Bistro 44 — Restaurant in Tucson

We took a trip into town and got done early so we dropped into Bistro 44 for an pre-four o'clock dinner. I started out with a cup of French onion soup, which was good. It had a very generous cheese top and was appropriately hot. My bride had the Chicken Cordon Bleu with potato spears and veggie. I had the steak with flavored mashed potatoes and the veggies, asparagus. On the positive side, the asparagus was steamed to perfection, the spears crisp and flavorful. The food was all hot and tasty, our respective potato side done expertly. My steak was done as requested, medium rare, and her chicken similarly had the cream sauce set on the side. However, her chicken was a tad bit dry and leathery, even with sauce, which was a bit too salty for her taste, added. My "moo cow" must have experienced a terrible beating during its short life, because, it was like they say of Tombstone, "too tough to die". The steak knife was challenged and I'm glad I had not had the meat cooked further, as it would be too tough to chew. To be fair, the Chimichurri that dressed the steak was excellent, probably the best I've ever had. We finished off the meal with a pair of Creme Brulee. It was very good with an excellent presentation. Lastly, our server could do to learn to smile. A smile presents welcoming and warmth. Our visit would have been a bit more enjoyable had we felt we were not interfering with her work.. unless that she's been taste testing the lemons...

This was our first time visiting and we were excited to try something new for us and local. The inside was clean and inviting. We waited just inside to be seated. A lady approached us and asked how she could help us. It seemed obvious we were waiting to be seated and standing by the sign that said please wait to be seated. I found the approach a bit odd. It wasn't a big deal, she was pleasant and seated us and we were approached by our server right away. We started with the calamari. It was very good and served with fresh made cocktail sauce. My only issue was there were only 6 calamari rings and the price of $16.99 was way too much for the portion size served. Our lunch entrees were a far bigger portion and they were ok but I had to add salt to my Mediterranean Pasta to get some flavor. I never add salt to anything but the flavor just wasn't there and the dish was very oily. I enjoyed all the ingredients of sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and more and everything seemed fresh, it was just not very flavorful if I'm being honest. My guest had the grilled chicken. He said it was good but kind of bland so we both agreed that seasoning could be more. Overall it was a nice lunch, friendly service and nice to try something new but for $70 for lunch and just ok food it's probably not anywhere we...

I entered the restaurant at 7:15pm and stood near the sign that says "Please wait to be seated." There were very few customers in the dining room and very few in the bar, but there were no employees to be seen. We stood there for several minutes. One of the diners seated near the door said that she was shocked that nobody had come out to greet us. I finally went toward the kitchen to try to find someone to seat us. I found three employees leaning against the counter and chatting in the kitchen area. One of them asked what I wanted. "I'd like to be seated for dinner," I said. The young lady immediately grabbed some menus and politely asked me to follow her to the dining room. The man called after me, "Ya got ten minutes." I stopped and asked what he meant. It sounded almost like a threat. He said that the kitchen would be closing in ten minutes. I could sit down and order, but I only had ten minutes."

Baffled, I asked, "You close the kitchen at 7:30pm?"

"Yes."

So I gathered my companion and left the building until the next restaurant group takes...