Foo(d) Bar Blog - Ahwatukee

Out of Business: La Vigne French Bistro & Wine Bar

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:06:00 -0400

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might recall two reviews over the past year (1,2) of La Vigne French Bistro & Wine Bar. Both Pere and I really wanted to like the place but just couldn't do it. The issues and negative experiences with the restaurant seemed to grow over time. Well, it looks like all of their problems finally caught up with them as the restaurant has finally closed. While I hate to see locally owned and operated restaurants go I don't feel that way about La Vigne. We're better off without them.

Follow Up: La Vigne French Bistro & Wine Bar - Phoenix (Ahwatukee), Arizona

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:13:00 -0400

Given the limited selection of French restaurants in the area, a follow-up visit to La Vigne seemed a fitting choice for lunch with friends on Bastille Day. Unfortunately, my impression of La Vigne has not changed much since our initial visit last summer. In fact, the experience was so similar ? flubs with service, disappointing food, and lots of empty tables ? that to detail my experience at lunch would sound like plagiarism of Rob's review. Instead I'd like to point out my own pet peeve with La Vigne, which Rob touched on briefly in his review, which is the lack of authentic ambience and culture. As a once-fluent French speaker and an interior designer, these facets of a dining experience for me weigh equally with the quality of food and service. In addition, the French are fiercely protective of their language and culture, so it's particularly disappointing that this French restaurant fails to capture either. The decor of southern France does sometimes include heavy stone walls and iron gates, but these adornments to La Vigne's generic strip-mall location could be improved upon with some truly French touches. May I suggest some traditional Provençal fabrics? Or some rustic turned-wood chairs, instead of that corporate lobby-looking furniture? Maybe a couple of live lavender plants? Perhaps the staff could have a brief training on the French language, or at least on the few words which are relevant in this case. One of the hostesses consistently mispronounces the name of the restaurant. I know the "gne" combo can be difficult to pronounce, so I'd love to suggest that using the last name of a certain pop star, Avril, might be closer, or maybe the name of the town on the southwestern outskirts of Phoenix. When asked what the vin du jour (wine of the day) would be, as advertised in French on the specials leaflet, our server corrected me, "You mean the vin?," which he pronounced like "bin." Sure. Whatever gets me a glass of fermented grape juice. La Vigne is celebrating their one-year anniversary. I had hoped after our visit last year that it would improved over time, but unfortunately it's more like plus de la même chose ? more of the same thing.

Mexican Coke or Why My Costco is Better than Yours

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:58:00 -0400

Have a look here at what we found at Costco this week - Mexican Coke. What's so special about Mexican Coke you ask? Well, anyone old enough to remember what Coca-Cola tasted like when it was made with real sugar and not the sickeningly sweet high fructose corn syrup will appreciate this. Mexican Coke is still made with sugar, and you can definitely tell the difference between it and what passes for Coke these days. Pere picked up a case this week, and we've been enjoying them ice-cold, straight from the 12oz bottle. They also make a nice rum and coke when mixed with Cruzan's Single Barrel Estate Rum. I don't know how long Costco will continue to carry them in Arizona, but as long as they do, I plan on keeping a case of them around. It beats buying them by the single bottle at the various gas stations around town that carry them. For now, you can find them at the Chandler Costco: 595 S Galleria Way
Chandler, Arizona 85226
(480) 375-2051

The Arizona Republic's 2008 Readers Choice Awards for Food and Dining

Sat, 17 May 2008 09:59:00 -0400

Back in 2006, I wrote a post criticizing the Ahwatukee Foothills News for their Best of Ahwatukee list. The winners in almost all categories were well known chain restaurants, leading me to wonder whether it was the paper pandering to their advertisers, or the case that people in Ahwatukee just had no taste. You'll understand then why I became completely infuriated when I came across the Arizona Republic's 2008 Reader's and Critic's Choice Awards for Best Dining & Food. While I can say that the critic's awards were all within the realm of possibility (although I find some of the categories odd), the Reader's Choice awards were completely appalling. By an amazing happenstance, Oreganos's Pizza Bistro (no link, their site requires an annoying ActiveX control, which is a possible security hazard) won 11 out of 31 categories. That's right. Not only did they win best pizza, but also best Italian, best sandwich, best dessert, best family owned, best for a first-date, best local treasure, best takeout, best patio dining, best worth the wait and best quick (non-fast) food. How the heck do you win both best quick and best worth the wait? I don't even know where to start with this. If Oregano's had simply won best pizza, I could have lived with that, although I would have personally disagreed. However, winning 11 out of 31 categories, some of them totally ridiculous completely smacks of ballot-stuffing. Come on AZ Republic, wake up! Learn how to run a poll. I've never lived in or visited another major city with such a crappy (and consistently crappy) reader's choice awards. Just so you can see the full list for yourself, here it is, along with some snarky commentary from me:

