Say "bistro" and your mind conjures up a specific image: low lighting, a neighborhood kind of place with pleasantly homey but not groundbreaking food. Go a few times, and the servers know your name.
That picture in your head is Bistro 44. The eatery opened in January on Tanque Verde Road, just outside the entrance to Tucson Country Club. For years, the space housed Trattoria Guiseppe or Trattoria Giuseppe, depending on which spelling (both appeared on its signs at different times) you prefer.
Bistro 44's menu reads like a Sunday extended-family dinner — roasted chicken, chicken and dumplings, braised beef short ribs. Save a few entrees — like one night's grilled shrimp special seasoned with lime and cumin — the food's simple and straightforward. In fact, Bistro's most standout dishes are the most basic from the humble sandwich portion of the menu.
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Chopped steak and cheese ($11.50) doesn't sound particularly exotic, and it isn't. But the sandwich — on a chewy sub roll toasted on the inside — sported plenty of flavorful Angus rib-eye. This cut of meat is notoriously fatty, but these tender chunks were lean while retaining that superior flavor. Caramelized onions and red pepper slivers added sparks of sweetness. The sandwich could have used a bit more cheese sauce, which was sparingly spread like a condiment. But it was hard to complain about such a rib-sticking sandwich. Good thing the steak and cheese was so filling because the shoestring potato fries were a side of blah, too limp and lackluster.
The grilled chicken focaccia ($8.50) was another basic sandwich with excellent preparation. Succulent breast meat with a hint of smoky flavor mingled with sweet roasted red peppers, buffalo mozzarella (made from the milk of water buffalos) and sun-dried tomato mayo kicky with garlic. The pillowy focaccia, though, hadn't been grilled like the menu promised so the bread grew smushy from the juicy peppers. Still, it was a good sandwich.
When Bistro 44 veers into the exotic, like that shrimp special, it does well, too. At $19.50, it was pricey for six medium-size shrimp, but they were perfectly grilled and smacked of the bright, fresh bite of lime and a subtle hint of cumin. In fact, it seemed a shame to dunk the delicate nibbles into the mayonnaise-based chipotle sauce because it just seemed so heavy. A black-bean-roasted garlic salsa accompanied the shrimp, as did a lovely orzo that echoed the tart lime of the shrimp.
Bistro 44 gets major novelty points with its seasonal side veggies — spaghetti squash (an unusual choice but it was buttery yet light) and still-crisp broccolini.
As mentioned earlier, most dishes on the menu have that homey, Sunday-dinner-at-mom's feel. Nothing wrong with that, except that you know how sometimes when you're expecting a big crowd and not exactly sure what everyone's tastes are? What do you do? You go easy, sometimes a little too easy, on the spices. That's how the braised beef short ribs ($17.50) tasted. Not especially meaty, ribs aren't exactly company food. These were fall-off-the-bone tender from long braising and extremely beefy tasting, but that was it — just beef. No sign of the zinfandel used in the reduction. The dish cried for an extra layer of flavor. A dose of salt helped a smidge but couldn't hide its flatness. The buttermilk-chive mashed potatoes, though, were fluffy and creamy at the same time.
The chicken and tarragon fettuccine ($13.50) suffered from a similar lack of distinctiveness. A big sprig of fresh tarragon decorated the top, but it was difficult to detect its flavor in the creamy tomato-vodka sauce.
Desserts were a 50-50 proposition. We did a little happy dance over the caramel crème brûlée (all desserts cost $4.50 each). The silky texture, crackling bronzed-sugar top and deep, rich caramel flavor were as comforting as a favorite blanky. A wide strip of mousselike blackberry filling topped a wonderfully dense, smooth cheesecake.
The brownies — and we admit to being incredibly snobbish about our favorite treat — were huge wedges with a fudgy texture but from-a-box taste. The carrot cake came with a side of zippy ginger-pineapple salsa that helpfully disguised a rather plain spice cake.
But you always know what to expect from the service. This is a neighborhood place, and servers were extremely pleasant and attentive. On one visit, a gentleman wandered among tables asking everyone how the food was. The owner? Nope, our waitress laughed, just a regular who felt at home. Now that's a homey touch we like.
Review
Bistro 44, 6761 E. Tanque Verde Road, off Camino Principal just outside Tucson Country Club Estates, 298-2233.
• Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; until 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
• Family call: There's a kids menu, and it's a family kind of place.
• Noise level: Subdued.
• Vegetarian choices: A few.
• Dress: Casual.
• Reservations: Highly recommended for Fridays and Saturdays.
• Price range: $6.50 for a BLT to $28.50 for a 10-ounce bacon-wrapped tenderloin filet.
• Wine list: A little bit of everything, heavy on pinot noir, which is quite trendy right now.