Digestif: Cal-Ital

Digestif is a hot new restaurant at the Waterfront in Old Town Scottsdale. It is located in the Waterfront District next to the canal and the bridge. It has an outdoor cafe seating area, as well as a hip red-brick interior decorated with vinyl records, and it has a fabulous wood-burning fireplace for cooking. On the weekends, there is often live music out on the patio. The General Manager, Pavle Milic, is always there and greets you and seats you.

Chef Payton Curry creates amazing meals relying on organic vegetables and a wide variety of dishes that he calls Cal-Ital. I regularly choose his farm to table choice, which can consist of mushrooms, asparagus, fried farm egg, brioche, pecorino, and gribiche sauce. Yummy! If I want something with protein and no fat, the Salmon rillete is surprisingly delicious and addictive. The pasta meals are superb with fresh made pasta daily. I like the garganelli alla nonna that has house sausage, cannellini beans, broccoli rabe, chile oil, and pecorino cheese.

I especially love the crostata with crescenza cheese, grilled asparagus, truffle oil fried egg, frisee, and pancetta. The crust of a crostata is similar to a pizza but with more pastry. Digestif also has delicious meals of chicken, duck, scallops served with fresh vegetables, succulent sauces, and an Italian flair. The Grimaud Farms duck with lentil and beet ragu, game jus with lingonberries and hibiscus is wonderful. The Charcuterie offerings are diverse and delicious. They are prepared on site and can be taken home by the pound. Nothing like tasty salmon rillete to add to a home brunch, or foie gras pate, candied fig pate, or some spicy chorizo for breakfast at home. I am a big chorizo fan!

Finally, can we talk desserts? The brownie and chocolate malted semifreddo is scrumptious. I also love the mint chocolate ice cream sandwiches that have white chocolate and peppermint ganache, chocolate macarons, mint/stracciatella gelato, chocolate sauce, and chocolate mint. Heavenly! The lemon marscapone cheesecake with limoncello gelato is also wonderful. Pastry Chef Tracy Dempsey has quite the talent to satisfy our sweet palettes.

Tomorrow I will share with you one distinction that Digestif alone shares with Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Ernest Hemingway. And, you will learn some very interesting information.

Chef Payton Curry will surprise you as he looks like a snow boarder. I came to the restaurant when it first opened up and when I saw the Chef, I told my friends he is the "Snowboarding Chef." Of course, I had no idea if he was a snowboarder, but he looked like he fit the role. I have since asked him and was glad he confirmed that he does in fact snowboard. He hails from San Francisco, California.

We are glad Digestif and Chef Curry are in Scottsdale and part of the Cowboy Ciao, Kazimierez, SeaSaw family of excellent locally-owned restaurants, each with their own unique and high quality style and they each make food creation and sensation the top priority. Foodies love these family of restaurants and always keep coming back for more.

Digestif is located at 7114 E. Stetson and can be reached at 480.425.WINE. For more information, click Digestif.