Best Dessert: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - I know people like the pizza cookie, but come on. There are some seriously talented pastry chefs in the valley, and this is the best that people could come up with?
Best Breakfast: Crackers & Co. - never been there, so I can't argue with this one.
Best Indian Restaurant: Indian Maharaja Palace - Indian food in the valley is mediocre at best.
Best Pizza: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - If this is the will of the people, fine. However, there is much better to be found as you can see from the runner-up list.
Best Neighborhood Mexican: Carolina's Mexican Food - This makes sense.
Best Bakery: Wicked Witch Bakery - Works for me, although I find the bakery selection in the valley to be seriously lacking.
Best Family-owned Restaurant: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - it is a family owned restaurant.
Best Late-Night Eats: Fez - Couldn't agree more. Excellent food all the way through closing.
Best Place for a First Date: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - if someone took me here for a first date, it would also be the last date.
Best Salsa: Macayo's - WTF?!!?
Best Sushi: Ra See best salsa!
Best Restaurant 'Worth the Wait': Oregano's Pizza Bistro - with long waits both at lunch and on weekends, Oregano's is definitely popular. However, I can't say it's really worth the wait.
Best Wine Selection: D'Vine Bistro & Wine Bar - Been there and wasn't that impressed. If wine selection is really the criteria, then how could a place like Cowboy Ciao (even though I hate how their wine list is organized), or Kazimierz not win?
Best Barbecue: Famous Dave's Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que - very hot topic. My pick would be Joe's Real BBQ, but that's just me.
Best Local Treasure: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - Seriously now. Local treasure? Can you say huh?
Best Chinese: P. F. Chang's China Bistro - Good Chinese isn't great in the valley, but we do have better than P. F. Chang's, and I don't mean Pei Wei.
Best Place for Takeout: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - NO!
Best Non-Chain Hamburger: Zipps Sports Grill - Oh boy. It's a typical bar burger. It isn't bad, but it's by far not the best. Both Delux and Chuckbox should easily have been at the top of the list.
Best Ice Cream/Frozen Novelty: Maui Wowi - Wowi Maui. Good job.
Best Middle Eastern Restaurant: Haji-Baba - Very popular and supplies most of the rest of the middle eastern/Mediterranean restaurants in the area.
Best Italian Restaurant: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - It's a pizza place with a handful of other Italian dishes! There are many, many more Italian restaurants in the valley that are far superior.
Best Sandwich: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - This is such a broad category. In many other cities they would break this one out. Mention this wind to a dozen of your friends and see how many of them react with "are you kidding me?"
Best Restaurant to Splurge: Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar - it's definitely $$$, but for the money, I'd rather go to Kai.
Best Quick (Non-Fast) Food: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - This one defies logic. Considering the long waits that are a staple of Oregano's, I don't see how you can read this one with a straight face. Even when you do finally get a table, it's often a long wait for the food!
Best Steakhouse: Donovan's Steak & Chop House - I think you'll find a lot of people divided on this one.
Best Romantic Restaurant: The Melting Pot - Fondue can definitely be romantic, however, for overall atmosphere, there are better choices.
Best Pub with Grub: Zipps Sports Grill - For the love of all things! Four Peaks, Sonoran, and about ten other places come to mind before I would have ever thought to myself "hey Zipp's!"
Best Patio Dining: Oregano's Pizza Bistro - The AZ republic actually got this right in their commentary on the win when they wrote "Located all over the Valley, with patios overlooking parking lots, streets and walls, it's hard to say what, exactly, it was about the outdoor dining spaces at the various Oregano's that azcentral.com voters found so alluring."
Best Health Food Store: Trader Joe's - I love Trader Joe's, and so does everyone else.
Best Sunday Brunch: T. Cook's - There is talent there, although the execution can be spotty.
Best Thai Restaurant: Pink Pepper Thai Cuisine - NO WAY IN HELL. Swaddee, Maylee's, Yuppha, and many more should be at the top of this list.

It's hard to get people to take Arizona seriously as a foodie destination when this is the best we can come up with.

What's Your Favorite Winter Comfort Food?

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:26:00 -0400

It's that time of year again when I start dreaming of winter vegetables, soups, stews and braises. There's just something about the cold weather that screams comfort food. I look forward to lazy Sundays with braised lamb shanks slowly cooking in the oven, or a pot of beef bourguignon slowly simmering away on the stove top. Butternut squash soup with Calvados, hearty vegetable soup with turnips... I can't wait for the aromas to fill my house! I think it's time for a dinner party or two.

San Cabo Mexican Grill - Another One Bites the Dust

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 17:13:00 -0400

After less than 6 months in business, San Cabo Mexican Grill is out of business. I'm not sure the exact reasons, but I suspect it may have to do with owner Lloyd Melton's recent legal problems surrounding his arrest for participation in an alleged gambling ring. Either way, San Cabo is just another restaurant in a long line of failed establishments at the corner of Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Blvd. The closing of San Cabo brings the total number of Mexican restaurants at the intersection to two, with both Filiberto's and Loco Patron set to open soon.

