I'm no stranger to Sun City. The two people responsible for bringing me into this world have lived there for most of the last decade. So when it came time to gather information for this story, I simply called Mom. As always, she had plenty of suggestions.
In fact, to augment her own opinions, Mom conducted an informal survey at Monday/Wednesday/Friday Bell Rec Center aerobics. "Lo Perchio's," Mom reported. "Everyone loves Lo Perchio's." Well, hey, if it's good enough for everyone, it's certainly good enough for Goat and me. One Sunday I make the call from Phoenix. Hello, Lo Perchio's! Do you take reservations? Yes, a young woman tells me, it's always good to call ahead. Okay, I say. I give her my restaurant-spy alias and our estimated time of arrival. End of conversation.
It's a 35-mile drive out to Sun City. Lo Perchio's is nestled in a shopping plaza called Village at Surprise on Bell Road between Sun City and Sun City West. Village at Surprise looks a little like Town & Country Shopping Center without all the nice fountains, lights and hubbub. I am looking forward to a nice Italian meal. Lo Perchio's. Sounds Italian, doesn't it? A nice Italian meal in Sun City.
Silly me! Once we get there, I discover Lo Perchio's isn't Italian. Lo Perchio's is a Big-4 restaurant. One specifically created, I might add, to cash in on this older segment of the dining-out market. Everyone is dressed up like it's Easter or Mother's Day, but there's nothing impressive about the dining room. With its booths, hanging plants and brass railings, it looks like a heavily trafficked JB's. There's a glass case full of baked goods and a buffet line.
A buffet line!
Our young waitress looks at us expectantly. "Don't you want the brunch buffet?" Not really. Can we order from the menu? "Well, uh, most people have the buffet," she says. "It's $9.95 with champagne."
I am not happy. Why wasn't I told about brunch on the phone? I walk up to the line and take a look. I don't have to fill my plate to tell that this is one mediocre buffet. Oh, there's pudding: chocolate, vanilla and tapioca. There's gelatin salad, potato salad, cottage cheese and greens. There's precut turkey and fatty roast beef, blintzes, bacon, quiche and eggs Benedict. There's even a steam tray marked "gravy." Thanks, but no thanks.
I ask our waitress for a dinner menu. She is quite confused at this point, but obedient. The menu is moderately priced and lists just enough dishes to make it seem like there's a choice. The offerings range from simple pasta, seafood and salads to prime rib and fillet. Nothing trendy here.
I decide that Goat and I should move on. I do not wish to waste a drive to Sun City on Lo Perchio's buffet. I tell our waitress we'll be back some other time, and leave with every intention of returning. A sense of relief floods me once we escape. We walk over to Lalo's Place, an upscale Mexican restaurant also located in the Village at Surprise. Lalo's was another place ranked high on Mom's aerobics class's list. Sure enough, there's a champagne brunch buffet happening here, too, and we begin to get the picture.
Quantity equals quality in Sun City: big cars, big houses, big RVs, big food. Sun Citians adore buffets in general, and Sunday champagne brunch buffets in particular. They like to help themselves. Happily, the hostess says we can order from the menu. Great!
The same plants hang from the ceiling at Lalo's, but the decor is more high tech than at Lo Perchio's. Likewise, the crowd here seems more casually dressed and a bit younger. Pink and white dominate the restaurant's color scheme.
We take a booth and order up a storm. While we wait for the onslaught of food, we munch on chips and salsa, which are odd. The chips taste like they've been fried in some kind of "lite" oil: They are tasteless, thin, greasy and nonsalty. They're probably healthy as all heck, but I don't like them. The salsa is watery and mild--not a good sign of things to come.
Some athletic, sixty-ish men in shorts at the table next to us have just returned from the buffet. Their plates are piled high with what appears to be Mexican steak. The waitress comes and fills their champagne glasses. They seem quite satisfied.
Our appetizers arrive. What was billed as a quesadilla guacamole is actually a cheese crisp. It's large, presliced and covered with a bland mix of melted longhorn and jack cheeses. A dab of oniony guacamole sits on each crunchy slice. It's nonthreatening. Perfect for ulcer patients.
Albondigas soup is also not very scary. Though it's lacking the fresh garden vegetables touted on the menu, who wouldn't like a nice bowl of meatball soup? "They're like Swedish meatballs," says Goat. Precisely.
We can hear the sizzle of our chicken fajitas as they approach. Our waitress sets the platter down and we stare in awe at the large pieces of chicken, onion, tomato and bell pepper that compose this "specialty of the casa." Side dishes include one big flour tortilla, rice, beans, salad, guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo. It's an impressive sight, but looks aren't everything.
For starters, there is some incredibly salty Mystery Seasoning on the fajita platter. The pieces of chicken that have sizzled in it are close to inedible. And the pieces of fowl are much too large. The tortilla cools quickly without a warmer and becomes unmanageable and unappealing. The beans are salty, the rice dry and ordinary, the pico de gallo straight out of a food processor.
A green corn tamale is not much better. A big slab of unmelted white, rubbery cheese in the middle makes it hard to cut with a fork. Canned corn and canned green chile give the whole thing a too-sweet taste.
