Café Terra Cotta Ranks Solidly Among The Best Of The Southwest. By Rebecca Cook AS THE RECENT Best of Tucson issue demonstrated, this city has a great deal to commemorate and celebrate from the last decade. While the revitalization of the downtown area and the renovation of San Xavier Mission are events worthy of note, what also impresses is the burgeoning fine-dining scene in Tucson. Once limited to the much ballyhooed Tack Room when it came to dining in grand style, this city now boasts a formidable stable of other culinary treasures. One such marvel is unquestionably Café Terra Cotta, a restaurant of impeccable grace and style that's thoroughly dazzled Tucson for the last decade with a lusciously inventive and provocative menu. An essential ingredient of Terra Cotta's success has been retaining its original Southwest character without becoming static or passé in its offerings. Items that have withstood the test of time remain (yes, thank God, the garlic custard with the salsa vinaigrette is among them); but there are also plenty of new items to intrigue. "We are constantly trying to incorporate new items into an experimental and flavorful menu," says Café Assistant Manager Stephanie Tepper. That effort, which takes place under the watchful and creative eye of chef and owner Donna Nordin, permeates the menu. How about a yin-yang soup of pumpkin and white beans with roasted garlic puree ($5.50)? Or perhaps the cornmeal-dusted monkfish with manchamantel mole sauce and potato-stick salsa ($16.95) is more to your liking? And, for dessert, don't pass up the chance to savor the crispy apple enchiladas with caramel-rum sauce and cinnamon ice cream ($5). Nothing here is run of the mill. We began one meal with an order of the walnut tarte, a small disk of toasty pie pastry layered with pungent goat cheese and caramelized onions. Garnished with an Anaheim chile sauce and barely bitter frisee greens, this was a sumptuous first course ($5.95). For an entree that evening I opted to go all out with the filet mignon, a tender cut wrapped in mesquite-smoked bacon, and served with white cheddar-chipotle potatoes and herbed spaghetti squash tossed with a salsa fresca mixture of chopped tomatoes and onions. The whole was placed atop a savory reservoir of gorgonzola-sage sauce ($21.95). The beef was cooked rare to order, absolutely bursting with flavor, and was so tender a steak knife seemed superfluous. This is one cow worth going mad over. Nor should seafood specials be missed at Terra Cotta. The night we visited, the guest of honor was a deliciously fresh chile-crusted mahi mahi, grilled and served with a sauce coaxed from carrot juice and toasted pumpkin seeds. A creamy corn risotto and tender grilled zucchini held their own, the former a rich marvel of rice and cheese that left us longing for more ($17.95). Single-serving pizzas baked in the wood-burning oven are a special treat at Terra Cotta, again featuring a variety of innovative options. A pleasing lunch one day included a sun-dried tomato and cilantro pesto version studded with goat cheese, those tantalizing caramelized onions, and smoked mozzarella ($11.75). A soft, yeasty crust provided the perfect foundation. Also deliciously intriguing were the sautéed rock-shrimp cakes, lightly breaded with cornmeal and served on a bed of wilted spinach, accompanied by a red-chile vinaigrette and tomato-tomatillo salsa ($11.95). With so many tempting selections it isn't easy to decide just when and how to end a meal here; but we finally settled on one chocolate and one non-chocolate offering. The chocolate-hazelnut bread pudding, served warm with crème anglaise and finely chopped strawberry and kiwi fruit ($5.50) was a delight, neither too sweet nor too heavy. But a thoroughly satisfying deviation was the roasted caramel torte, which consisted of layers of a gentle spice cake, slightly chewy caramel-walnut filling and spiced buttercream, all topped with

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