La Vigne French Bistro & Wine Bar - Phoenix (Ahwatukee), Arizona

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:04:00 -0400

Last night, Pere and I met friends for dinner at relatively new French "Bistro" in Ahwatukee called La Vigne French Bistro & Wine Bar. La Vigne opened in May and I had been dying to try them out. I always have high hopes for new independent restaurants in my area, and the addition of a new French restaurant was irresistible. When we arrived at the restaurant, it was practically empty. The place was huge, with a very large patio to boot. For a small intimate space, that might have felt ok, but for a 5000 square foot restaurant, it had an off-putting feeling. In such a busy shopping center, with Ra Sushi right next door packing people in, why was La Vigne so empty? I put aside my initial impression and decided to just let the experience speak for itself. On the La Vigne website, the restaurant owners state that the restaurant was conceived after a trip to the French countryside and that they wanted to bring a slice of France back to Ahwatukee. Having been to France several times, I can't say that the interior had the desired effect. Although it was nicely appointed and tastefully done, Pere remarked that the interior was much more Tuscan than French, and it certainly didn't look like any bistro we had ever been to. We took our seats and started to look over the wine list. There were several French varietals on the menu, but none that I particularly recognized. Our server wasn't at all knowledgeable about the wine list, so I decided to play it safe and only go with wines I recognized. It's a shame, because I really like French wine. But without the advice of someone who can offer an informed opinion, I wasn't going to spend $50 on a random wine I may not like. When our server came back to take our drink order, Pere ordered a gin and tonic. I was in the mood for gin as well, so I went with a gin martini, up, with a twist. Our friends Bill and Leorna ordered splits of Mumm "Napa Cuvée M sparkling wine. When our server arrived with the drink order, she was a little flustered. Apparently, she had bumped into the bartender on the way out and spilled the drinks all over herself (which she told us). That explains the high-water mark on my martini, which subsequently wasn't topped off. Leorna took one look at her champagne and immediately remarked to the server that it was completely flat, and to please bring her a new glass. At about the same time, she also realized that the waitress had brought out the champagne in a glass, but the split bottle was nowhere to be seen. When the waitress returned with new glasses of champagne, she apologized for the first round and remarked that the bartender had poured off the last of an open bottle, and that's why it was flat. That's when Leorna informed her that she had ordered splits, not by the glass champagne. After some looking over the wine list, the server acknowledged the mistake and headed off back to the bar. A few minutes later, she returned with two splits and once again apologized. She popped the corks (loudly) on the splits and told Bill and Leorna to go ahead and keep the other drinks on the house (too bad they were all flat). As we settled in with our drinks and began to look over the menu, our server returned and asked if we were ready to order. We politely told her we had just started to look at the menu, and would need a few minutes. She took that literally, and returned about three minutes later. We let her know a few more minutes would be necessary to make our selections. I hate feeling rushed, and usually do a good job at setting the pace I want by slowing down the ordering, or ordering appetizers and waiting for them to come before making entree selections, but none of that really seemed to be effective here. The entree selection was pretty sparse. One thing that I found a bit irritating was the steak selection. It took up almost an entire page on the menu, but made no sense to me at all. The menu listed three different steak options, all for $29.99: Steak au Poivre w/ cognac and red wine sauce, Peppercorn Steak (isn't what Steak au Poivre means?) w/ peppercorn cream sauce, and Steak Grillé with no sauce, although you could add either of the two previously mentioned sauces, or a béarnaise sauce for an extra $1.49. All three came in either a 9oz fillet or a 4oz New Your Strip for that same price. So essentially, the could have just listed it as a pepper crusted steak with your choice of sauces, in either a 9oz fillet or a 14oz New York Strip for $29.99, and the same steak, just without peppercorns. It certainly didn't have to take up an entire page. Beyond the steak options, other choices included Duck a L'orange, three chicken dishes, a salmon dish, and a scallop dish. All entrees came with soup or salad, choice of potato, and wither asparagus or green beans. At this point, we decided on a few appetizers - Pate, and endive spears with apple and Roquefort salad, and a bowl of French onion soup for Bill. We also took this opportunity to place our entree orders. A few minutes later, the appetizers arrived. The pate was good, although given the generous amount a few more pieces of toasted baguette would have been appropriate. The endive with apple and Roquefort that Leorna ordered was particularly good. Bill's French onion soup was well received too. While we were still eating our appetizers, our dinner salads arrived. Instead of seeing that we were still working on our appetizers, our server dropped off the salads right along side of them and headed off back to the kitchen. We could tell that timing was starting to become an issue. Little did we know just how much of an issue it was going to be, though. About five minutes after dropping off the salads, our waitress returned with our entrees. That's when she had the "a-ha" moment and realized just how off the kitchen timing was. She apologized and offered to take the entrees back and hold them there until we were ready. At that point, Leorna let her know that yes, that's what we wanted her to do, but if our meals came out overcooked, we would be sending them back. With Leorna's steak starting out as medium rare, and Pere having scallops, not to mention Bill and I having chicken breasts, we were worried we would be eating shoe leather after the food came back from being under a heat lamp. The moment we finished our salads (literally), someone was there to clear our plates, and our server was back out with our entrees. I had ordered the Poulet à la Moutarde (chicken w/ mustard), with fries as my potato. What I was served, though, had mashed potatoes instead. This actually worked out ok for me. When I told our server that I had ordered fries and not mashed potatoes, she quickly let the kitchen know to whip me up a batch of fries as they had gotten the order wrong. Instead of soggy fries that had been under a heat lamp for 15 minutes, I had a nice piping hot plate of frites fresh from the fryer, and they were excellent! Our server felt bad enough about everything that had gone wrong up to this point that she offered to comp us two desserts. Pere's scallops ended up being slightly overcooked, but not enough that she felt she had to send them back. My chicken had just passed the perfectly done state and was a little on the dry side, but the mustard sauce, although a tinge too acidic, did a good job of adding necessary moisture to each bite. I was happy with the dish. Leorna sliced a piece off the end of her steak, and I could tell from her facial expression that she wasn't happy. She had the waitress take it back because it appeared to be well done. She also sent the cognac red wine sauce back because she thought it tasted tinny. A few minutes later, the server returned with the dish and explained that upon returning it to the kitchen, the chef had cut open the steak (in the center), and it was indeed still medium rare in the center. They offered to make her a new one if she still wanted one, but she declined and took the returned entree, this time with the béarnaise sauce. Since our desserts were being comp'd, we decided on the crème brulée and a chocolate soufflé along with a bottle of Cuvée Rouge Champagne (I don't remember what house as it was Leorna's pick). A few moments later, our server was back to inform us that they were all out of he Cuvée Rouge "because the wine guy didn't come today". She then informed us that the wine list was arranged from sweet to dry (funny, it seemed to be arranged in order of price to me), and we could just pick one above or below our initial choice and it would taste about the same. We declined and instead decided to go with 4 more splits of the Cuvée M. A few minutes later she was back out with the four bottles, letting us know that she had to dig around in the back to find them. Four more loud pops, and we were all sitting back laughing about how disastrous the meal had been so far. It's then that the desserts arrived. The sugar on top of the crème brulée was actually perfectly caramelized. The custard underneath was a bit too warm, and could have used a little more vanilla, but it was still good. The chocolate soufflé that Bill ordered was anything but. Besides the fact that it was yellow, the first bite confirmed it to be a strawberry soufflé. Oh well. At that point, we had finally had enough and asked for the check. Bill also asked if we were the worst table she had that evening. She completely missed the point and replied that actually the table next to us was worse because they had kids, and she doesn't like kids (other than her own)! I wanted to like La Vigne, I really did. There aren't enough good neighborhood spots in Ahwatukee, and I was really hoping La Vigne would help fill that niche. I can't chalk it up to opening week jitters now that they have been open for a few months. I realize they are still new, but as large as the place is, if they don't start filling tables soon, I don't see how they'll be able to afford to stay open. Given the execution and service issues, they have some serious work ahead of them to counter experiences like the ones our friends and we had. I'm not trying to bash La Vigne. Had the owners been in that night, I would have been happy to talk with them about our experience as I really do believe in offering restaurants constructive criticism, and a chance to redeem themselves. Unfortunately, though, I don't think I'll be going back to La Vigne anytime soon. If they are still around six months from now, maybe I'll give them another shot.

