ORACLE — The temperature drop of 10 degrees is excuse enough to escape to Oracle during the summer.
The Oracle Inn Steakhouse, which opened last summer, is another compelling reason.
The sprawling 12,500-square-foot tavern and eatery upends simple concepts with fancy flourishes. Steaks, which range from $14.99 to $23.99, get a special house rub before being grilled over a mesquite fire. A charbroiled salmon ($15.99) is paired with a delightfully refreshing mango salsa for a splash of hot and cold. A handsome piece of top sirloin is dressed up in Southwest fashion with a stuffed Anaheim green chile ($15.99).
Even in areas where diners have come to expect shortcuts, Oracle Inn comes out swinging. The moist chicken breast tenders in the kids meal ($5.99) tasted deceivingly fresh-made even though they had been frozen. Ditto for the black and tan beer-battered onion rings ($5.99), which employ thick, juicy onions.
Dining here is worth the drive from Tucson — more than 35 miles one way from Downtown — and worth lingering over, especially if you come on a Friday or Saturday when a band plays in the bar and you can dance on the generous wooden floor.
The building retains the character of its original adobe main room that dates back to the 1930s. The dining rooms are decorated in Southwest cowboy style, with framed Western movie posters on the walls alongside rodeo paraphernalia.
Real estate investors Adrian and Carrie Darimont, who own the 3 C Ranch in Oracle, bought the building in late 2007. It had been shuttered several years and needed renovation. Their son Justin, 24, who clocked time with the Famous Dave's barbecue chain, owns the restaurant.
The menu is a family affair. All three Darimonts sat down with restaurant manager Kelly Dewey and brainstormed every item before opening last July.
Steve Shimmin, a catering veteran with the Tucson Convention Center, came in as executive chef. He's made a few tweaks to the menu and strengthened some items, including the house chili. Another fine-tuning in the next couple weeks will include some new chicken and shrimp scampi dishes that Justin Darimont said are the chef's specialties.
Shimmin's biggest strength comes in the finishing touches. He's an artist with endless energy when it comes to desserts ($4.99) such as a traditional bread pudding, a house favorite, and rotating nightly specials.
On a Friday dinner in mid-May we tried the stunning Grand Marnier frozen soufflé, which has made repeat appearances, and found ourselves speechless despite the urge to run out and shout its merits. Its creamy texture was more in line with crème brûleé, and the liqueur added a tang that played nicely with the accompanying tart and sugared citrus rinds dipped in chocolate.
You'll be fortunate if you can save room for dessert, especially if you order a side dish such as the rich and creamy mac and cheese. Other memorable sides include the slightly sweet housemade applesauce, and garlic smashed potatoes that on a lunch visit in late May could've benefited from more garlic.
Entrees are served with fluffy rice and salad. Go with the house dressing, a nutty vinaigrette with sesame undertones.
The salad dressing's Asian accents were a nice contrast to the the charbroiled salmon. The sweet, thick hunk of salmon was crispy on the outside and moist and flaky inside, served with the chunky sweet mango salsa.
For a uniquely regional take on steak, check out the Southwestern hot steak, a nearly fork-tender piece of sirloin wrapped around a slightly spicy Anaheim chile and given extra fire with the addition of pepper jack cheese. This was another dish that left us speechless.
On a follow-up lunch visit, the barbecue chicken in a chicken-and-rib platter ($7.99 for lunch) was tender and moist but could've used a more robust barbecue sauce. The mild sauce is so mild it loses its barbecue personality. We were much happier with the bolder, smokier sauce bathing the nearly fall-off-the-bone pork ribs.
Do yourself a favor and leave your buffalo burger ($9.99) naked for at least the first bite. We did this by default; our server forgot to bring out the side of mayo — the only service misstep in our pair of visits. But it allowed us a chance to sample the buffalo with nothing mucking up the flavor of the tender, sweet, lean meat.
Our server made up for the mayo with a free sample of the daily soup special, a refreshing chilled carrot spiked with a hint of tart orange. Note to self: Give the featured soup more than a passing glance.
As we contemplated the drive back to the triple-digit-depression that awaited us in Tucson, we decided to give the dessert menu one more shot. We tucked into another Shimmin daily special, an apple tart sitting atop a flaky bed of phyllo drizzled with strawberry coulis. It came with a scoop of quality vanilla bean ice cream on the side. Crystallized orange zest added a citrusy tang.
If you go
Oracle Inn Steakhouse
305 E. American Ave., Oracle; 1-520-896-3333.
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
• Family call: Kids menu includes chicken tenders and a rich and gooey mac and cheese.
• Wine list: Forty-two varieties of mainly California vineyards and a couple German Rieslings. Liquor offerings include a 1969 Jack Daniels in its original decanter for $35 a shot.
• Noise level: Conversational buzz akin to sitting at the family dinner table.
• Vegetarian choices: Several pastas and salads.
• Dress: Casual.
• Reservations: Accepted.
• Price range: Dinner entrees range from $12.99 for chicken fried steak to $23.99 for a cowboy rib-eye steak.
• Et cetera: On the second weekend of the month, the restaurant offers a German menu created with old family recipes.
