Ever since my wonderful 94-year young mom was no longer able to prepare and host lavish Christmas Day dinners at her home, my Kim and I have been “snowbirding” it with annual trips to the Valley of The Sun. Every year I try to surprise my Kim with a better than the previous year’s Christmas dinner at some fancy schmantzy restaurant. Last year it was at the magnificent Zinc Bistro in Scottsdale. The previous year, we dined at Roy’s Restaurant, also in Scottsdale. Our inaugural Christmas dinner in the Phoenix area was at the Fat Ox, a James Beard nominated restaurant in Scottsdale. All served us fabulous (albeit very expensive) meals.
My criteria for selecting a restaurant includes, of course, a restaurant that accommodates The Dude, our debonair dachshund. It wouldn’t be a family Christmas without our four-legged fur baby. This year (2023) rather than another Christmas in Scottsdale, I scoured various sources for something closer to our Tempe rental. At the very top of that list was Alter Ego, the signature restaurant of the Canopy Hotel in Downtown Tempe directly across University Blvd. from Arizona State University (ASU).
That location set off alarms, but only because my experiences with restaurants directly across the street from the University of New Mexico don’t inspire visits after the sun sets. Not only is the area frequented by Albuquerque’s most downtrodden, but the area is fraught with crime. Perhaps in protest of the pitiful parking situation, motorists on Central Avenue tend to rev their cars at volumes normally heard from supersonic jets. The area is neither clean nor reflective of the historical standards Route 66 aims to showcase.
Tempe’s swanky Canopy Hotel is a lavish exemplar among Hilton’s family of hotels. Just beyond the check-in counter, you’ll espy Alter Ego Kitchen & Cocktails, a vibrant, artsy milieu. Retractable doors and windows make it a more expansive venue. During our inaugural visit (on Christmas Day), we were seated on the patio–mere feet from University Blvd. We were seated for well over an hour and didn’t once have to shout to hear one another. It was an entirely ruckus-free and welcoming environment. The restaurant manager Marc Resnick, a peripatetic presence visited our table several times. A kinder, more attentive manager we’ve rarely met. One of Marc’s previous gigs was at the Waldorf Astoria so he’s definitely got creds.
25 December 2023: Our Christmas dinner was a very reasonably priced three-course feast. Our starter was a beautifully composed salad (winter greens, lemon balsamic vinaigrette, tomatoes, feta cheese, candied pecans). Having studied Alter Ego’s menu, we were very impressed by the restaurant’s salads–definitely not your run-of-the-mill salads. Every element of the salad worked well with every other element with the lemon balsamic vinaigrette tying things together like a conductor of a mellifluous orchestra. Ingredients were fresh, crisp and delicious.
25 December 2023: Our main course was a slow-roasted prime rib with Yukon gold mashed potatoes, asparagus, horseradish cream sauce and au jus. A good ten to twelve ounces and three-quarters of an inch thick, the prime rib was a perfect shade of pink. Much as I love prime rib completely unadorned, the lure of potential napalm-fiery horseradish gets to me every time. Alter Ego’s horseradish cream was a bit on the mild side, but good nonetheless. The mashed potatoes were creamy and rich, made even better with au jus.
25 December 2023: Alter Ego’s dessert menu is not to be missed. The chef’s creation ice cream flight is very highly regarded on public sourced review sites such as Yelp. Our server raved about the house-made gelatos, too. Because we ordered the Christmas meal, our only option was a mixed berry (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries) cobbler with house-made vanilla gelato. It may well be the best cobbler we’ve ever had. The crumbly, cinnamon-rich streusel atop the cobbler was superb, counterbalancing the tangy tartness of the berries. The warm crust was also a wonderful complement to the cold, fresh berries.
30 December 2023: We were so impressed by Alter Ego and amiability of the staff that we returned a few days later. The menu, of course, also had something to do with our return. It’s a wonderfully eclectic, fusion menu with elements from various culinary cultures. It will be interesting to see how new Executive Chef Russell Skall will influence that menu being that his last gig was as a corporate chef for Fleming’s Steak House. I encouraged Marc not to change things up too much because it’s a terrific menu with something for everyone.
For us, the first “something” was a Thai peanut noodle salad (Napa cabbage, arugula, petite heirloom tomatoes, chow mein noodle), an exciting Thai inspired melange of crisp, fresh ingredients enlivened by a terrific peanut blessing. Crispy pan-fried chow mein noodles provided a unique textural contrast to other ingredients. Juicy petite heirloom tomatoes may not be an ingredient you think about when pondering a Thai salad, but these added just enough acid and personality to an otherwise excellent salad.
30 December 2023: An entire section of the menu is dedicated to flatbreads. In this case, flatbread is just another name for pizza, albeit not a round pie but more oval. There are four of these gems on the menu. My Kim’s choice was called simply The “Veg” (grilled artichokes, roasted tomato, garlic roasted mushroom, pesto and goat cheese. There are strong flavors atop this flatbread. Especially vying to wreck your breath are goat cheese a plenty and the garlic mushrooms. It’s a breath wrecking experience you’ll delight in with every bite. The crust was thin, but not overly crispy.
30 December 2023: Marc told me his favorite entree was the sesame ginger salmon (scallions, fried noodles, jalapeño, bak choy, shrimp broth). It’s an interestingly composed dish with the salmon nestled atop a tangle of noodles swimming in the shrimp broth. The salmon was perfectly prepared with a pronounced char at the bottom that lent a delightful crispiness. The rest of the salmon was flaky, tender and absolutely delicious. It was one of the best salmon dishes I’ve had in years. My Kim took almost all the noodles as she often does at Vietnamese and Asian restaurants. The shrimp broth wasn’t especially interesting, but the bak choy and scallions were very pleasing.
The term alter ego means “a person’s secondary or alternative personality.” Spiderman, for example, is Peter Parker’s alter ego. I don’t know what Alter Ego’s alter ego might be, but surmise it’s probably some super culinary hero. This is a wonderful restaurant for Christmas dinner or any other meal.
Alter Ego
108 East University Drive
Tempe, Arizona
(602) 612-7871
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 30 December 2023
1st VISIT: 25 December 2023
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: 24
COST: $$$
BEST BET: Prime Rib, Sesame Ginger Salmon, The “Veg,”, Thai Peanut Noodle Salad, Mixed Berry Cobbler
REVIEW #1367