Filiberto's Coming to Ahwatukee Foothills

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 20:40:00 -0400

Regional Mexican food chain Filiberto's is set to open its latest outpost in Ahwatukee Foothills, on the site formerly occupied by Eddie Chan's Asian Bistro. That will bring the total number of Mexican restaurants at the four corners of Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Blvd to three - the others being San Cabo Mexican Grill, and the soon to open Loco Patron. While I can't say I'm excited to see yet another Mexican restaurant in the immediate area, I do have to say that Filiberto's makes the best beans of any Mexican restaurant I've been to. That, and the prices are incredibly cheap for what you get. Let's hope that this location can stay off the negative side of the county's Health Inspection Report. Expect a proper review after the new location opens.

Italian Water Ice Finally comes to the East Valley

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:08:00 -0400

I've been living in Arizona for a little over four years now, and one of the things I miss most from the East coast is Italian water ice. Having lived not far from South Philly, with its large Italian population, you couldn't go far in summertime without bumping into the stuff. In Arizona, however, Italian water ice is almost nonexistent. It seems as though ice cream and more recently, gelato, are the most popular icy treats. All that has changed, though, with the opening of Teri's Italian Ice in Ahwatukee (Elliot and 48th). Although I haven't had a chance to visit yet, word on the street is that they are open, and serving 8 flavors a day from a rotation of about 40. On the East coast, water ice was strictly a summer treat. It looks like in Arizona, it's going to be a year round thing.