The chile relleno is exactly the kind I hate--so eggy, it's like scrambled eggs on the outside. Inside, there's very little cheese.
Speaking of cheese, our enchilada is overflowing with cheese. Too bad it's chewy and so orange I begin to wonder if it's a real food substance. But maybe I'm just grouchy because the enchilada was only warm, not hot.
The whole thing reminds me of a Family Circle version of a Mexican meal--prepared with ingredients you can purchase at your suburban supermarket. This may go over in the heartland, but not in Arizona.
Then again, maybe that's just the point.
Goat and I make another drive out to Sun City, but before we go back to Lo Perchio's, we decide to check out Empress of China on 103rd Avenue and Thunderbird. Empress of China also ranked near the top of the aerobics class consensus of "good Sun City restaurants." My mom tells me it's been open about a year and is owned by somebody in the China Gate family. (The owner, we learn, is a brother.)
We'll take a look around, glance at the menu and, if we like it, forgo Lo Perchio's and eat there.
It's after the Saturday lunch rush when we arrive. The large, attractive restaurant is not very crowded--which is fine with me. I decide we should give it a try. We are seated before I spot the buffet. "Just gotta have a buffet in Sun City," Goat mutters. Our waitress assures us we do not have to have the $4.75 lunch buffet. We do not even have to order from the abbreviated lunch menu. We ask for the dinner menu and she brings it cheerfully. "Dinner menu too much for Sun City customers," she says, confidentially. "We make special lunch menu for them, but you can always order from dinner menu." I am pleased already. We decide to put the Empress to the test.
Service is prompt and very attentive. A generous white-and-blue ceramic pot of tea is brought to us right away. Complimentary cups of eggdrop soup and a dish of fried noodles also are served--both come with lunch. The eggdrop soup is above average: lemon-colored, with tofu, veggies, and chicken, swirled with egg.
Quite conveniently, we haven't eaten all day, so we're very hungry. We each order another bowl of soup (servings are for one), plus four dishes: Yui-shan chicken, Chung-king pork, Moo Shu vegetables and combination Lo Mein.
Our second round of soup comes quickly. Again, both are above average and quite good. Wor won ton is full of fresh-cooked snow peas, broccoli and mushrooms. Bamboo shoots, barbecued pork, shrimp and two large won tons round out the generous serving. Hot and sour soup is tasty, spicy and piping hot.
The decor of Empress of China is impressive. Salmon-colored tablecloths contrast nicely with black-lacquer high-back chairs. Teak and tile at the entrance and perimeter of the restaurant give the restaurant a modern feel. A fountain and subtle-toned fabric streamers break up the monotony of the big room. My only reservation about the restaurant is how many tables it holds and how close they are together: I feel packed in, and it's not even crowded.
For the uninitiated, Moo Shu is the Chinese equivalent of a Mexican burro. A mixture of vegetables (with or without meat) and egg is placed on a plum-sauce-smeared flour cr^epe, which is then rolled up. In New York, most restaurants let you struggle with it yourself. Here in Arizona, they do it for you. Empress of China is no exception. Our waitress prepares our Moo Shu deftly and is generous with the plum sauce. It's hard to find fault with the result.
Of our two spicy dishes, Yui-shan chicken and Chung-king pork, I prefer the former. Yui-shan's thin, slivered vegetables are visually appealing and tasty, especially the cucumber. It is spicy-hot in a clear-fire way. I like it a lot.
Chung-king pork is good, but more salty than spicy. The thinly sliced, twice-cooked pork is a tad on the big side for me. Still, I like the Chinese cabbage and other vegetables in this stir-fry. Combination Lo Mein is the only dish which disappoints me. Yes, it's loaded with big shrimp, meat and fresh vegetables, but the chewy quality of the noodles makes me think somebody in the kitchen forgot we ordered lo--not chow (fried)--mein. Since, for me, noodles are the most important part of the dish, I can't give it a thumbs up.
But I can for the restaurant as a whole--a recommendation which takes even me by surprise, since privately I've been known to be unexcited by the China Gate group. However, the all-important overriding consideration here is setting. We're talking about restaurants in Sun City, and in that context, the Empress of China is more than a class act. After eight years of Sun City dining, I think it's a find. Visiting children, grandchildren and adventurous Sun City residents will think it a godsend. As for Lo Perchio's, I guess it will have to remain a mystery. Unless, of course, you would like to play detective on this one. Remember, everyone loves Lo Perchio's. Let me know. Lo Perchio's Restaurant and Bakery, 16901 Village Drive West (west end of mall), Surprise, 954-0646. Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 8 p.m.
Lalo's Place, 16901 Village Drive East (east end of mall), Surprise, 583-1255. Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Empress of China, 13203 North 103rd Avenue, Sun City, 974-4313. Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Mom conducted an informal survey at her Bell Rec Center aerobics class. "Lo Perchio's," she reported. "Everyone loves Lo Perchio's."
The whole thing reminds me of a Family Circle version of a Mexican meal--prepared with ingredients from your suburban supermarket.
