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 By Rebecca Cook WHEN PRONTO FIRST opened its doors nearly five years ago, it created a stir on the local restaurant scene by offering fast food with gourmet flair. The notion that quick, affordable vittles could also stand in as inventive cuisine was ahead of the curve, and it wasn't long before the restaurant developed a devoted following. Before a UA game or a flick at the Loft Cinema, Pronto became an ideal dining option. Now, under the stirring spoon of owner Ellen Burke Van Slyke, Pronto is expanding its operation beyond the diminutive facility near Speedway and Country Club Road to venture onto the next stage. Literally.
Encore performances of memorable Boccata dishes such as the penne ciao bella and the wickedly decadent dessert profiteroles aux chocolat have been booked for the new tour, as well as many of the salads, sandwiches and satays for which Pronto is well known. The relatively fast service characterizing the Pronto experience remains in place in the new Temple setting--a feature much appreciated by hungry ATC throngs anxious about a fast-approaching curtain time. Van Slyke, whose husband Peter Van Slyke is a familiar face on the local theater scene, is well-acquainted with the rigors of live stage performances. Consequently, she's made every effort to ensure that her customers are sated and out the door in a timely fashion. Bravo! Unfortunately, my research for this article came between productions at The Arizona Theatre Company, which is the only time other than specially catered events that Pronto at the Temple is open for business. Therefore, my dining experiences were limited to the Speedway location--an alternative not without its charms, but regrettably lacking in the aforementioned profiteroles, a dish made with cream puffs, ice cream and a rich chocolate sauce that's worth any price of admission. PRONTO ON SPEEDWAY is as popular as it ever was, meaning that if you opt not to take your meal in the cozy space, you'd better plan to pick up a take-out menu in advance and call in your order. Orders are placed at the counter and table service is extremely limited. Still, the young staff seems eager to please and sees that all food is brought out promptly from the kitchen; and in the meantime, drinks are quickly provided. Nothing on the menu at this location exceeds $7.95 (I understand $12.50 is the ceiling down at the Temple spot), making Pronto one of the best meal deals in town. A daily specials board and featured kids' menu add an even broader scope to an eclectic tally of choices.
We sampled the penne al bergamo and were not enamored with the results. Though made with the same pasta quills, grilled chicken, crumbled bacon, fresh tarragon and the same gorgonzola cheese sauce, the dish was nonetheless disappointingly lacking in distinctive flavors. The pleasing sharpness of the gorgonzola was lost on the palate, and the tarragon was so feeble that it imbued none of its characteristic suggestion of licorice. The chicken breast was tough and chewy, and outnumbered the pasta by a margin of two-to-one. All in all, not a command performance. We had better luck with the solid basics: A "reliable" burger, at least a quarter pound of ground beef topped with melted cheddar, proved very tasty; as did the four-cheese (havarti, parmesan, mozzarella and gorgonzola) pizza. The crust of the single-serving pie exuded a delicious, yeasty essence; the use of a gently herbed and garlicky red sauce was restrained; and the fresh cheeses blended perfectly atop the whole. More sophisticated variations of this ubiquitous favorite are also available, such as the Sonoran (chicken marinated in chiles and lime, ancho jack cheese, chili-cilantro salsa and mozzarella) and the vegetarian pesto (walnut-basil pesto, freshly grated parmesan, sliced tomato and mozzarella). Burgers, too, run the gamut from basic to bold with the Ajo burger (chiles, ancho cheese, bacon and roasted garlic-herbed aioli sauce) and the Sonoran harvest (veggie burger with black beans, garlic, cumin and cilantro) taking center stage. The chicken and fish soft-tacos also proved satisfying, the former lime-marinated and grilled, with black beans, jack cheese, chopped tomatoes, red onions and shredded cabbage. The white fish version draws its character from a chile-cilantro salsa of diced jalapeño, garlic, tomato and red onion in cider vinegar. The biggest concern with these handfuls is how to effectively consume them without making a spectacle of yourself, filled as they are to juicy capacity--delightfully, if precariously, held together by a loosely folded flour tortilla. A dish that utterly failed to delight was the curried chicken salad. As described on the menu, the bowl consisted of diced chicken, slivered almonds, raisins, jicama, red onion and Pronto's own apple chutney, all tossed in a curry dressing. For starters, what appeared on arrival to be a mound of stew atop a bed of greens was not at all visually appealing. Our doubts were further edified by the texture of the chutney (coarse chunks of apple cooked to a rubbery softness), unwieldy mouthfuls of romaine, and a red curry dressing that only teased at the complexity intrinsic to curry's majesty. Try as I might, I couldn't get this dish to work for me. Fortunately, there was dessert. Preparations at the Speedway Pronto are simpler (no cream puffs) but still deliciously satisfying. You can tip over completely with a dense, flourless, chocolate sin cake; or remain a bit more down to earth with a variety of cookies, brownies and fruit bars. Carrot cake and lemon mousse are also available on a regular basis. The blond brownies were fabulous--vanilla cookie-bars studded with chocolate chips and chopped nuts. And the lemon bars, with their sweet-tart filling, comforted on a deep, deep level. Sweet treats can be amazingly redemptive. Pronto has persevered gloriously through the years, and in spite of our mixed experience on this occasion, we applaud their entrance onto a new stage. Van Slyke has learned that people essentially want two things: good food at reasonable prices. These days, they want it fast as well. Pronto fills the bill, and we look forward to an encore performance in the new space in the coming months.
Pronto. Two locations: The Temple of Music and Art, 330
S. Scott Ave. (622-2823); and 2955 E. Speedway Blvd. (326-9707).
The Temple location is open during Arizona Theatre Company production
nights only, from 5 to
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Last month, Pronto opened a second eatery within the walls of
the Temple of Music and Art in downtown Tucson, a move greeted
with enthusiastic applause by theatre goers and gourmands alike.
In addition to exporting many of Pronto's most popular menu items,
Van Slyke has resurrected a handful of favorites from the now-defunct
Boccata Restaurant, which in its day turned up on the top of several
"Best Places to Eat in Tucson" lists.
Pastas are heavy favorites on Pronto's menu, with selections
ranging from a vegetable-laden primavera to the sublime penne
ciao bella (tubular pasta tossed with chunks of grilled chicken,
roasted red bell-peppers, artichoke hearts, pine nuts and a velvety
gorgonzola cream sauce).