Original Burrito & Co. - Phoenix (Ahwatukee), Arizona

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 20:43:00 -0400

One of my groups at work had to go in over the weekend to deploy a new web based system. Although I didn't really need to be there, I wanted to lend some moral support. Truth be told, I miss the hands on work that I really don't get to do anymore on the management side of things. Since we were set to start the roll-out around 9 am, I decided to stop and grab breakfast for everyone. I chose to stop at the Original Burrito & Co. (no, the "&" is not a typo) in Ahwatukee. I love their breakfast burritos, and have made it a bit of a tradition to bring them in for the team whenever we have to do one of these weekend deployments. I've never had anything but the breakfast burritos at the Original Burrito & Co., but that's ok as I'm perfectly happy to have them as an occasional breakfast spot. If you've never been there before, the place can get busy, and it often takes the staff there a good 20-30 minutes to fill a to-go order. I recommend calling ahead if you can. I didn't give it enough thought before I stopped in, so I showed up without already having placed an order. There are about 8 or so different burritos on the menu made from various combinations of eggs, chorizo, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, green chilies, ham, sausage, bacon, and cheese. If you don't see a burrito you like, they are generally pretty good about putting one together for you that suits your fancy. On this particular day, I went with two Huevos a la Mexicana (eggs, cheese, tomatoes, onions & green chilies), two Huevos Papas (eggs, chorizo & potatoes), and two Bacon & Egg (no fancy names here). There were only going to be three of us, so I figured that two burritos each would be plenty. After a good 25 minutes or so, the burritos were finally ready. When I saw the size of the bag, I realized that two burritos each was overkill. They were huge! The bag must have weighed a good six or seven pounds. Twenty minutes later, I was at the office and unloading the food. In addition to the burrito, each order also comes with a small bag of home made tortilla chips and fresh salsa. We devoured the chips and salsa right away. The chips were nice and crisp, although a tad greasy. The salsa was indeed fresh and bursting with tomato and cilantro. I went with the Huevos a la Mexicana burrito. The tortilla was still very warm and pliable, with the first bite releasing a good bit of steam. The eggs were nice and light and the entire burrito had quite a bit of flavor from the combination of onions and green chili. Adam and Ray each managed to polish off two burritos over the course of the morning and seemed to enjoy them as well. I only manage to get food from the Original Burrito & Co. about two to three times a year, but man do I love those breakfast burritos.

Is This Really the Ahwatukee Best of the Best?

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 12:30:00 -0400

My local neighborhood newspaper, the Ahwatukee Foothills News publishes an annual "Best of the Best" guide to local restaurants (and a few other odd categories). Each year I open the guide, and each year I'm more and more disappointed in the seemingly bad taste of many of my neighbors. If I had to sum up my problem in one blurb, it would be "corporate chain restaurants". Rather than turn this into a long winded rant, I just want to point out a few examples: Best Coffee Bar: Starbucks While there aren't a lot of great coffee shops in Ahwatukee, there are a few, and some of them are much better than Starbucks! Best Oriental Food: Abacus Inn I don't have a problem with the winner here as much as I have an issue with the category. Best "Oriental Food"?? That's like saying best North American food. Besides, who calls it oriental food anyway? Both the winner and runner-up are Chinese restaurants. Ahwatukee also has Japanese, Thai, and Indian (which there is no separate category for). Best Sub Sandwich: Subway You have got to be kidding me here. There's no way Subway should have beat out #2 Capriotti's. If you've been to both, there's just no comparison. Best Burger: Sonic I don't even know how to go about addressing this one. Best Vegetarian Food: Trader Joe's Don't get me wrong. I love Trader Joe's, but come on, it's a grocery store, not a restaurant! For vegetarian choices in Ahwatukee, Star of India, Thai Rice Box, or Capriotti's could easily have fit the #1 spot. Now, for winners I feel do deserve their top spots: Best Pizza: Nello's
Best Italian Food: Va Bene
Best Wings: Native New Yorker

