Spectators at this week's Accenture Match Play Championship might want to grab a bite after they hit the links. The tournament moved this year to the brand-new Ritz-Carlton, but the resort has opened just one restaurant so far — and it's closed to the public during the tournament.
So, unless they want to try the snack carts, golf fans have a choice to make: They can drive about 20 minutes to the plethora of chain restaurants in the Cortaro Road-Interstate 10 corridor, drive at least 30 minutes up Tangerine Road to Oro Valley, or head for the Basha's plaza at the mouth of Dove Mountain.
That's where they will find two new restaurants, Dove Mountain Grill and Vero Amore Authentic Neapolitan Pizza, both of which are outposts of established Tucson eateries.
The modestly upscale Dove Mountain Grill is the sister of two-year-old VinTabla in the Catalina Foothills.
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The golf-shorts casual Vero Amore is the second location for brothers Josh and Aric Mussman, native Tucsonans who got into the pizza biz three years ago when they opened Vero Amore in Midtown.
Both restaurants opened just after Christmas.
• Vero Amore has settled into the space briefly occupied by Fire — An Arizona Bistro, which opened exactly a year ago with the same intentions as Vero Amore: to capitalize on the Match Play crowd and find a niche in the growing Dove Mountain area. But Fire lasted just a few months.
Vero Amore showcases modern touches carried over from Fire — cool lighting, rattan accents, a glossy bar and tables set end-to-end. Between the dining room and a handful of tables on the side patio, the restaurant can seat 94.
Josh Mussman said he and his brother saw potential in Marana and set their sights on the 2,400-square-foot spot, equipped with an enticing Earthstone oven. The previous owners had converted it from wood-burning to gas; the brothers converted it back to wood, which can heat to nearly 1,000 degrees.
That's what produces the unavoidable crust burns that speckle Vero Amore's pies, which included the pizza capricciosa ($11), a combination of tart artichokes, earthy mushrooms and tangy olives complementing the fresh housemade mozzarella and silky prosciutto.
There are a dozen pizzas on the menu, from one simply dressed with tomato sauce and spiced with oregano and garlic ($8.50) to the popular pizza anima ($11), which adds a smoky blast to the fresh mozzarella and a bold andouille sausage. The quattro formaggi ($10.50) skips the tomato sauce and casts gorgonzola, Parmesan and mozzarella in leading roles atop a crust that is chewy inside, crispy outside and eats like a nice crusty bread.
The Mussmans expanded their pasta menu for their Marana restaurant, adding four dishes including a richly rewarding fettuccine Alfredo ($11). The cheesy sauce had a hint of garlic tang dressing al dente noodles. The ravioli aumentare ($12) is a duet of ricotta and herb and crab ravioli dressed in an addictive marinara complemented by cream.
Appetizers include toasted ravioli ($5.50) with an intriguing wasabi-infused ranch dressing; and crispy calamari ($7) with a fresh tomato sauce and that wasabi ranch for dipping.
• Dove Mountain Grill will not disappoint devotees of VinTabla's culinary genius.
Executive chef Bruce Yim has borrowed just enough of VinTabla's menu to remind us of Dove Mountain Grill's birthright. But the ample offerings also include distinctive dishes that might entice VinTabla fans to venture from the Catalinas to the Tortolitas.
We're betting one of those dishes will be the veal meatloaf ($18), an elegant take on the comfort-food classic. Veal and pork are allowed to co-mingle with scant filler. The dense loaf, a creation of chef de cuisine Brett Vibber based on his mother's hamburger recipe, is topped with a tantalizing housemade ketchup.
The menu draws on European and Asian influences to create new American classics. It twists everyday dishes and turns them into something special. French fries, for example, are dusted with truffle oil-spiked Parmesan cheese in an appetizer ($8). Beets and blanched green beans compete for attention with rich goat cheese in the VinTabla holdover roasted red beet salad ($8), while a generous scoop of diced sushi-quality tuna is complemented by a wasabi aioli in the Hawaiian tuna tartar appetizer ($10).
Side dishes with the entrees have that same comfort-food-gone-upscale mentality. The veal meatloaf is accompanied by garlic-kissed spinach and creamy whipped potatoes. Those same potatoes and crisp fresh green beans are sided with a gorgeous 12-ounce rib-eye ($28) topped with a pat of maitre d'butter. The steak came out rarer than the medium ordered, which turned out to be a godsend. The crispy char outside yielded to a sweet, almost fork-tender piece of meat.
Vibber multitasks as the restaurant's pastry chef, whipping up decadent delights such as an irresistibly rich and moist warm toffee pudding cake ($7) drizzled with caramel rum sauce and a chocolate fudge cake ($7) topped with whipped cream and toasted marshmallow.
Where to eat
Here are other possible restaurant matches for golf fans. Directions are from Dove Mountain.
• Cortaro Road-Interstate 10 corridor: Home of Texas Roadhouse, Chili's, Boston's the Gourmet Pizza and several fast-food outlets. Directions: Take Tangerine Road west to eastbound Interstate 10. Exit Cortaro Road. Drive time: About 20 minutes.
• McClintock's at Saguaro Ranch, 3755 W. Conrads Way, 579-2100. Directions: Head northwest on North Dove Mountain Boulevard and turn right onto Moore Road. Enter through the tunnel at Thornydale and Moore roads. You will be escorted in. Reservations are required. Drive time: Under 10 minutes.
• Foothills Mall, 7401 N. La Cholla Blvd.: Home of numerous chain and local eateries including Fox and Hound Smokehouse & Tavern, Gavi Italian Restaurant, Applebee's, Pappoule's Opa, Sushi Garden North and Thunder Canyon Brewery. Directions: Take Tangerine Road east to North La Cholla Boulevard. Turn right onto La Cholla; mall is at the corner of West Ina Road and La Cholla. Drive time: Around 20 minutes.
• Saffron Indian Bistro, 7607 N. Oracle Road, Oro Valley; 742-9100. (Sprouts plaza also has several restaurants, including Carrabba's Italian Grill.) Directions: Take Tangerine Road east to North First Avenue, then right onto First. Turn right onto North Oracle Road; it's four miles up Oracle. Drive time: 25 minutes.
• Angelina's Ristorante, 12152 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd., Oro Valley; 742-9595. Tapas restaurant in Safeway plaza is one of several eateries in that area, including Olive Garden at the Oro Valley Marketplace, corner of West Tangerine Road and North Oracle Road. Directions: Head east on Tangerine, turn left onto Rancho Vistoso Boulevard. Drive time: Under 20 minutes.
• The Gallery Restaurant at Dove Mountain, which primarily serves Dove Mountain residents and members of the private Gallery Golf Club, will be open to members-only this week. Gallery Golf Club hosted Match Play's first two Tucson tournaments — in 2007 and 2008 — while the Ritz-Carlton was being built.