Artizen Crafted American Kitchen & Bar

Artizen Crafted American Kitchen & Bar Restaurant Review:

After the fabled Ritz-Carlton closed, Valley diners waited to see what new owners --- the Marriott --- would bring for the hotel restaurant. The answer is hip, stylish, inventive dining that deserves more attention than it gets. Rather than Ritz swanky, the property is now ultra cool in a nightclub way, and so dining clientele seems mostly limited to hotel guests and in-hotel groups like basketball teams. That’s unfortunate, since it means locals are missing out on really good food like Prime NY Strip gussied with marinated tomatoes, blue cheese bread pudding, habanero bacon jam and Worcestershire gastrique. It’s dark inside, with copper-plated fixtures barely glowing, and banquettes keeping diners private from the loud bar at the entry. But the food strives --- and succeeds --- to reach upscale tastes. Start with roasted bone marrow gone Arizona-fancy with pickled cholla buds, celery parsley salad and purple mustard for scooping with ciabatta. Move on to a whole roasted loup de mer, boned tableside and presented with Greek oregano, lemon, blistered red tomatoes and saba. The wine list covers all the continents, but really, this is a place for a cocktail, such as a crisp, sharp Summer In Savoy of Hanson habanero vodka, elderflower, lime and genepy herbal liqueur.