Girth of a Nation

A A A Comments By Andy Broder Thursday, Dec 30 1999

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Service definitely came with a smile. Most of the staff is prompt, eager to please, and friendly but not overly familiar. One server didn't know much about the wine I selected, but later she asked how it tasted so she could tell future customers.

Food comes hot off the grill delivered by whichever server is available. Once, the manager brought it. Good call. There is no reason for the food to be kept warm until a particular server can bring it. A good staff is a team. Rah team.

Lokey

Amy Norby, consulting chef for Seasons, prepares dinner with executive chef Chris Pope (left) and sous chef Mark Barks (right) in the open kitchen at Seasons restaurant in Scottsdale.

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The servers wear jeans and white shirts. The shirts were just right, but the jeans, at least at dinner, seem a bit too relaxed. This is a casual restaurant, but it's dressy casual. Seasons' own Web page calls the dining room casually elegant. Youmight wear jeans or dress up a bit, but you're paying to be there. The staff should be a bit more manicured.

We live in a world where summer fruits are available in winter. They're shipped from the southern hemisphere. Often the food on our plate has traveled more than we have. I know what four or five hours on a plane does to me, so I can imagine what it does to a bunch of asparagus.

"Some chefs and journalists," according to Leslie Brenner, "worry that the globalization of gastronomy will continue until all we're left with is one cuisine."

Sometimes eating really good food isn't about eating what we want whenever we want it. Good food is about eating what's fresh. It's about food with good, strong, simple flavors. The food at Seasons, like American cuisine, is evolving. Although it occasionally fails to live up to expectations, it's moving in the right direction.

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