PHOENIX NEW TIMES
February 13, 1997
Casey Moore's Oyster House, 850 South Ash, Tempe,
968-9935. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.,
seven days a week.
Set in a lovely old house just a few minutes' walk from the
bustling Mill Avenue strip, Casey Moore's is a rare oasis of
dining serenity in Tempe.
That's because most of the student patrons congregate
downstairs, smoking, drinking and flirting in the energized bar
area and patio.
Meanwhile, their sensible parents are dining
upstairs in one of two cozy rooms, eating on linen-draped
tables, where the first-floor fumes and tumult can't reach them.
The place lures them with more than quiet and clean air.
There's good quality adult fare here. Naturally, the menu offers
the inevitable chicken finger and mozzarella stick appetizers,
and fried shrimp and chicken teriyaki entree snoozers. After all,
students don't know better. But if you order right, Casey
Moore's delivers one of this university town's more pleasant
dining experiences.
The trick is to stick with the ocean fare. In particular, keep
your eyes focused on the two or three daily aquatic specials.
Nibbling on oysters will get you primed. The ones on the
half-shell are briny fresh, while the memory of the oysters
Rockefeller, smothered with spinach, bacon and a creamy
cheese sauce, makes me salivate as I write this. If oysters
make you queasy--"He was a bold man that first eat an
oyster," wrote Jonathan Swift--reel in the Cajun shrimp, firm
butterflied crustaceans doused in a chile-spiked sauce. It's
spicy, but nothing we Arizonans can't handle.
If your budget can't handle starters, don't despair. Meals come
with soup or salad, and the kitchen isn't merely going through
the motions with either one. The soups are especially hearty:
The beef tortilla model is almost thick enough to be a beef
stew; the French onion soup is not too salty and topped with
real Gruyère cheese; and the clam chowder is rich and creamy.
A loaf of six-grain dark bread also helps tamp down hunger
pangs.
The seafood specials exhibit a certain creativity. Take the
excellent sea scallops, nine big, juicy mollusks tossed with lots
of artichokes, mushrooms and spinach in a sun-dried tomato
pesto sauce. They're served over penne pasta topped with
crumbled feta cheese. It's a substantial dish, as tasty as it is
filling.
On another evening, expertly grilled salmon was teamed with
cilantro linguini and vividly colored steamed broccoli and
carrot. A pair of purées, gingered papaya mango and roasted
poblano, demonstrated a deft touch.
Grilled ahi tuna adorned with a white-wine goat-cheese sauce
didn't come off quite as well as I'd expected. The flavors
aren't really complementary, and the tuna got somewhat
overwhelmed. But I have nothing but compliments for the side
dish, irresistibly thick and flavorful chile-mashed potatoes.
Orange ginger shrimp skated dangerously close to the culinary
edge. Seven meaty shrimp came partnered with pasta, and
gilded with artichokes, spinach and apple. The apple, however,
wasn't nearly as odd as the moistening agent, a tangy-sweet,
heavily gingered citrus sauce that threatened to bury every
other flavor. Sometimes with seasoning, as with architecture,
less is more.
Desserts, we were told, come from Upper Crust, a reliable
Valley supplier whose cakes and pies can be counted on to
bring meals to a happy, if not ecstatic conclusion.
At Casey Moore's, you can count on three things: The staff
won't sing you "Happy Birthday"; the other diners won't
perform the "Funky Chicken"; and the kitchen won't follow the
path of least culinary resistance. You won't hear any
complaints from me.
February 13, 1997
Casey Moore's Oyster House, 850 South Ash, Tempe, 968-9935. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week.
Set in a lovely old house just a few minutes' walk from the bustling Mill Avenue strip, Casey Moore's is a rare oasis of dining serenity in Tempe.
That's because most of the student patrons congregate downstairs, smoking, drinking and flirting in the energized bar area and patio.
Meanwhile, their sensible parents are dining upstairs in one of two cozy rooms, eating on linen-draped tables, where the first-floor fumes and tumult can't reach them.
The place lures them with more than quiet and clean air.
There's good quality adult fare here. Naturally, the menu offers
the inevitable chicken finger and mozzarella stick appetizers,
and fried shrimp and chicken teriyaki entree snoozers. After all,
students don't know better. But if you order right, Casey
Moore's delivers one of this university town's more pleasant
dining experiences.
The trick is to stick with the ocean fare. In particular, keep
your eyes focused on the two or three daily aquatic specials.
Nibbling on oysters will get you primed. The ones on the
half-shell are briny fresh, while the memory of the oysters
Rockefeller, smothered with spinach, bacon and a creamy
cheese sauce, makes me salivate as I write this. If oysters
make you queasy--"He was a bold man that first eat an
oyster," wrote Jonathan Swift--reel in the Cajun shrimp, firm
butterflied crustaceans doused in a chile-spiked sauce. It's
spicy, but nothing we Arizonans can't handle.
If your budget can't handle starters, don't despair. Meals come
with soup or salad, and the kitchen isn't merely going through
the motions with either one. The soups are especially hearty:
The beef tortilla model is almost thick enough to be a beef
stew; the French onion soup is not too salty and topped with
real Gruyère cheese; and the clam chowder is rich and creamy.
A loaf of six-grain dark bread also helps tamp down hunger
pangs.
The seafood specials exhibit a certain creativity. Take the
excellent sea scallops, nine big, juicy mollusks tossed with lots
of artichokes, mushrooms and spinach in a sun-dried tomato
pesto sauce. They're served over penne pasta topped with
crumbled feta cheese. It's a substantial dish, as tasty as it is
filling.
On another evening, expertly grilled salmon was teamed with
cilantro linguini and vividly colored steamed broccoli and
carrot. A pair of purées, gingered papaya mango and roasted
poblano, demonstrated a deft touch.
Grilled ahi tuna adorned with a white-wine goat-cheese sauce
didn't come off quite as well as I'd expected. The flavors
aren't really complementary, and the tuna got somewhat
overwhelmed. But I have nothing but compliments for the side
dish, irresistibly thick and flavorful chile-mashed potatoes.
Orange ginger shrimp skated dangerously close to the culinary
edge. Seven meaty shrimp came partnered with pasta, and
gilded with artichokes, spinach and apple. The apple, however,
wasn't nearly as odd as the moistening agent, a tangy-sweet,
heavily gingered citrus sauce that threatened to bury every
other flavor. Sometimes with seasoning, as with architecture,
less is more.
Desserts, we were told, come from Upper Crust, a reliable
Valley supplier whose cakes and pies can be counted on to
bring meals to a happy, if not ecstatic conclusion.
At Casey Moore's, you can count on three things: The staff won't sing you "Happy Birthday"; the other diners won't perform the "Funky Chicken"; and the kitchen won't follow the path of least culinary resistance. You won't hear any complaints from me.