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Café Carumba!
7303 E Indian School Road, 480-947-8777

Okay, I’m the first to admit that I am no culinary explorer, but even I get tired of the same old rib joints and stuffy seafood spots. Café Carumba, located in Old Town Scottsdale, is founded on the notion that many American diners find it difficult to stray from their usual entrée choices. That is why executive chef Jay Schlangen has produced a menu that is familiar enough for the casual diner yet adventurous enough for the searching epicurean.

Located in the building that formerly housed Jacqueline’s Marketplace and Deli, the restaurant interior has undergone a refreshing renovation. Flanked by two large patios (one covered and the other open to the stars), Café Carumba’s entryway is fashioned to remind one of a Central American mercado, with colorful splashes at every turn.

We opted to dine among the trees and umbrellas of the open air patio. Café Carumba’s dinner menu offers such a choice of tantalizing appetizers; we could not make up our minds, so we chose two. The succulent Pan Seared Scallops ($9) were arranged around a heaping serving of fresh corn salsa and drizzled with a delicious balsamic syrup. The Bocadillos has diners choose three from a list of six toppings that are served on small slices of crusty bread. We were not disappointed with our choice of avocado/tomato/queso fresco and the marinated olive relish topped with tender slices of grilled steak. We practically wrestled over the Brie with jalapeno-pineapple chutney. The other three options will have to wait until our next visit.

The menu offers some interesting salad plates, but since I always pick my bets at Turf Paradise on how much I like a horse’s name, I had to order the One Hot Goat ($8).
Café Carumba’s salads are so large, my companion and I split the order between us. The generous greens were covered with squares of goat cheese, and we both went nuts over the spiced diced beets and candied pecans. The caramelized onion dressing was like nothing neither of us had ever experienced and I would gladly buy the stuff by the case to take home.

For our entrees, we split the animal world right down the middle. The sushi-grade Seared Tuna ($19) was served on a black bean chorizo rice cake with sautéed cactus and shitake mushrooms in a garlic-cilantro broth. You’ll never again be able to go back to the bland, barely seasoned fish found in most restaurants.

I thought I was being brave by ordering the Habanero Braised Ribs ($15), but the spiciness was tempered in such a way that the flavor came through without any of the harsh burn one sometimes associates with the fiery little pepper. The grilled asparagus arranged on the plate was tender, but not overdone. The most amazing side dish on the plate was the sweet potato puree that was infused with such an interesting array of flavors that even my companion who is not crazy about sweet potato kept asking for one more bite.

I don’t usually order dessert, but with the whole carb-conscious thing going on, I was intrigued by the flourless Choco-Loco ($5) chocolate cake. Served warm and decorated with raspberries, blackberry and sliced strawberry, the moist mound of chocolate was drizzled with a luscious syrup and had a secret kick of spice added to counterbalance the sweet.

My companion grew up in New Orleans, famous for its Bananas Foster, so he could not resist ordering the Bananas en Fuego ($7). A sliced caramelized banana encircled a huge serving of vanilla Haagen Dazs ice cream and the whole thing floated in an amazing rum sauce that came to our table on fire! It was high theatre in Old Town Scottsdale that night. To top it off, in the middle of the scoop of ice cream was a towering, upright cookie in the shape of a saguaro cactus.

Café Carumba has even taken their American fare with its Central American flair to the lunch and breakfast menu with an amazing array of southwest flavored sandwiches, salads and Pan American breakfast choices. The restaurant opens at 7 a.m. seven days a week. And for those who avoid the area because of its dearth of parking spaces, Café Carumba has a huge parking lot for its customers.

Given Café Carumba a try and you’ll be back again and again!