Christopher’s Crush

From the time you enter until you depart, Christopher’s exudes a comfortable luxury. Sleek elegant fixtures cast light upon gorgeous wood and glass surfaces accented with pops of orange and brown. Deep overstuffed chairs cradle you and beckon you to stay.

These elements, combined with a James Beard award-winning chef, set the stage for romance and sophistication.

Chef-owner Christopher Gross’ latest restaurant is in the updated Biltmore Fashion Park, adjacent to Sak’s Fifth Avenue. The main parking area can be frustrating, but there is plenty of parking in the structure in the back.

Beyond the warm greeting from the hosts, there are two distinct spaces in the restaurant: One side is Christopher’s and the other is Crush lounge. At Crush, you can have a seat in one of the cushy banquettes and enjoy a menu of small plates, pizzas and wine. Christopher’s is the more formal dining space but, while sophisticated, is by no means stuffy.

Christopher’s menu is mostly French inspired, though I think of it as well traveled, with hints of Italian and Asian. Gross’ worldliness comes from positions he held in Paris, London and Normandy. With so much expertise, it’s no wonder he has been awarded so many accolades, including the James Beard award for Best Chef Southwest.

Among the “First Plates� we shared, the palette was awakened with Alsatian Onion Tart ($14), a rectangle of flaky puff pastry adorned with sweet caramelized onions, bacon and a salad of frisée dressed with pungent vinaigrette. I could have eaten the whole thing rather than just a few bites.

Creamy Terrine of Hudson Valley Foie Gras ($24) was neatly placed alongside a brandied date tart and points of toasted brioche with a drizzle of Pedro Ximénez wine reduction. This was slow eating at its finest, as I built each component onto the end of my fork.

A salad composed with delightfully salty Duck Confit ($16) mixed greens, Humboldt Fog cheese and Cognac-infused cherries was a triumph. But the Butter Poached Lobster ($18) with fresh greens, pine nuts and roasted fennel vinaigrette was better. It’s my new favorite.

How about a few suggestions for the main course? The smoked truffle infused Filet Mignon ($36) was tender, earthy and ambrosial. We also enjoyed the 12-ounce New York Steak ($34), cast iron seared and pepper-crusted. Heightened with cracked pepper, the beef flavor was piquant and juicy.

Consider a few sides too, such as the Mac n’ Cheese Au Gratin ($7) with velvety cream sauce spiked with ham or the addictively smooth Gruyère Pommes Purée ($7). For a vegetable, the Brussels Sprouts ($7) were a special when we visited, deliciously bitter and sweet.

While the fare was delightful and service professional, each course became more strained as the night wore on, with our waiter disappearing for long periods of time. Finally, having to ask for the check, we decided to skip the sweets. There simply wasn’t room.

Gross has it going on here — fantastic food, a great wine list and, most of all, my new favorite date spot.

Golden Buddha

I love spending Sunday morning leisurely reading the newspaper while getting caught up on a week’s worth of cooking shows. After a few hours, hunger sets in and it’s time to find something cheap and easy.

While that might sound more like a lifestyle choice than a way of eating, for me cheap and easy means dim sum, and lots of it. With a fistful of cash and my growing appetite, I head over to my default dim sum house, Golden Buddha.

Located in the Chinese Cultural Center, Golden Buddha has been pushing carts every weekend for the past few years. Over those years they’ve become a destination for steamy delights and have built quite a following with groups usually packing the lobby.

Here’s some advice: For a lesser selection with no waiting, go early. If you want more selection and don’t mind the wait, go after noon.

Ranging in price from $2.35 to $6.50, Golden Buddha offers mainstream selections from dumplings and chicken feet to rice and noodles. Most items are either made with pork or shrimp.

Within minutes of being seated, the first smiling server rolled up her cart. As she lifted the steel lid from the steam basket, the mist dissipates to reveal white fluffy hidden treasures. Known as Char Siu Bao, or steamed BBQ Pork Buns, these are pretty standard for a dim sum brunch. Pulling apart one of the doughy pillows reveals its sweet pork center. Add some chile oil for more depth.

Probably the most typical offering is the Pork Dumplings or Sui Mai, a wonton wrapper filled with ground pork and black mushrooms. These meaty bites have an enjoyable earthiness that left me wanting another basket.

The next cart was filled with fried items. I love the crispy crunch of egg rolls and while the Golden Buddha version was crisp, the inside was filled with oil that tasted like last night’s fish. After a single bite, the rest remained untouched.

Seemingly fried in the same oil, the Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp was not only super fishy, but the shells were left on. Shell on shrimp isn’t usually a problem when the shrimp is cooked really well, but that wasn’t the case with these. They were ruined before they hit the table, greasy and salty.

A new one for me was the Zhaliang, a long tubular Chinese doughnut that is tightly cocooned in a sheet of rice noodle. The result is more about texture than bold flavor. I can see why so many people seek these out for breakfast, since they’re chewy and crispy.

Dim sum brunch isn’t complete without at least one Chinese dessert. Pineapple Buns, or Bo Lo Yau, actually contain no pineapple. The name refers to the pastry’s crunchy-checkered top crust. Inside there’s a sweet surprise of satisfyingly custard filling.

While I left satisfied, overall Golden Buddha doesn’t quite have the chops that they used to. But in a pinch, or on a lazy Sunday morning, they’ll do just fine.

VITAL STATISTICS

Christopher’s Crush Open daily 2502 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix 602-522-2344; www.christophersaz.com

Golden Buddha Open daily 668 N. 44th St., Phoenix 602-286-9888; www.phxchinatown.com/gbphx

Quick Takes

Everyone wants to save money these days. And to help, there are many online restaurant deals. It’s just a matter of logging on let the savings begin.
Here’s a rundown of my three favorites.

• Restaurant.com is the grand pappy of online dining discounts. Focused on local and national restaurants, typical savings are usually more than 50 percent. A $25 gift certificate usually sells for around $10. If you sign up for weekly emails, you’ll get additional promotions of up to 90 percent off. But be sure to read the fine print; you have a $25 gift certificate, but you may have to spend $50 to use it.

• Groupon.com takes a different approach to its online deals, which aren’t completely restaurant focused. Sign up on the Web site for daily emailed offers, which can include things like yoga classes and spa treatments as well as restaurant discounts. You get the deal once a group has agreed to purchase a certain amount of the offers; hence the name. Savings are typically more than 50 percent. I’ve received every offer I’ve agreed to purchase.

• Opentable.com offers free online reservations to pretty much every top restaurant in every major city across the nation. When you start using the site, you earn dining points that can be used to get a Dining Cheque for any restaurant on the Web site. One reservation earns 100 points, however many restaurants offer 1,000 point reservations for off-peak hours. It takes 2,000 points to earn a $20 Dining Cheque.