The Vig

Love Me tenderloin from the Vig. (Credit: David Kadlubowski/azcentral.com)

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Love it or hate it, the Vig is still Arcadia's No. 1 neighborhood hangout, a be-seen bar (and yes, restaurant) packed with 20-somethings who come for bocce ball, cocktails and snacks on the misted patio. Now that Lenard Rubin mans the kitchen, the menu and food have been kicked up a notch.

The sene: My buddy thinks the narrow, dimly lit interior looks grungy (God knows there's been wear and tear), but to me, the mid-century decor—brick walls, wooden slats and sleek, suspended lamps - still rocks. When the sun goes down, people tough it out on the patio—maybe because there's nowhere else to go. Inside, the place is generally mobbed, everyone screaming above the din.

The food: No one will ever accuse the Vig of being an upscale restaurant. It's a bar, first and foremost. But people eat here—and often—and Rubin (who opened Medizona, years back, to much acclaim) hopes to make their experience more than just a booze-fueled pig-out.

Don't worry, the addictive Five-Spice Edamame, Hot Vings and VigAzz Burger remain menu staples. Much of Rubin's tinkering has been with entrees. However, he did add a Latin-inspired appetizer, cleverly dubbed Sí Food and described as "scallop ceviche, Mexican shrimp cocktail and gazpacho with crabmeat." The flavors are right on; the texture of the soft seafood is way off, as if it's been marinating forever ($12).

Lamb salad on grilled flatbread sounded so much better than it looked or tasted: flavorless bits of lamb mixed with hummus, tomato, feta, almond-honey brittle, cured lemon and fresh mint on a bed of arugula and mixed greens, all sitting on quickly getting mushy flatbread—a jumbled up mess so unappealing I barely touched it ($11). Smoked duck and arugula salad, jazzed up with prosciutto, melon, figs, goat cheese, mint and hazelnuts, anointed with orange-poppy-seed yogurt sauce, was much better but still fell shy of fantastic ($12).

Entrees are where Rubin's style really shines. Loved the grilled and sliced Love Me Tenderloin, spooned with red-onion marmalade and sided with the cheesiest, best dauphinoise potatoes I've had in ages ($16). Grilled achiote-rubbed salmon was moist and delicious, even better with a fabulous chorizo-stuffed sweet-corn cake, mango salsa and poblano cream sauce ($15). And sliced carne asada, fanned out over a potato pancake, then topped with guac, pico de gallo, sour cream, Cotija and roasted-tomato-garlic sauce, was straight-up comfort food ($15). Back to disappointment with banana cream pie that wasn't smooth, creamy or banana-y enough ($6).

The drinks: Stella, Kiltlifter and cloudy Hoegaarden on tap, a dozen mostly premium brews by the bottle. Lots of fancy cocktails and a new, California-heavy wine list, arranged progressively (got to love that).

The lowdown: Fridays are brutal, but the Vig is still a solid neighborhood hangout on quieter days. For a stylish $15-entree, you can't beat it.

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