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Here’s another review from my secret restaurant reviewer,Sherry. This time she’s reviewing The Christmas Tree restaurant in Pinetop,Arizona.
Review of TheChristmas Tree Restaurant, January 28, 2011The Christmas Tree restaurant is a venerable old favorite ofWhite Mountains diners. It’s been in Pinetop for many years and after closingfor a couple of them, it’s open again and being operated by the daughter of theoriginal owner (or so I’ve heard). After learning this, I expected nothing lessthan the restaurant living up to my fond memories of visiting this restaurantseveral times over the past decade. Unfortunately, that’s not how my diningexperience went.
For the uninitiated, The Christmas Tree is known for itsunique starter of pickled beets as well as serving warm, homemade cinnamonrolls instead of dinner rolls with each entrée. The beets are slightly sweet,slightly sour, slightly spicy and a perfect way to get your palate ready for adelicious meal. Nothing has changed here; this starter is still as good asever. The cinnamon rolls, however, aren’t quite as good as what I remember.Instead of being light, flaky and buttery sweet, they’re dense, heavy and notparticularly flavorful. They smelled better than they tasted.
Along with an entrée, diners are offered a choice of salador soup du jour. I opted for the salad, which was quite puny; the onlydistinguishing ingredient was the addition of kidney beans (I believe I found 3on my plate). My husband opted for the clam chowder, which was god but notoutstanding.
Now onto the main course. My husband chose “House Favorite”beef stroganoff which, according to the menu, is made with beef filet. Hereceived a plate full of egg noodles and the server ladled sour cream saucewith beef and mushrooms over the top (there were no vegetables with this entrée).My husband didn’t finish his plate but didn’t bring home the leftovers, either,because he said it really wasn’t all that good. In particular, the beef was tough.Made us wonder if the menu is really correct in stating they use filet and nota cheaper, tougher cut.
I ordered another House Favorite, duck with honey andalmonds. It’s not often I get the opportunity to eat duck so my mouth waswatering in anticipation. When it arrived, however, my anticipation quicklyturned to disappointment. The plate of whole duck, sliced into thirds (I’venever seen it arranged on a plate like a chicken…) and served with rice pilafand sautéed apple slices, had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The duck wascooked so long it had not an ounce of moisture left. The honey glaze andaccompanying cup of sauce was so sweet it was like eating a spoonful ofstraight honey (which I suspect it was). The rice was a tasteless brown blob onmy plate and the apples, which looked like Granny Smiths, weren’t peeled whichmade it difficult to eat them. The flavor profiles were all wrong, the methodof preparation all wrong and the presentation all wrong; the sliced almonds on top were merely an afterthought and not part of its preparation. An entire plate of brown food certainly isn't appetizing, either.
As far as the service goes, it was good with one exception:the busboy who poured our water was asked a question about the menu and hisreply was, “I don’t know; I guess so.” I asked him how long he’d worked at therestaurant and he replied, “Not long enough, apparently.” There’s no excuse foreither his ignorance or his glib responses.
The only reason a diner might choose The Christmas Treerestaurant is for its ambience. Although the building is comprised of variousrooms pieced together in a strange manner, the rooms are all cozy and each hasa Christmas tree in the corner, along with homey Christmas decorations.
Unfortunately, this White Mountains landmark has a long wayto go if it is ever to return to its former glory as one of the bestrestaurants in the area. For the money (entrees average about $20 each), Iexpected far more than just a nice room and good service. Without great food,this venture is destined to fail.
The scores for The Christmas Tree are as follows (on a scalefrom * to *****):
Food: *Service: ***1/2Ambience: ****
