Tucson Weekly: Quite A Trip (June 26

Kingfisher Hits The Road Again This Summer, Offering Vacations On A Plate.
By Rebecca Cook
MANY RESIDENTS FLEE the city this time of year, but some of us, mostly the hardy--or unlucky--stick it out. For us, Kingfisher offers culinary respite, a mouth-watering alternative to packing up the dog and the kids and hitting the road.
For the third year in a row, this popular local restaurant offers its version of a summer road trip, a gastronomic tour of six American regions.
Chow "It seems like everyone goes on vacation for a few weeks this time of year," says co-owner John Burke. "What we wanted to do was give people a chance to travel without having to leave Tucson."
Consequently, every few weeks, Kingfisher offers a specially crafted menu featuring the cuisine of a different region of the U.S. Ingredients and cooking styles seldom seen in this neck of the desert take center stage, offering the senses a chance to roam beyond the backyard fence.
Sure, it's not exactly the same as some long-overdue R&R in a faraway spot, but at least for the few hours you're wined and dined in Kingfisher's capable company, you're transported beyond the confines of your overheated routine.
Not surprisingly, the trip began in late May here at home, with the first featured location our own Southwest.
You might assume that this would be the least popular stop of the tour, but Burke says it was an overwhelming success due in large part to a phenomenal menu put together by kitchen wizards and Kingfisher co-owners Jeff Azerski and Jim Murphy.
The next scheduled stop was California and Hawaii, and it was here that we joined the tour, ready to imagine the sound of surf and perhaps Don Ho playing softly in the background.
Kingfisher's summer road trip menus feature a choice of appetizers, dinner entrees, desserts and beverages, including not only regional wines but a selection of many ales and beers made in the highlighted region.
Without a moment's hesitation we dove into a couple of appetizers--a baked filo triangle with portabella mushrooms, roasted garlic, goat cheese, kale and herbs served with a subtle sweet-and-sour sauce ($4.75); and an additional daily special of Mexican clams steamed in white wine, garlic and a pumpkin-seed cilantro pesto ($7.50).
The two mushroom turnovers, a delicious and thoroughly satisfying rush for any lover of fungi, were devoured in a matter of seconds; and the clams, although far more petite than the Pacific Northwest versions I'm used to, made an ideal accompaniment to a basket of Kingfisher's sourdough, herb-crusted bread (made by the once-again-operational John Dough Bread Co.).
Our party handily covered the dinner entrees: broiled, macadamia-nut-crusted sea scallops, pan-fried arborio rice cakes and sautéed spinach set adrift on an ocean of smoked tomato, saffron and garlic sauce, with some fresh-shaved fennel to top it off ($19); carved, oven-roasted lamb sirloin with a pinot noir, dried-cherry sauce, and roasted mixed summer baby vegetables ($18); and pan-roasted fresh Hawaiian fish (opah the day we visited) with sesame, tamari, crystallized ginger, lemon grass and wasabi, spicy cabbage and jasmine rice rolls, and sesame-marinated snap peas and carrots.
The scallops were enormous and the intense wood-smokiness of the tomato sauce a gradually endearing counterpart to the crunchy, faintly sweet macadamia coating.
The lamb was cooked to an impressive medium-rare precision, and the reduction of pinot noir and dried cherries was extravagantly rich and rewarding in its flavors.
The opah, a new experience for me, was a solid white fish whose flavors meshed particularly well with the sesame-infused al dente vegetables on the platter.
Only one member of our group strayed from the road trip theme, choosing instead to stick closer to Kingfisher's standard "no-place-like-home" menu with an order of the carved, blackened pork tenderloin ($16.50), a savory dish served with mango chutney, spicy black beans, a mild texmati rice and sautéed, julienned vegetables.
Dessert is always an occasion at Kingfisher, and this night we chose to sample from the regular as well as the special menu.
From the land of palm trees we selected a ginger-poached pear ($5.75) served with a creamy vanilla bean ice cream and a rum caramel sauce (very good), as well as the always-popular devil's brick ($6.50), which consists of sinful layers of chocolate ganache, a dense chocolate cake, chocolate sauce and a stupefying finish of espresso whipped cream. You simply must save room for this epilogue; it's fabulous.
Future stops on this summer jaunt are the Great Plains (do you have a hankering for buffalo?), the Pacific Northwest, Back East and Down South. Given Azerski's Boston roots and Murphy's former tenure at the Cajun-inspired Jerome's, these last two stops promise to be especially splendid.
Also keep in mind Kingfisher's Blue Mondays, when your meals can be delightfully accented by the muted jazz of John Ronstadt or George Howard. Not a bad way to start the week.
In lieu of real out-of-town travel, Kingfisher fills the bill nicely.
Photo by Sean Justice

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