Star of India - Phoenix (Ahwatukee), Arizona

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:34:00 -0400

Last Friday, Pere and I met friends for dinner at Star of India, one of my favorite Indian places in the valley. The decor is nothing fancy, but the food is well prepared and the service is usually excellent. When we arrived, the place was pretty busy. The only open table was on the opposite side of the main dining room. Our host apologized and asked if this would still be ok. It was fine with us. In fact, the location offered a good bit of privacy which worked out well. As soon as we were seated, the waiter dropped off an order of papadam (Indian flatbread) with two sauces. The green sauce was tart and spicy and was by far the favorite. The second sauce was a sweet brown sauce that tasted similar to a soy glaze. Once the waiter returned, we ordered drinks. We decided to stick with Indian beer, and our waiter suggested the Himalayan Lager as by far the best they had to offer. The beer came in 22 oz bottles and tasted just like a typical lager with nothing to really distinguishing about it. Whenever I eat at the Star of India, I almost always order one of two things, either the vegetarian sampler or the non-vegetarian sampler. I prefer the samplers over regular menu items simply for the variety. Each sampler comes with a samosa, two curries, daal, raita, basmati rice, naan, and dessert. On this occasion, I opted for the non-vegetarian sampler which gives you a piece of tandori chicken in lieu of one of the curries. I asked our waiter if he could swap out the tandori chicken for another curry since tandori chicken is one of those things I can take or leave. I'd much rather have one of their excellent curries, and he was happy to oblige. Given a choice, I opted for the saag paneer (spinach with semi-soft cheese). I also asked for a side of mango pickle, one of my favorite accompaniments. Again the waiter was more than happy to help out, going so far as to exclaim "of course, on the house!". Pere went with the vegetarian sampler. Our two friends each ordered individual menu items - chicken tikka masala and chicken makhani with a side order of basmati rice and naan. The restaurant was very busy. After about twenty minutes, the owner stopped by with a basked of fried vegetables which he said were compliments of the house because of the long wait. That was fine by us even though none of us felt like things were taking all that long. We had our beer and were happy just having a chance to catch up. The fact that the restaurant went out of the way to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and to apologize for the wait is something that I deeply appreciate. After another ten minutes or so, our food arrived. At this point, I was really looking forward to my food. Everything was steaming hot (except for the raita, of course) and very fragrant. The meat curry that came with my sampler turned out to be chicken tikka masala. This was fine by me as it's one of those dishes that's very tasty when scooped up with naan. Although chicken tikka masala isn't really Indian (the masala part was added to the traditional chicken tikka dish in order to please British palates), I'm not enough of a purist to mind. If I like the way something tastes, that's good enough for me. The saag paneer was also very good, although mine was a bit light on the chunks of paneer. The daal was good as well, but it's my least favorite component of the sampler. Pere's sampler was essentially the same as mine, although instead of a meat curry, she had an additional vegetarian variety. It seemed to be along the same lines as my chicken tikka masala but contained potatoes instead. By the time we were finished and dessert came, we were all stuffed. Our sampler platters both came with an order of gulab jamun, sweet dough balls steeped in sugar syrup. I usually don't like gulab jamun because they are so sweet and the dough is usually soggy, but I was surprised that the ones we were given were actually quite good. Still, they were so sweet I was only able to eat one. Along with the gulab jamun, the owner stopped back by with a small plate containing four scoops of pistachio ice cream which he also gave to us on the house. There was a lot of pistachio flavor along with lots of small bits of chopped pistachio. This proved to be just the right ending to the evening's get together. I really like Star of India and don't get there nearly as much as I should. I much prefer it for dinner over lunch where they have the typical Indian buffet. Although their buffet is better than most, I find that it's usually missing an item or two that I'm craving and tends to only be available on the dinner menu. If you find yourself over in Ahwatukee with a craving for good Indian food served by a very friendly and capable staff, Star of India is worth a visit.

