was eating it, but ignored the situation.

bad experience #2, we went back for happy hour. for the first 10 minutes there was no one at the bar; the servers were all hanging out by the kitchen. when we finally were able to flag down a server they occassionally took our order. food was okay (actually the pork belly was a huge improvement vs their opening) but the server treated every customer seated as if they were an inconvenience. it took over 20 minutes just to get our bill at the end of the night, and they were not busy.

you may like the food, but the service will negate any positive part of your experience. take the time to drive another 5 minutes and go to blt for your night out.