Recommendations for good duck in the east valley?

[LaPan]

Hey kids,

My mom loves duck and used to go to Alexi's downtown for it but the last 2 times we went it was lousy. And, on Christmas she asked me where we can go to get some good duck. I know a couple of Chinese spots do Peking Duck but I haven't heard much hollering about great duck so far in our forum. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and I promise a follow up post with review(s).

[davej]

There’s no good Peking duck in AZ.

[exit2lef]

Besides Chinese cuisine, the most use I see of duck is in French food. I have enjoyed duck at the Farish House, which is near Roosevelt Row. With the demise of the House of Tricks, I'm having trouble thinking of any similar place in the East Valley right now. Since the restaurant has a seasonal menu, it's probably a good idea to inquire before visiting if they're serving duck at the moment. Here's an embarrassingly bad photo of a very nice cherry lavendar duck I enjoyed there a few years ago.

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Another possibility is mi viet tiem, a Vietnamese noodle soup with a duck leg and bok choy. Here's a bowl I enjoyed a while back at UnPhoGettable in Mekong Plaza.

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And there's bun mang vit, a central Vietnamese duck soup available at Hue Gourmet, also at Mekong Plaza.

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[honartvandelay]

It’s been several months but I had one of the best duck dishes ever at Sottise downtown.

[exit2lef]

It’s been several months but I had one of the best duck dishes ever at Sottise downtown.

I've not yet tried the duck at Sottise, but everything else I've had there has been superb. I would expect the same level of excellence from the duck.

[Miencanto]

Full disclosure I've never tried but I've heard the duck at Kai is great.

That was my only thought in the EV. For my money I'd try Sottise.

[LaPan]

I’m keeping my eyes on Sottise’s menus.

Thanks

[Skillet Doux]

That Bun Mang Vit at Hue Gourmet is a heck of a deal. It isn't quite what it was before Lan left, but it's still pretty damn good.

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Looks like the duck set at Sottise hasn't changed, and I'll second (Third? Fourth?) it. Very nice dish. Five spice scent with toasty hazelnuts, grapes and calvados.


Down in your neck of the woods, you might want to check out Cuisine & Wine Bistro. We went this summer and had two very nice duck dishes on the same night.

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I think the croustillant might've been a special, but it was very nice. Shredded confit inside, nice puff pastry outside, a plank of crispy skin.

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And the Canard a l'Orange is... not subtle. That's a lot of sweet orange. But nicely balanced, and a great piece of duck.

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Also had a really nice duck confit at Bar Cena a couple of weeks ago. Very simple and straightforward. Beautiful lentils beneath.

And while I hate to be a straight-up downer, I have to agree with davej where Peking Duck is concerned. A good one doesn't exist in Phoenix. And I would LOVE to be proven wrong.

[exit2lef]

Doubling down on downtown duck, I had this entree last night at First & Last: magret duck breast. This is rich duck, bred for foie gras production, so it's almost like red meat. It was seared and served a little more rare than I would have liked. I attribute that more to my personal preference for medium-well meat than any error in the kitchen. The presentation was impressive with the seared duck breast sliced and placed on top of a potato pancake with a few chestnuts seasoned with pancetta and a condiment called "good good sauce." The final element seemed more like a chimichurri or chutney than the product at Jack in the Box for which it is cheekily named.

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[Miencanto]

I had the pleasure of dining at Sottise last night so of course I had to try the duck. It was the best dish of the night and that's saying something.

The light five-spice honey glaze doesn't hide the protein. Adding a small slice of fig to each bite was perfection.

I'm so proud of places like Sottise. We simply didn't have spots like this a decade ago and now we have an impressive collection of downtown restaurants we can take pride in.