JAVA June 2019

Anhelo in Heritage Square
Anhelo is an adorable restaurant tucked inside the historic home in Heritage
Square that was once The Rose & Crown. It’s a bit of a mystery, too, since
it appears to be the restaurant formerly known as Hidden Kitchen, sharing
the same executive chef, Ivan Jacobo. Unfortunately, I never made it to Hidden
Kitchen, so I can’t comment on the switch-up. But as to Anhelo, I can tell you what
I liked, what I loved, and what might benefit from a wee bit of tweaking.
Anhelo, loosely translated from Spanish, means longing or desire. I do find
myself longing for some spare time so I can partake in another of their splendid
cocktails. Their outside tables make a wonderful place to watch the world go by.
I particularly enjoyed giggling at the Lyft traffic jam that ensued on a Friday night
as all of the patrons were getting dropped off near Pizzeria Bianco. Situated next
to Noubu at Teeter House, this little corner has enormous culinary potential, since
two of the three restaurants in Heritage Square boast chefs with prestigious
James Beard awards, the Olympic gold of the culinary world.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. As of today, Anhelo doesn’t host lunch, which
makes its rather large black-and-white striped shade umbrellas a bit of a
mystery. On our visit, all of the umbrellas were closed, and the large central pole
made seeing my dining companions impossible. We watched people at every
other outside table play the same peekaboo game with their friends, as we all
attempted to flag down some help (more on that later).
Back to the cocktails. Anhelo has strong talent in the drink department, and I
adored the Daquiri, ($10), which comes in a retro-feeling round champagne glass.
Whipped egg whites give the drink body and heft and provide balance for the
cheek-smackingly tart lime juice and Luxardo folded inside. We watched our
charming server, who also appeared to be the bartender, whip back and forth,
serving the handful of tables outside as well as tables inside. While I admire his
impressive hustle, it also meant things took a while. I get it – quality takes time.
But we would have enjoyed more cocktails if it hadn’t taken so long. Anhelo could
benefit from another server in the evenings.
The bartender/server hustle also meant our appetizer came at the same time
as our dinner. Small quibble, until the amount of table space is factored into
the equation. Glasses of Scottsdale Blonde ($5), a couple of cocktails, water
glasses, water carafe (I love this touch – you don’t have to wait for refills), plus
plates equals an overfilled table. We tried the Shrimp Ceviche ($16) – a generous
serving of large shrimp poached in lime juice with cucumbers and avocado, served
in a bowl. Tender, sweet shrimp are the star of this dish. However, the rather
enormous slices of shrimp made them almost impossible to scoop onto the salty,
crisp tortilla chips. The only way to eat this dish effectively was to it scoop onto a
plate, slice the shrimp further, and then foist it onto a chip. Indelicate? Absolutely.
But it was scrumptious.
On this particular visit, the House Special Pasta ($14) was fettucine with
guanciale, which is essentially smoked or cured pig jowl – or, as my rather quirky
friends called it, pigface bacon. It’s fabulous. Well-made fresh pasta is a thing
of beauty when done correctly, and this was. Lashings of cream and grated
parmesan added flavor and highlighted the crunchy bits of guanciale. The huge
portion guarantees leftovers.
The Sweet Pea Risotto ($16) could use a little tweaking. This classic spring dish
comes topped with shavings of asparagus and microgreens. Despite being clearly
well-made, it lacked texture and felt like it was missing something. To me, that
could have been some fresh herbs. A smattering of fresh parsley and tarragon would
have elevated the dish. While it was made with care and with quality ingredients,
the lack of texture made it seem closer to cheesy oatmeal than risotto.
Our clear dinner winner was the Scallop ($29). I love that the menu refers to it in the
singular form, even though there were a half dozen perfectly cooked scallops on the
plate. One of my dining companions commented that someone loved that scallop
to death. Probably literally – it had the perfect sear and slightly sweet meaty flavor
you’d expect at a nice restaurant. Served over a sweet potato puree and lardon
hash, it’s presented in such a way that the shape looks like a crab. And it’s texturally
perfect, with the fine dice of lardons (more bacon!). We made loud scraping sounds
with our forks on the plate just so we knew nothing could possibly be left.
While Anhelo isn’t open for lunch, they are open for brunch. Their Eggs Benedict
($16) might be described as à la carte, as it comes on a long oval wooden tray. In
lieu of sides, three half English muffins arrive, supporting perfectly poached eggs
and a silky, lemony hollandaise. I adored their eggs benedict, and I would happily
skip sides for another half-muffin/egg/sauce combo, especially when it is this tasty.
Interestingly, at brunch we noticed the same bartender who had served us dinner.
Sitting inside, we were able to watch him practice his craft. He worked with care
to craft a Bloody Mary, using small straws to extract samples, with no cross germs
in play, until he gave a thumbs-up and we heard him say, “It’s perfect.” I believe it
was. I also believe having him only tend bar at brunch makes sense and allows the
meal to flow much more smoothly. I wish this could happen at dinner. I’m hopeful as
time progresses, they’ll add more staff.
If you love shrimp, please order their Prawns ($18). A half dozen or so enormous
shrimp are cooked in a spicy chipotle rub. And they’re perfectly cooked – these were
just spicy enough to wake your taste buds but not hot enough to cause culinary
regret. This large of a serving seems like a steal at the price, especially when you
consider the well-dressed arugula salad and the excellent scrambled eggs (French
style, my favorite: extra creamy and soft. Some might consider them underdone, but
no – this is the perfect execution of the style).
I’ll confess, I will always miss The Rose & Crown – it filled a niche and had its day
in the sun. It’s a huge gamble to follow a spot so well loved, especially when the
folks at the helm shake things up and go in an entirely new direction. Anhelo is
adorable and uses great ingredients to make tasty food that is clearly crafted with
love. I’m longing for more pasta already.
Anhelo
628 E. Adams, Phoenix
hiddenkitchenrestaurant.com
By Sloane Burwell
JAVA
MAGAZINE
21