I really wanted to love this place. All of the Yelp reviews I saw before going paint Durant's as a place of mystique, a place where old traditions and dining styles thrive and don't change, even as \"fusion\" and \"new American\" restaurants surround it. I definitely felt the mystique. I definitely experienced the old traditions and dining styles. I just don't know if I loved how traditional Durant's was. Maybe I just expect that expensive restaurants will wow me with their flavors and need more from a dining experience than the old American formula of a protein and starch, especially when the starch isn't particularly memorable or flavorful. \n\nDon't get me wrong. There were some great things about our experience at Durant's. The overwhelmingly red decor was romantically retro (although I can see it being an awkward color to be surrounded by while on a business lunch), the cream of mushroom soup was creamy and delicious, my lobster tail was huge (albeit a little dry), and our dirty martinis were huge and mixed really well. The service was also very professinal and attentive. However, sticking with an established approach to dining shouldn't mean not being attentive to quality, and I felt like for the price we spent, certain things (like my husband's salad and steak, as well as the pretty terrible rice pilaf and mashed potato sides) could have been brought into the 21st century or at least made more tasty! \n\nAs the dinner came to a close (we were there at 9 or so on a Tuesday night), we got to be parties to a very interesting conversation between a woman sitting at the bar and the *very* old-school bartender. She said that she had lived in Phoenix for 35 years but quickly moved to ranting about her daughter, who she claimed was \"gorgeous,\" a part of the \"happening Scottsdale crowd,\" and a former flame of Derek Jeter's! She even offered to bring her to Durant's and introduce her to the bartender. Wow, what a girl (if she does exist). This woman also had opinions on a variety of other subjects, including cell phone providers, and didn't stop talking during our entire main course. \n\nThis little dialogue (monologue?) made me realize something, though. Times change. Women who probably used to have meatloaf or roast with a baked potato and spinach for every meal are now sitting in restaurants talking about their daughters dating baseball stars and how bad their cell phone reception is indoors. I figure if they can get just a little bit \"with it,\" so can Durant's. No major changes necessary - just a slight stepping back and re-evaluation of the menu to decide whether rice pilaf would be worth swapping out for a roasted asparagus. I'm not trying to be a traitor to a timeless institution or asking that it change its essential character - I just think that a few little tweaks here and there would keep the local population loyal and keep folks like me, who want really good food (part-way there) in an amazing environment with friendly service (check), coming back.
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