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Dining
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Verde Valley Wine Company & Recovery
Room |
Cottonwood's New Verde Valley Wine Co. and
Recovery Room
By Beverly Lehnhardt
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Sedona.biz
(Cottonwood, Arizona) -
Paula and Eric
Woolsey, owners of the popular Asylum Restaurant in Jerome, recently
formed a 3-way partnership with Richard Pasich, and on January 2 of
this year, opened another restaurant in Cottonwood.
The Verde Valley
Wine Co. & Recovery Room Restaurant, located in the Copper Dome
Plaza at the corner of Calvary Way and 89-A, is directly across the
street from the Verde Valley Medical Center; hence the appropriate and rather quirky
name.
The location was
chosen with care with an eye to the changing demographics of the
Verde Valley. No longer a conservative area comprised mostly of
retirees, the Valley is booming, attracting people of all ages and
eclectic interests.
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Recovery Room Restaurant |
The Verde Valley Wine
Co. and Recovery Room Restaurant are housed together, forming a
synergistic relationship that enhances the overall dining
experience. The restaurant owns two liquor licenses: one allows
spirits to be served on the premises and the other allows beer and
wine to be purchased and taken off-property. This creates an
opportunity for patrons of the restaurant to purchase wine in the Wine Store
at the regular retail price and carry it into the
restaurant for consumption with dinner.
I was very impressed
with the appearance of the restaurant as I entered for a late lunch
one recent Sunday afternoon. The creamy yellow walls, very
high ceiling, and the afternoon light pouring in the long,
horizontal windows gave the place an open, airy feel. Tiled
flooring, brick accent walls, dark wood, and lots of glass created a
classy sophistication that contrasted sharply with the down-to-earth
functionality of the clean newsprint paper used as tablecloths.
My
next glance took in the glassful of crayons situated at each table.
Hmmm…up-scale yet family- and kid-friendly—a nice combination.
Seated by a smiling
host, I was then greeted by an equally friendly waitress who
explained how the wine-tasting works. Each place setting includes an
8.5” x 11” sheet of paper containing circles with names of various
wines. If interested, you put an X in each circle that contains the
name of the wine you would like to taste. The waitress takes it from
there… Simple!However, since I was
only there for lunch and had no designated driver to take me home I
inquired what the “Quiche O’ the Day” was—Canadian bacon and
4-cheese quiche sounded great to me, with a side of onion rings. I
decided to wash it all down with a Black Cherry Boylan’s Soda, made
with pure cane sugar. A bit pricey at $3 a bottle but I was game for
further experimentation…
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Dionysus, the Greek God of Wine |
As I patiently waited for my meal to arrive, I took in my surroundings. I was
sitting against the wall on a bench seat and directly across the room, high on
the wall, was a large mural; Greek, it seemed. As I discovered later, there was
another mural on the wall just behind me—Italian. The murals depicted the Greek
and Italian gods of wine.
From my position in the dining room, I could see three very large
‘starry-shaped’ chandeliers hanging in the center of the high ceiling, just at
the foot of the stairway that led up to another dining area. It was beautiful in
the afternoon so I’m sure the ambiance after dark is simply stunning!
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Starry Chandeliers |
When my lunch arrived,
I found that rather than a wedge of quiche taken from a larger pie,
I had my very own, attractively arranged on the plate with my onion
rings and some colorful green sprouts. The onion rings were
delicious—tender and coated with a lightly seasoned batter. No need
for ketchup…The quiche was
steaming hot, fluffy, and full of bacon and cheese with a light,
flaky crust—in other words, absolutely perfect! I took my time,
savoring each bite, and when the waitress asked about dessert I
decided to indulge my sweet tooth. The dessert menu was as tempting
as the dinner menu: Deep Fried Cheesecake, Turtle Cheesecake, or
Torta Tiramisu; $8 for your very own individual Apple Pie with
Pecans and Caramel Sauce; Rootbeer Float; or Recovery Sorbet. I
opted for the Deep Fried Cheesecake.
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Deep Fried Cheesecake |
When dessert arrived,
it was certainly worth the wait! There were several bite-sized
pieces of cheesecake that had been dipped in batter and deep fried.
The coating was hot, light, and crispy while the cheesecake centers
were still cold. A small cup of strawberry sauce for dipping and a
healthy dollop of whipped cream completed the lovely presentation.
And the taste was delectable…The “All Day Recovery”
menu is extremely varied, including Asylum Calamari, Fish & Chips;
Soup de Jour and French Onion Soup; Recovery Sliders (mini burgers
or pulled pork), Pot Pie de Jour; and a variety of salads. The most
expensive all-day item was the Calamari at $13.
Lunch is served until
3:30 p.m. and includes such items as a Gourmet Grilled Cheese, Pulled
Pork Hoagie, Fried Oyster Po’ Boy, and, of course, the Quiche O’ the
Day. They also offer 10-inch Gourmet Pizzas for $9 to $11. The
Lobster Brie LT was the priciest lunch item at $16.50.
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Bacchus, the Italian God of Wine |
Dinner is served after
5:00 p.m. and all entrees come with a salad. Entrees include an
8-ounce sirloin Flat Steak, Braised Short Ribs, Meat Loaf, Seafood Asiago Pasta, and Cajun Chicken as well as many other delicious
meals. The Filet Mignon at $26.50 was the most expensive dinner on
the menu.
A kid-friendly
restaurant, all five of the ‘Just For Kids’ meals are priced at only
$5 and include such items as Macaroni and Cheese, Fried Chicken
Strips, and Spaghetti O’s, all with appropriate sides.
My lunch bill totaled
$18.45—a bit more than I’m used to paying for lunch-for-one, but the
service, the food, and the atmosphere were top notch. I’ll go back!
The only negative in the whole experience was the voices, laughter,
ringing phones, and footsteps-on-the-stairs bouncing off all those
hard surfaces. Then again, it’s a family kind of place that welcomes
voices and laughter…
The Recovery Room
Restaurant is open every day from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. They prepare
meals ‘to go,’ are available to cater events off-property, and
encourage reservations on Friday and Saturday nights—call 639-WINE
(9463).
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