Curses don't scare Rich Fortuno.
The Tucson native is confident that his new restaurant, Skybox Restaurant and Sports Bar, will thrive at East River and North Craycroft roads.
At least eight restaurants have tried to make a go of it in that second-floor space in the River Center Shopping Center in the past 10 years.
It's difficult to see why there's been such turmoil. The prime Foothills location and breathtaking views are reasons enough to lure diners. And at least a few of those restaurants— including the Italian Ragazzi and the Phoenician Mediterranean Cuisine — served fabulous food.
Fortuno, who also owns The Stadium Grill and Bar, opened Skybox on March 27 after the 5,500-square-foot space underwent an extensive renovation.
"No one's done what we've done," Fortuno said. "We had 300 people in here the first UA game. I think people really want this in the area."
People are also reading…
With eight televisions in the bar, four in the dining room and one on the patio, some people will see Skybox as an upscale, quiet sports bar. Fortuno would prefer people view it more as a restaurant with a lively, varied menu.
Fortuno's executive chef, Torrey Johnson, has been chef for such restaurants as Bayou Cafe, Anthony's in the Catalinas, Soleil and Daniel's.
Skybox's everyday menu features a mix of salads, burgers, pastas and sandwiches. An additional dinner menu offers steak, chicken and seafood dishes.
After each of our two visits, we left pleasantly satisfied.
That's not saying our experience was perfect. Server training needs to be kicked up a notch or two. While they were über-friendly, both servers were unfamiliar with many dishes and hadn't tasted most of them.
Their inexperience left us wondering if we could have ordered better had we been able to rely on their advice.
We managed to muddle through, however, and ended up with some pretty tasty dishes.
We started with a cup of chicken wild rice soup ($3.50 cup; $4.95 bowl). Seme di melone, which is a small, circular pasta that literally means "melon seeds," is added to the broth, as are a wild-rice blend and such herbs as thyme, basil, oregano and marjoram. We soaked up every last drop with one of the sourdough rolls provided.
A warm spinach artichoke dip ($6.95) wasn't too creamy, making way for lots of tastes from the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and artichokes. Sweet diced tomatoes and Parmesan cheese topped the appetizer, and plenty of tri-color chips and warm flour tortilla pieces were for dipping.
On our first visit, my friend ordered the only vegetarian entree, a Greek pasta salad ($8.95). Artichoke hearts, chopped kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes and red onions were tossed in fusilli pasta with a lemon-accented Mediterranean dressing. The portion was large, but it left us underwhelmed.
Other vegetarian items, such as the housemade dressings, were just about perfect. We especially liked the ranch dressing, which was more creamy and rich than we're used to having.
And, oh, we loved the smoky sautéed veggies that come with many of the entrees. You can order a side for $2.25. A mix of tendercrisp Italian zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli florets and julienned carrots was sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, butter, minced garlic, salt and pepper.
Skybox offers a signature appetizer, a lavosh crisp ($11.95). What looks like a very thin crust 15-inch pizza is topped with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, green bell peppers and shredded havarti cheese. The nutty creaminess of the havarti and the crisp freshness of the peppers made this simple dish sing. Plus, it was a meal for two in itself.
It would be a shame not to have room for the Shrimp Santorini ($13.95), however. Penne pasta was mixed with whole cloves of roasted garlic, fresh dill, peppercorns and ciabatta bread crumbs in a lemon and white wine cream sauce. Five large shrimp and crumbles of feta cheese topped the pasta. The sauce thankfully tasted more lemon and white wine than cream, making for a lighter version that possessed tons of lemony flavor. Crushed red pepper flakes gave the dish a slight kick; ask for more if you want some real fire.
A page of specialties is added to the regular menu and available from 4 to 10 p.m. daily. A Butcher's Block section ($13.95-$24.95) allows diners to choose a cut of steak and add a sauce and side. A side salad and sautéed vegetables also come with the specialties. Even without all that food, it's tough to find a steak anywhere for these prices.
We opted for the 6-ounce Angus filet ($16.95), which was hand-cut and aged 21 days. The filet was a little thin, but it was cooked to the medium temperature requested. The wild mushroom sauce's meaty flavor was a perfect accompaniment for the steak. But someone used a heavy hand with the garlic in the garlic mashed potatoes. What should have been an accent ended up overtaking the side, and the garlic tasted burned. We wished we had chosen the baked potato or rice pilaf.
For dessert, we chose the Strawberry Champagne Mousse ($6.50). A creamy blend of fresh strawberries, cream, egg whites, sugar and champagne was topped with white-chocolate blossoms and came with a chocolate straw. The frothy goodness was served in a chocolate cup swirled with colors.
It was a lovely end to a meal at what we hope is a long-lasting restaurant.
If you go
Skybox Restaurant and Sports Lounge
5605 E. River Road, 529-7180.
• Hours: 11 a.m.- 1 a.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
• Family call: Bring them — they'll love the televisions and the children's menu.
• Wine list: A compact list of mostly California and European bottles that ranges from $18 to $46. Glasses cost $5-$12.
• Noise level: Low to moderate, depending on the crowd and the sports playing on television. Also, bands play a variety of covers from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
• Vegetarian choices: Only a couple of salads and appetizers are vegetarian.
• Dress: Casual.
• Reservations: Accepted.
• Price range: Dinner entrees range from $7.50 for some sandwiches to $28.95 for the M.V.P., a 6-ounce filet and 6-ounce lobster tail. Happy hour is 4-7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and is $1 off appetizers, beer, well drinks and wine.