LET THE FEAST BEGIN - The Coronet

presenting

 LET THE FEAST BEGIN

By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com

To help get through the coronavirus crisis Bernice Chesi and I want to encourage you to dine out now and then in the comfort of your own social distance observing home.

Each weekend we are going to order out dinner from an iconic local restaurant, create as much of a restaurant atmosphere as possible, pretend we are dining out and report on the experience!

 

For the debut of LET THE FEAST BEGIN we chose Tucson's new downtown spot, The Coronet, 198 W. Cushing St,

Each dish comes in its own container, with its own cooking instructions, ready for the oven.

The entrees properly plated along with a chilled bottle of pinot grigio.

 

Ordinary take-out isn't just for pizza and Asian favorites any more. Wanting to stretch a little, we called the downtown Coronet on Cushing Street to order from its special "Heat & Serve" menu. Each entree is packaged separately, ready to be popped into your own 350 pre-heated degree oven for 20 minutes or so.

 

That way your thoughtfully prepared dinner goes straight from your own kitchen to your own table, without the anxiety of racing home with a box of hot food, hoping to eat everything before it gets cold.

 

Sure you could let one of those food delivery services do all the racing around, but these days who wants to miss an excuse to get out of the house and drive someplace else for awhile.

 

Have the table set and the candles ready before you order. Use the food warm-up time to enjoy a tasty round of adult beverages as the pleasures of being at the Coronet for dinner begin falling into place at home.

 

The special menu offers a trio of entrees selected for their ability to travel well in this "Heat & Serve" environment. Nothing gets soggy. Nothing dries out.

 

The entrees are Pork Tenderloin ($18), Top Sirloin Steak ($28) and for a vegetarian entree Roasted Cauliflower ($18). Each dish is served with accompanying vegetables and a separate salad of your choice. 

 

The salads are: Beet & Dill, Mediterranean Potato, Lentil, Green Bean, and Freekeh Cashew. You can order the salads separately, without an entree, for $7 each.

 

The Coronet wine cellar is also open. We chose a light pinot grigio.

 

Just for fun you can also request a Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie ($3).

 

Then a quick flip of the Pandora switch for some music, opting for the Miles Davis channel followed by the Dave Brubeck channel.

 

Now the music is playing, the candles are shimmering, the wine is poured. We get to the best part -- eating.

 

In the interest of completeness we chose all three entrees and three of thee salads: Beet & Dill, Mediterranean Potato and Green Bean. Each was distinctly different.

 

The Mediterranean was the spiciest, with zippy marinated olives mixed in among whole, unpeeled potatoes about an inch in diameter. Garlic, lemon oil, herbs and shallots complete the combination.

 

The green beans were slender and crunchy, tossed with pine nuts, crispy shallots, herbs and vinaigrette,

 

My personal favorite the Beet & Dill, presented the beets in hearty chunks, lightly tossed in  yogurt. So fresh.

 

Each cut of steak is cooked medium rare, served with chimichurri sauce on a bed of grilled asparagus. Sliced against the grain, flavorful and tender, eager to be savored.

 

The pork tenderloin arrives more sweetly prepared with roasted sweet potatoes and a citrus chili honey that smiles instead of bites.

 

Hungry vegetarians will appreciate the ample portion of roasted cauliflower, cooked through, but still with plenty of heft to its texture. Adding their own flavors are butternut squash and peas served with date molasses.