Julieanna’s in Yuma

Kirk and Cathy are really busy right now. Ed (from Yuma) not so much, so you get to read about a meal he and Tina recently consumed. Hope you enjoy.

One of the numerous benefits of marriage is that you have wedding anniversaries – it's like adding an extra holiday to each calendar year. Another cause for celebration.

But Tina and I couldn't figure out where to go for dinner. In addition to dining at the Patio at Desert Hills, we had been to River City for my birthday and Crouse’s Flat Top Grill for Tina's, and currently Yuma doesn't have a lot of special occasion dining choices. So . . . I finally suggested that we try Julieanna's. After all, our last bad experience there was at least seven or eight years ago; maybe that was too long to hold a grudge.

Julieanna's (website) is a large restaurant with patio located on 25th St. among doctors’ offices and other healthcare facilities. On this cool and breezy evening, the entrance was welcoming: We arrived around 5:30 on a Tuesday evening, so there were very few patrons in the two large interior rooms: On this evening nobody sat outside, so the resident peacock stared wistfully into the room, aware that he was not going to get any table scraps:

Our meal started with three fresh warm dinner rolls (Tina grabbed one before I could take the picture):

They were pleasant and were accompanied by two little metal ramekins of soft butter, one garlic herb and one maple cinnamon.

It took us a while to figure out what we wanted, but we finally decided on a salad, an appetizer and two entrées. Our very friendly and helpful server suggested that we start with the salad, which she could bring right away, and then follow with the appetizer. That made sense, so soon she brought over two plates of pear and candied walnut salad:

It was excellent. The tangy balsamic dressing complemented the sweetness of the pear and nuts. We were also impressed by the very fresh and sturdy baby lettuces in the salad.

Then the appetizer, fried calamari, arrived:

The squid was superb. The breading was hard and crunchy and most of it stayed attached. The calamari itself was clean tasting and tender chewy. Really perfectly done. The netting on the lemon wedges keeps lemon seeds out of the food, and there was a choice of dipping sauces – a spicy marinara or honey sesame.

Since we would be eating seafood, and I wanted a meat entrée, picking a wine was difficult, but I hoped that this Château Ste Michelle Riesling would work:

The riesling, which went well with the calamari, was crisp and moderately sweet, the wine bucket was fine, but the stemware was pretty ordinary.

For an entrée, Tina had chosen the crab two ways, with a pair of crab cakes and a tempura softshell crab:

Here you can see one of the cakes and the whole crab more clearly:
Tina was pretty happy. The lightly dressed greens and perfectly cooked yellow squash went well with the crustaceans. She also enjoyed the contrast between the two styles of crab. On the other hand, I thought the crab cakes were a little fishy tasting and the deep-fried softshell too greasy. Maybe the riesling wasn't the right wine for this entrée; a drier white like a sauvignon blanc might have been a better match.

I had chosen the pork chop, which showed up looking really wonderful:

Here's another view:

I loved everything on the plate. The mashed potatoes were buttery and mixed with strips of caramelized onion. Rich, creamy, and nicely textured and flavored. The three large asparagus spears were perfectly cooked, tender but not limp. The dark paste smeared on one end of the pork was a medjool date sauce whose sweetness matched perfectly with the umami of the pork.

And the chop itself was outstanding – thick, flavorful, nicely seasoned, and perfectly cooked:

And this entrée went very well with the riesling.

The check seemed reasonable considering the quality of the food, service, and ambience:

The only odd thing on the bill was the “service charge,” an automatic 6% added to the food and beverages. I don't recall ever seeing such a thing in another restaurant.

Nonetheless, we had a great time, and maybe Tina and I should make celebrating our anniversary at Julieanna’s an annual affair.

Julieanna’s Patio Café, 1951 W. 25th St., Yuma, AZ 85364, (928) 317-1961.

Comments

[Soo @ hungryones]

Mmm... Pork chops. I like to pan fry them. :-)

[Ed (from Yuma)]

I like pork chops in a lot of ways, Soo, on the grill or with bbq or teriyaki sauce etc. But the one at Julieanna's is beyond my culinary skills.

[Alan Hays]

The Service Charge is probably for staff healthcare costs. Some restaurants have been doing that instead of just raising overall prices.

[Kirk]

Happy Anniversary Ed! Time sure flies....

[Ed (from Yuma)]

Thanks, Alan, I hope that is the case. It would be nice if the menu mentioned that.

Thanks, Kirk. You think time flies now at your age, wait till you reach geezerhood!

[caninecologne]

Happy (belated) Anniversary! May you enjoy many more!

Looks like you and your wife had a wonderful meal here (that pork chop, yes).

[Ed (from Yuma)]

Thanks, cc, we did enjoy.

[alnc]

A friend of mine contacted the restaurant and received this reply about the extra charge:

The 6% House service charge is in direct response to the minimum wage increase passed into law as of January 1st. Although we are the first restaurant in Yuma to choose that route(rather than hide the increase in the menu prices), many larger market restaurants such as in San Diego have been using this method for years. This charge is not paid to the server waiting your table, it is collected by the house! You are welcome to tip your server based on the service you received; every situation is different!
The 6% House service charge is in direct response to the minimum wage increase passed into law as of January 1st. Although we are the first restaurant in Yuma to choose that route(rather than hide the increase in the menu prices), many larger market restaurants such as in San Diego have been using this method for years. This charge is not paid to the server waiting your table, it is collected by the house! You are welcome to tip your server based on the service you received; every situation is different!

As a consumer, I don’t like this. The customer should know that the prices on the menu are the prices that they will pay. Adding a surcharge is confusing, misleading, and has been deemed to be illegal in California according to San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott. This surcharge thing seems more like an attempt to give a political message rather than good customer service.

[Ed (from Yuma)]

Thanks, alnc, for the research, I appreciate. I figured it was something like that or health care. Fine print on the menu reads "A 6% house service charge and 6.7% state sales tax is applied to all food and beverages."

The restaurant isn't in the city limits, so the sales tax amount is low by Yuma standards, so some folks may not notice the service charge, but Tina was a business major and looks at receipts.

I understand the restaurant needing more revenue to pay higher wages, but adding a surcharge to the bill seems a little underhanded.