This review is primarily for Ermanos' menu for the first Sonoran Restaurant Week 9/6-9/15/19! The menu sounded good on paper, but it was incredible in person. Each course was better than the last, and we weren't expecting food from a bar to look particularly nice (even for Restaurant Week), but it was all beautifully plated.
The first course was a compressed melon salad. The hubby's original plan was to give me his first course, because he hates melon... but he ended up demolishing the entire thing himself! The salad was refreshing and well-balanced (perfect for summer), with a nice, little kick from the serrano. I wouldn't have thought to pair all of the components myself (the melon compressed in beer, blackberries, pomegranate, cucumber, serrano and basil), but they all played together so nicely. The second course was a special burger made for Restaurant Week, with Ermanos' insanely addictive bacon jam (which is on their regular menu), as well as a punchy guajillo tamarind mayo and prickly pear. It also came with their house-made pickles. It was a magic carpet ride of flavors - sweet, salty, spicy, umami, maybe even a little bitter - all in one burger, and it was so good. The third course, a Monsoon chocolate flourless torte (on Ermanos' regular dessert menu, but with slightly different accompaniments, I think), had all three of us eating in blissful silence. The torte was rich, chocolaty, and melt-in-your-mouth, the whipped cream was spicy and light, and the tart-sweet fruit sauce married beautifully with everything else in the dessert. We were all very tempted to come back within the next week and order the Restaurant Week menu yet again.
The portions for Restaurant Week were quite good, and the three courses should fill you up nicely. Since we didn't know how much food there would be, we also ordered the pickled fried cauliflower off the regular menu for an app, as well as some beer, and we ended up being super stuffed. Still, no regrets! We couldn't stop eating the deliciously crispy, well-seasoned cauliflower, especially with that yummy yellow dipping sauce, whatever it was. Service was attentive, and we were noticed within 5 minutes of sitting down (first come, first served; seat yourself), despite it being a busy Friday night (we took the last available table).
4th Avenue can be crazy on weekends when university is in session, but we managed to find street parking a block or two from the restaurant.
Surprisingly, no one else we saw ordered the Restaurant Week menu, and the busboy told us that he thought we were the first to order it. It was my first time to Ermanos in at least a year, and I would have probably given them 4 stars before, but this visit was 5+ stars. Every dish was a homerun. The only thing that surprised me (other than how amazing the food was) was that they didn't ask us how we'd like our burgers done. Mine was perfect for me, but all of our burgers were in the medium to medium well range.
TL;DR: If it's still Sonoran Restaurant Week, go try their restaurant week menu NOW!! If it's after Restaurant Week, their regular menu pickled fried cauliflower, bacon jam and Monsoon Chocolate torte are all awesome. Street parking. Seat yourself; first come first served (no reservations). read more