Shinbay - Phoenix (Ahwatukee), Arizona

Thu, 29 Dec 2005 23:30:00 -0400

Many readers of this blog know I abhor the lack of decent "neighborhood" restaurants back in the Ahwatukee area where I live. I love the area I live in, but the lack of decent places to eat drives me up the wall. One place I had been meaning to try forever, but just never seemed to make it to is Shinbay, a small Japanese Sushi-Kaiseki restaurant hidden in the back of an obscure strip mall. What got me motivated to actually check it out was a small blurb in my local community paper noting that they would be closing at the end of the year. My friend Tim made us reservations for four for Monday night. Pere was worried that since they were planning to close at the end of the month, we might not be getting the chef's best effort. I didn't think that would be the case given my experience with Japanese culture. Upon entering the restaurant, my first impression was "wow, this place is pretty sparse". There were a few pub style tables jammed in a corner, with the rest of the seating along a long "L" shaped bar. Behind the bar was a small open kitchen. I don't mind sitting at the sushi bar when I'm alone or dining with one other person, but for a party of four, it doesn't make for the best conversation. Luckily for us, we were the only people in the entire restaurant, so we were able to sit two people on each side of the corner of the bar and still sort of face each other. From what I've read on the Shinbay website, they don't seat more than six people per seating, with a total of 2-4 seatings a night. It's kind of funny that the bar is setup to seat about 14 or so people, considering. The place is run entirely by husband and wife team Shinji and Kumiko Kurita, with him doing all of the cooking, solo, and her handling the service and reception duties. On the night we were there, there was also a guy I assumed was an apprentice, as all he did the entire night was stand there with his arms folded watching the chef do his thing. After we took our seats, we were promptly brought hot towels. This is traditional in Japanese restaurants, but something that's sorely lacking in most Valley establishments. After wiping our hands, we ordered drinks. Tim and I both ordered 6oz carafes of Ginban Daiginjo sake. Tim had had it before and recommended it. It turned out to be fantastic. Completely smooth and moderate in dryness without any overly floral tones. Unfortunately, it was also the only sake that was by the glass only and not available by the bottle. That got a bit expensive at $12 a glass when I ordered three glasses over the course of our meal. After drinks, we were served small bowls of salted edamame. This was a nice starter for the meal ahead and did a good job of keeping us from gnawing our arms off while the chef prepared our first course. Pere, Tim and I all had the Omakase (translates as "trust", or "entrusting" and is the Japanese version of a chef's tasting), so we didn't know for sure what we would be getting. Camille opted to go à la carte for here meal, and started off with a sampling of sushi. The first course of our tasting consisted of three items. The first was monkfish pate with daikon. It looked just like a standard mammal liver pate, but had a less organy (if that's a word) taste. It was very good. The second item was lightly cooked salmon with crispy skin. I love crispy salmon skin, and this rendition did it justice. The final item was thinly sliced fluke with ponzu. The ponzu was bursting with citrus flavor, leading me to believe it might be homemade. By the time I finished the last bite of the first course, I couldn't wait for the next. Our second course was a sashimi course consisting of uni (sea urchin), giant clam, fluke, and three slices of the most perfect looking blue fin tuna I'd ever seen. I'd had uni twice in the past, and both times I found it completely foul tasting. I was a bit hesitant to try it again, but this was Omakase, so I figured I would trust the chef and see what he could do with uni that my two previous sushi chefs could not. I was hooked on the first bite. The uni was amazing. It was smooth, buttery, and totally sublime. I now understand what people who say they love uni are talking about. I'd never had giant clam before. It was one of those things I'd always seen on sushi menus, but just didn't feel like ordering. This turned out to be another pleasant surprise. It was similar to (good) octopus in texture. Firm, but not overly chewy and had a pleasant, lightly brined taste. The tuna tasted as good as it looked. It was melt in your mouth soft and velvety. I only wish every piece of tuna I've had tasted that way. The third course was white fish in hot oil. The specific fish was okoze, and it was served super thin sliced with scallions and drizzled with ginger-sesame hot oil. I know I've used the word amazing in this review several times, but here's another instance where it just fits. The dish was just bursting with flavor. So much so, that this has to be one of my all-time favorite fish dishes. We were still licking our lips when the fourth course arrived. This course was a mushroom course consisting of two kinds of mushrooms over a piece of steamed Chilean sea bass. The mushrooms had a nice concentrated flavor and complimented the sea bass very well. The fifth course turned out to be clams served in broth. There were about six small clams in a cup of broth. The clams reminded me of steamers, and were very good. The broth, though, was even better. Very flavorful, indeed. It was at this point that I started to slow down and went from hoping there were still several more courses to wondering if the procession of goodness would ever stop. Luckily for me, the next course turned out to be the last (sans dessert). For that final main course, we had sushi. There wasn't anything particularly inspirational about the sushi I had at Shinbay, but it was extremely fresh. If I had to pick a course that left me wanting a bit, this was it. There were four pieces on the dish - toro (fatty tuna), scallop, uni, and fluke. They were all good, but nothing really stood out and made me say "wow!" like the sashimi did. Dessert consisted of a small bowl of fresh fruit. Nothing special or fancy here, but it seemed like a perfectly light ending to an immensely memorable meal. As we finished our fruit, the proprietors were busy cleaning up and shutting down the restaurant. It turned out we were the only seating of the night. We struck up a conversation with Shinji and let him know it was a shame he was closing down. He mentioned that they were looking into reopening somewhere in Scottsdale at a later date, which would probably benefit them as far as exposure goes. Scottsdale's a much more visible location than the strip mall in Ahwatukee, but the rent's also a lot more, so I wonder how the 6 person per seating rule would hold up. Regardless of the logistics, I hope things work out for Shinji and his wife. He's a very talented chef, and it would be a shame to see his talent squandered.

Java Jive - A Terrible Cup 'O Joe

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 12:39:00 -0400

I bemoan the lack of decent coffee shops near where I live. Back in my little suburban enclave, there is only a single coffee shop - an independent called Java Jive. They've been there since I moved to the area three years ago, and during that entire time, they've sucked. So much so, that I can't stand to go there, even for a single cup of coffee. I've tried over the years, four different times now. You would think that they must be doing something right to be able to stay in business. If they are, I don't know what it is. This has to be the one time in my life where I actually wish that a Starbucks would roll into town and put them out of their misery. I had a friend in from out of town last week. The day he was leaving, we decided to go for coffee before he headed to the airport. Having heard me rant about Java Jive every time we drove by the place, he had to see for himself just how bad it really was. I think he just likes to punish himself. The first sign (literally) of what we were in for was posted on the door - the store hours. Java Jive is only open from 5:30 am through 1pm. WHAT? 1pm? On a weekend? You have to be kidding me. This is one of the reasons I disliked the place early on. It seemed that every time I tried to stop there for coffee (usually after biking), they were closed. When I first moved to AZ, it literally took me a month before I got a chance to try the coffee there. Once inside the place, strike two. Instead of a tastefully decorated coffee shop, Java Jive has the feel of a high school cafeteria. There were a few chairs and a couch in the place, but they were haphazardly arranged. The rest of the tables and chairs really were public school issued furniture. To make the place less inviting, the walls were devoid of any real character. The place felt completely industrial, and a bit dirty. Java Jive supposedly roasts their own coffee, and you could see the roaster in one corner, with a bunch of crap stacked all around it. That day, an older gentleman and a highschool kid were working behind the counter. Since it was pretty hot out already, my buddy Greg ordered an iced coffee and a scone, and I decided on an iced mocha and a scone. The iced coffee was weak and watery and completely lacked any flavor. My iced mocha tasted more like iced chocolate milk. It was one of the worst I had ever had - absolutely no trace of coffee flavor at all. To make matters worse, the Costco scones they had behind the counter were overly sweet, and not at all good. I've tried to like this place. Really I have. I'd love to have a neighborhood coffee shop where I can drop in and meet with friends over a decent cup of coffee, but it just doesn't seem to be in the cards for the Ahwatukee Foothills. Let's hope that with all of the new shopping spaces going up, someone comes along and opens a real coffee shop. The area is certainly ready for one.

