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 Saguaro Corners: Where The Deer And The Applesauce Play. By Rebecca Cook IF DISCO, BELL-bottoms and mod clothing in garish hues of green and orange can make a comeback, why not the banal comfort of continental cuisine? You know what I'm talking about--those platters of food that have a hunk of meat as the prime feature, a baked potato topped with "the works" (butter and sour cream), and a colorful garnish of green lettuce and a flaming-red, spiced apple ring. Oh, and don't forget the iceberg salad and the relish tray with carrot and celery sticks, dill pickle wedges and black olives. Getting the picture? Although the splash of inventive regional and nouvelle cuisine has pretty much sent this kind of dining the way of the Edsel, a few keepers of the meat-and-potato flame are fanning furiously to make sure this slab of culinary Americana survives. In our fair community, no establishment does a better job than Saguaro Corners Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge.
Ceiling to floor windows encompass one side of the dining room, exposing feeding areas where desert wildlife can amble up to graze before the amazed eyes of young children and out-of-town visitors. When was the last time you ate a meal within an arm's length of a snuffling javelina? It's an entertaining notion. The restaurant opened back in the year when Arizonans liked Ike (1956), beginning as a gas station with an attached eight-stool, two-table café. Since then, Saguaro Corners has experienced a few growth spurts, and now includes two separate dining rooms and requisite cocktail lounge. The latter is indeed a "lounge" rather than a "bar": Dimly bathed in a golden light, it contains dark furniture and overstuffed chairs, and its patrons receive their drinks from a friendly cocktail waitress in low-heeled pumps and a short skirt. It's easy to envision dashing into this cool alcove to order some of the "packaged liquor to go" advertised on the roadside marquee. Once seated with menu in hand, the casual diner is unlikely to find anything of surprise. Saguaro Corners celebrates the simplicity of a less-complicated time: various cuts of steak, lamb chops, roast beef with mashed potatoes and brown gravy, liver and onions, spaghetti and meatballs, barbecued chicken and breaded shrimp, to name but a few of the nostalgic items featured here. We gave ourselves over to the mood and ordered braised lamb shanks, breaded shrimp and center-cut grilled pork chops. In a place so obviously catering to multi-generational family dining, a children's menu is de rigueur, and Saguaro Corners happily obliges. Our selections were rounded out by the pint-sized guest's hamburger order, although he was sorely tempted by the macaroni and cheese.
The pork chops were also delicious, soaring high above the prosaic, seasoned gently as they were with salt, pepper and garlic, and then grilled until barely done--a technique that cinched in the meat's juices to achieve a succulent tenderness. A baked potato generously dolloped with "the works," and a side dish of puréed applesauce, completed the dish nicely. And what can you say about breaded shrimp? They weren't soggy or too heavily coated, and were rapidly consumed by a teenager well acquainted with the charms of the deep-fried food groups. A hamburger, topped with melted cheese per the young one's request, was similarly enjoyed, along with French fries and applesauce, which our waitress gladly substituted in lieu of a green salad or vegetable soup. My youngest son had kept a keen eye on the towering parfait glasses passing our table and, once finished with his main course, requested one. Turns out these desserts are for adults only: Made with a choice of crème de menthe, hazelnut Frangelico, or crème de cacao and whipped cream, these delicacies stand in admirably as an alternative to after-dinner aperitifs. Reluctantly, my son finally agreed to a plain old chocolate sundae, but he continued to gaze enviously at the adult diners scattered around the room who were languorously dipping long-handled spoons into layered confections of white, green, beige and brown.
Having recently sung the praises of the pie at The Bread & Butter Café, I must say that their singular reputation as the best in town remains intact. Still, Saguaro Corners does a serviceable job of assembling pastry delights. The peach pie was mildly disappointing in that the fruit itself imparted little to no flavor, a condition certainly not under the cook's control but disappointing nonetheless. The strawberry pie was more successful, densely packed with juicy, halved berries and topped with mountainous ribbons of whipped cream. In both instances the crust was light, flaky and rolled thin enough to provide just the right amount of pastry to hold it all together. We must've hit the animals' night off, for no desert creatures materialized during our meal, even though their stations were set and ready. Noise can be a problem in the dining rooms, especially when tables of four or more begin to polish off their filled-to-the-brim martinis and vie for conversational dominance. And while the service is adequate, our waitress was the sole server for most of the evening, which calls for some modicum of patience on the diners' part. We were certainly in no hurry, but would have appreciated seeing the dinner plates cleared and dessert offered within a more efficient time frame than the nearly 30 minutes the process ended up taking. There are plenty of places in town specializing in daring-do cuisine. Saguaro Corners, however, buys into none of that folderol. There on the outskirts of town, you'll find uncomplicated cooking prepared with a practiced hand and quality ingredients. Who says you can't go home again?
Saguaro Corners Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge. 3750
S. Old Spanish Trail. 886-5424. Open from noon to 2:30
p.m. and 5 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and noon to
9:30 p.m. on Sunday. Closed Mondays. Full bar. V, MC, AMEX, checks.
Menu items: $7.95-$19.95.
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Located on Old Spanish Trial, in picturesquely close proximity
to Saguaro National Monument East and Colossal Cave, Saguaro Corners
is a marvel of the aforementioned meat and potatoes.
None at our table was dissatisfied with his meal, which is always
a remarkable circumstance in our clan. My mother was particularly
enamored with her lamb shank, which came moist, tender and literally
falling from the bone. Braised in a brown reduction sauce redolent
with rosemary and thyme, the shank was a pleasure from the first
bite to the last. A stuffed potato--halved and twice-baked with
sour cream, cheddar cheese and chives--satisfactorily accompanied
this dish, though not on par with the magnificence of its meaty
counterpart.
Mud pie, chocolate cake, cheesecake and fresh-baked pie are offered
as sweet repasts in addition to the parfaits and sundaes. Homemade
fruit pies are hard to turn down, especially when the fillings
feature peaches and strawberries.
