Donovan's Steak and Chop House

 Welcome to Arizona Restaurant Week.  There are over 200 hundred restaurants that are participating in this event.  Arizona Restaurant week is an opportunity twice a year to encourage people to go and try places for a fixed price.  All the restaurants will offer a three course meal including appetizer, entree and dessert.  As I was looking over the list of restaurants and comparing the options given with the menus online, I found one restaurant that didn't post the prices online.   You know it was an "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" restaurant.  Here was an opportunity to try such a restaurant for a fixed affordable price.  Donovan's is located at Camelback and 32nd Street.  We made reservations for 5:30 and dropped our car off with the complimentary valet so parking was not an issue.  We were led to our table quickly and introduced shortly thereafter to the three servers who would be assisting us with our dinner.  Yes, we did not miscount, there were three waiters per table.  When you participate in Arizona Restaurant week, Donovan's offers three different appetizers, four different entrees and two different desserts to choose from.  Of course, you are also able to order anything off the regular menu at it's regular cost. 
Our first choice was from the regular menu, Bacon Wrapped Scallops.  These were sea scallops slightly seared, wrapped well with bacon and placed a top a raft of asparagus floating in an orange ginger sauce.
The bacon had an excellent crisp on the outside which paired well with the smooth scallop center.  When eaten with the sweet orange sauce, you had just the right tang.  And to my surprise, Patti even found the asparagus to her liking with not too much bitterness as she typically finds the vegetable to be.

My appetizer choice was the soup.  The soup de jour was a lobster bisque. This light creamy tomato soup comes out piping hot and a generous portion of lobster meat on top.  Although this may be small, it packed large flavor.  Patti's appetizer choice was the chopped house salad with a dijon dressing.  This salad was an extremely large salad for an appetizer and she ended up sharing at least half of it with me.  Besides the chopped lettuce, it also included bacon, carrots, tomatoes, hearts of palm, bell peppers and red onions.

For my entree, I ordered the twin filet mignon medallions topped with bleu cheese and port wine demi glace.  As I am not a big fan of bleu cheese, I asked for the toppings to come on the side.  Each entree also comes with a potato, I opted for garlic smashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables.  The medallions were cooked to a beautiful medium rare and the port wine demi glace added a touch of sweetness.  I decided to be brave and try the bleu cheese.  I knew that as soon as I took a bite, I would gag from the "mold" taste that would assault my mouth.  I was completely taken aback when the creamy cheese did not have any moldy aftertaste.  So when you paired the sharpness of the cheese with the sweetness from the glace together with the meatiness of the medallions you ended with a combination that was divine.  And to let you in on a little secret, save some of the bleu cheese to add to your potatoes on the side, you will not be disappointed.

 Patti's entree choice was the Cherry glazed pork chop.  She was amazed at how large the portion was.  The sweetness of the cherry glaze did not overpower the meat and the pork remained juicy from start to finish.  She was however slightly disappointed at the vegetables.  She prefers them to be a tad bit softer when cooked rather than the crunch they have when raw.  When Patti first saw the menu, she expected high prices and small portions.  But this was obviously not the case and ended up having to take half the chop home for left overs.








Now on to desserts!  As soon as I saw the chocolate mousse option on the menu, I called "dibs".  It starts off with a small ring of raspberry sauce around a thin layer of dark chocolate cake.  Then they add the thick fluffy chocolate mousse.  A thin layer of milk chocolate tops the mousse with a dollop of whipped cream, two red raspberries, a fresh mint leaf and the whole thing is then dusted with powdered sugar.  After the first bite, I was hesitant to share even with Patti.  This combination is pure genius.

Although Patti could have ordered the mousse as well, she opted to try the bread pudding.  Surprisingly this is served with cherries for tartness rather than the traditional sweet raisin.  Bonus for me as I am allergic to raisins and was able to help share in her dessert.  I must admit that it is a much better choice to contrast the sweet cinnamon bread with tart cherries instead of complimenting sweet with sweet.

Donovan's is a first class restaurant all the way.  At the end of our meal they offered to take a photo and print it out for us to take home as a reminder of our experience here.  This is an excellent place to celebrate special occasions.  Donovan's is a place where you are treated well, with an intimate atmosphere and excellent food.

So if you haven't tried a cherry glazed pork chop or a lobster bisque, go to Donovan's and try it now!