After weeks of anticipation, the long-awaited opening of our area’s new restaurant occurred in late October. Located in the space formerly occupied by Viaggio, (originally Karen’s Wine Country Café), Chef Greg LaPrad’s Overland Trout Restaurant has caused quite a buzz among the local foodies.
LaPrad arrived on the scene with a considerable resumé, honed at Quiessence, his celebrated farm-to-table restaurant in Scottsdale. And he brought with him a vision tailor-made for the Mountain Empire – to recreate through food the vibrant culture of the boomtown days around the turn of the 20th century, when cowboys were kings, the mines and railways thrived, and food sources ranged from cattle to game, from locally grown produce to seafood brought in by rail from the Sea of Cortez.
Playing on the old cowboy slang term for bacon, the name Overland Trout implies a frequent use of pork on the menu, as well as the literal appearance of the named fish. Indeed, one of LaPrad’s signature items is the house special trout platter appetizer, which features the fish prepared three ways — smoked trout mousse with bits of roe on two thin cucumber slices, the rillette prepared as a rich paté on crostini, and trout added subtly to deviled eggs sprinkled with smoky bacon tidbits. LaPrad also features oysters on the menu, both as appetizers done several ways, and for a lunch entrée called the oyster loaf, a pair of lightly toasted French rolls topped with a mixture of fat oysters combined with creamed spinach. (I’ve had the oyster loaf four times and it has never disappointed!)
The dinner menu changes daily, and are carefully designed to feature a red meat, a poultry dish, perhaps a fish, and a vegetable entrée. On one of two dinner visits we had delicate rounds of stuffed quail with a delicious savory gravy, and medallions of venison, perfectly cooked atop a delicious puree of tepary beans tasting like a gourmet hummus. Another dinner featured Idaho trout grilled beautifully in a delicate butter seasoning. Vegetables are a la carte, varying according to the season and what is locally available. And one of chef LaPrad’s strongest missions is to join his new restaurant intimately to Arizona’s food and wine industries. That means the beef is Arizona grass-fed, and the vegetables chosen from our many local growers. The dessert menu is small but carefully chosen to balance the entrée flavors, and includes a decadent flourless chocolate cake, and various flavors of homemade sorbets and ice creams. Happy hour, from 4-5, features reduced prices on Overland Trout’s signature cocktails, featured local wines and beers, and several appetizers. The bar is pleasant, intimate, and bar service excellent.
The growing wine list features over 35 labels (so far) from Arizona. LaPrad plans to use special events (such as a recent wine pairing dinner with the Callaghan Winery) to promote the region and the wine industry, and to make the restaurant a destination for visitors from Tucson, Phoenix and beyond. The synergy between the restaurant and the local wineries is one of the most exciting aspects of LaPrad’s arrival. Make no mistake, Overland Trout aspires to be a fine dining establishment, and the prices underline that fact. Dinner entrées range from $18 to $50, and lunch from $9 to $15, depending upon the menu. Chef LaPrad has drilled his staff well and on all four of my visits the service was both friendly and efficient. The servers were able to answer questions about the food knowledgeably—except during a lunch just after the restaurant launched, when I inquired about the beef tongue and the response was, “Eeew!” (It was delicious, by the way.) White table cloths and beautifully crafted chairs and banquet add both elegance and rusticity to the room. As this is the only restaurant in the area to take advantage of our signature vistas, lunch visits are especially nice.
If I have one complaint about our newest restaurant, it is about consistency. One of my favorite dishes, the seafood garlic soup, ranged from sublime on two occasions, to tasteless on a third. Wine pours have been meager, or generous, depending upon the server. Portions also have varied widely, from stingy to liberal. If this is to be a destination venue, visitors must be able to count on a dining experience that makes the drive worthwhile. And locals, too, must leave satisfied that their meal was worth the price. We will all benefit from the success of Overland Trout, and its ability to draw in new visitors, jobs, and interest in our area. Let us wish Chef LaPrad and his staff well in the coming year.
Overland Trout, 3266 Highway 82, Sonoita, 520-455-9316. Hours: Lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays through Saturdays; Dinner, 5-8:30 p.m. daily except Wednesday; Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
You can book reservations to Overland Trout at opentable.com. Go to ww.opentable.com.overlandtrout.
From January 2014 PRT:
In response to our December article on the new Overland Trout Restaurant in Sonoita, owner/chef Greg LaPrad pointed out that the article did not accurately reflect the restaurant’s pricing, or the availability of reasonably priced menu items. La Prad wanted our readers to be aware that while the restaurant offers a fine dining experience that appeals to patrons from Tucson and beyond, the restaurant is equally committed to serving the local community. He stated that although “our highest priced dinner entrée is $33, in actuality most dinner items are priced under $30.” He also noted that “lunch prices are on par or in some cases lower than similar offerings in Patagonia and Sonoita.”
In line with this effort is the restaurant’s new children’s menu, available from $3.95 to $5.95 for guests under 12 years of age. The PRT apologizes for any misrepresentation of Overland Trout’s pricing.