With the restaurant already an operating success for dinner, owner Christopher Collins was not planning to open for lunch. “But,” he says, “the guests asked for it. The regulars convinced me we needed to open for lunch.”
Collins added lunch service this past May, expecting to take the summer to build up business and to staff up accordingly — “But it was busy Day 1,” he relates.
“I really think we nailed being the local neighborhood restaurant for that area,” Collins says of The Collins Small Batch Kitchen. Décor is casually elegant in the dining room, where windows to the exhibition kitchen span most of the length of one wall, and where dim lighting and frosted dividers create islands of privacy for the tables. Comfort is also key in the lounge area, but the atmosphere is more open and windows flood the space with light.
The menu reflects seasonal changes, such as the kale salad in which the grapefruit of summer has been replaced with squash and cranberry for fall. Says Collins, “I think at lunch people are just looking for a hearty dish that doesn’t make them need to take a nap afterwards.”
But the menu also reflects Collins’ unquenchable eagerness to experiment. “My inspiration is the world around me,” he says. For instance, strolling the aisles in the grocery store, “I will just stroll the aisle looking for things.”
One of his recent creations is Kung Fu Ceviche — Pacific snapper cooked in lime juice; with coconut, cashews, avocado, cilantro and cucumber, and paired with locally made Mama Lola’s tortilla chips. “I came across this seasoning called Auntie Nono’s Seafood Seasoning. And I started playing with it. And now I bring it in, and it’s the seasoning in the Kung Fu Ceviche. The reason it’s called Kung Fu is because I’m tasting it, and I literally stood up and banged my hand against the table and said, ‘My mouth is literally getting kung fu’ed’ — because of all the awesome flavors.”
Listed on the menu as a Collins family favorite is the Ahi Tuna & Avocado Poke. Also served with Mama Lola’s chips, the poke is made with cucumber, cashews and substantial bites of ahi dressed with agave ponzu. And there are crab cakes that can tempt a light or hearty appetite. Made with jumbo lumps of Blue Crab, they can be ordered as a single cake with an herb salad or two cakes served with crispy shoestring potatoes.
Another new creation Collins describes is Salt-Block Tuna. Using a Himalayan salt block with No. 1 sushi-grade tuna, the dish includes a chili-almond paste, an agave ponzu reduction and wasabi greens.
Classic American dishes populate the menu, while creativity keeps it fresh. Says Collins, “We keep morphin’ and mixin’ till we find what the neighborhood wants.”
The Collins Small Batch Kitchen
3160 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix
(602) 730-3533
 Biltmore Chicken Platter
Light and crispy chicken tenders served with shoestring potatoes and mustard-honey $18 |
 Blackened Ahi Tuna
sashimi-grade ahi tuna, seared rare; agave ponzu; herb salad; bleu cheese and vine tomatoes $34 |
 Twisted Noodle Salad
Buckwheat soba noodles, kale, avocado, cucumber, arugula, scallions, herbs, toasted coconut, cashews and carrots with a chili-lime vinaigrette, served with a choice of marinated filet, charred shrimp or pulled rotisserie chicken $18 |
Did You Know: A common theme at all Common Ground Culinary locations, of which The Collins is one of six, is the constant playing with new food and doing new items, says founder and operator Christopher Collins.
Photos courtesy of Common Ground Culinary
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