restaurant review: posh in phoenix

The entrance to Posh.

On a recent trip to Phoenix, Mr. Sazy Rock and I met some friends and business associates at an "improvisational" restaurant called, Posh, located in the suburb of Scottsdale. During the dinner, the hubster shared a tidbit about where the word "posh" came from. He said it was based on an acronym for "port out, starboard home," which referred to the lodging preferences of rich folks who traveled between England and India. Whether that is true or not is up for debate, but the story is a plausible one.

As for the restaurant itself, below are my thoughts.


The Scene

The bar scene behind our table.

On a Saturday night, the place was scarily empty. The bar had plenty of seats available and many tables remained unoccupied. Perhaps that was an ominous sign?


The Food


The shtick at Posh was that we (the diners) had the choice to eat a five, six or seven course menu. An "omakase" or chef's choice option was also available for a higher price. We then had the option to cross out different types of proteins we did not want showing up on our plate. We also indicated our preferences for the temperature of the proteins. Based on those general directions to the kitchen, the back of the house created our meal and came out with the below. Our group did some sharing so we had more than our chosen five courses.

• Pumpkin and ricotta gnocchi - Served as an amuse bouche, this gnocchi was creamy and fluffy and served with mushrooms and sage. It was very salty. 

Gnocchi.

• Endive salad - served fresh with pumpkin seeds, it was nice but unremarkable.

Endive salad.

• Deep fried egg yolk - served with carrot puree and frisee salad, the dish had a lot of potential. Sadly, the egg inside was not soft and creamy, and the salad was very salty.

Deep fried egg.

• Poached egg - The egg was perfectly poached in miso and had a sweetness to it that was balanced by the salty caviar. This was tasty.

Poached egg.

• Soft shell crab - Sadly, the crab was not crunchy. But, I liked that it had roe inside.

Soft shell crab.

• Uni - Unlike the poached egg and caviar dish above, this was not a balanced dish. Served with cucumber foam and radishes, the uni was sweet but the saltiness of the cucumber foam and radishes overpowered the uni.

Uni.

• Trout - An unremarkable dish. I don't remember how it tasted.

Trout.

• Trio of foie gras - This was an "upgrade" dish at an extra cost. The plate included seared, torchon and ice cream versions of the fattened liver. The seared and torchon versions were rich and tasty, but the ice cream was too sweet for me.

Trio of foie gras: seared, torchon, ice cream.

• Sweetbreads - Served with asparagus, mushrooms and lemon puree, the sweetbreads had a crunch outside and creaminess inside.

Sweetbreads.

• Desserts - These desserts were unremarkable.

Dessert.

Dessert.

The Service
Our server was okay. Although when we informed him several times that a dish was too salty, soon enough, another dish arrived that was similarly too salty. 


The Price
Our dinner companions were kind enough to foot the bill, which, based on the menu was fairly reasonable. But, prices could vary depending on how a diner personalizes each meal. My only gripe is that the cheapest option is for a five course menu at $65 (assuming no upgrades); perhaps, a three course menu would make the dinner more manageable for those who cannot eat as much.

The shtick.

Customize the menu.

The Verdict
Posh's shtick sounded more interesting in theory than in execution. It was rare that the dishes achieved the balance between sweetness and saltiness. Plus, the server did not seem to relay our concerns to the kitchen about the saltiness of the dishes. I was disappointed, to say the least.

What do you think about "improvisational" restaurants?