Shenanigans - Phoenix (Ahwatukee Foothills), Arizona

Tue, 26 Apr 2005 13:08:00 -0400

Last night, I got home a lot later than usual, and didn't really feel like cooking. I also didn't feel like being out all night, so Pere and I decided to visit one of the few restaurants we have back in our neighborhood. There aren't a whole lot of restaurants back in the Ahwatukee Foothills, even though there are tens of thousands of people living there. Even more surprising (to me at least) is the fact that all of the restaurants we do have are essentially the same - the food is terrible, and the atmosphere usually isn't much better. Unfortunately, it seems as though each restaurant starts out trying to have a personality and a menu that tries to distinguish itself from the rest. Shenanigans suffers from what I like to call "The Curse of the Foothills". When they first opened, there was a glimmer of hope. Could it be that we would finally have a neighborhood bar and restaurant like the ones I was used to from back east? The first time we visited Shenanigans, it was a mixed bag. The layout and decor didn't gel, and it seemed as though the place was having an identity crisis. Were they trying to be a family restaurant? A karaoke bar? A happy hour spot? A hipster bar? A sports bar? Believe it or not, they were trying to be all of these things, all at once, and it doesn't work. There was one surprise on that first visit, though, the food. The menu wasn't fantastically original, but there were some stand outs. The ahi tuna salad with asian slaw was excellent as was the half roasted chicken with honey glaze, both of which I had on repeat visits. I came to learn that Shenanigans was employing only chefs and culinary students in the kitchen, a great concept I thought. I could excuse the lack of identity in the dining room, and the weird vibe cast by noisy children running around well past what should have been their bed time in what's essentially a bar so long as it was made up for by decent, reasonably priced fare from the kitchen. The first three or so times we ate at Shenanigans, this is how things went. Then something changed. It started with small changes to the menu. The excellent grilled veggie sandwich Pere enjoyed on several prior visits no longer came with the overly large house caesar salad while the price increased by nearly two dollars. Then came the day when the roast half chicken disappeared from the menu, followed by the beef tips. What was left, was a menu that looked just like every other menu in town - chicken fingers, nachos, a steak or two, burgers, and not too much else worth mentioning. As more items disappeared from the menu only to be replaced by crap, my desire to return to Shenanigans also diminished. So, this brings me back to last night. I decided to give Shenanigans one more try. I was hungry, the evening was getting on, and I didn't feel like driving out of my way. Being a Monday night, the place was pretty empty. We were immediately seated in a booth, and ordered drinks. I had a Sapphire martini, up with three olives, and Pere had a Sapphire and tonic. My martini was actually pretty good. In almost all of my previous visits, the bar tender watered down my drink to the point that I could barely taste the gin. After having a look at the menu, and not seeing much that interested me, I saw the one item remaining that I knew I consistently liked - the ahi tuna salad with japanese slaw. I ordered the salad, and Pere ordered a BLT and asked to substitute a caesar salad for the usual fries, fruit, or veggies. The waitress was happy to make the substitution. When our meals arrived, I immediately new something was up. My salad was ringed with cucumber slices, and swimming in a sea of dark brown sauce. Not only that, but the usual Japanese slaw had been replaced with a very small pile of red cabbage. One taste of the salad and all hope was lost. The dark brown "dressing" turned out to be a soy based abomination of the usual dressing, which I had very much enjoyed on past visits. This dressing was so salty that it was almost impossible to eat. When the waitress returned, I asked her if they had recently changed the menu as the salad she brought me was different than the usual version. The menu hadn't changed, but the salad definitely had! She quickly took on a look of panic, and asked if I wanted to send it back. I considered this for a moment, but figured I was just going to chalk this one up as another bad experience. She offered to bring out some additional "coleslaw", to try to balance out the dressing. I agreed, and she returned a few minutes later with two cups. One was a traditional mayonnaise based slaw, and the other she called Japanese slaw. It looked exactly like the red cabbage and carrots already in my salad, and wasn't dressed. I finished my salad as best I could, more out of sheer hunger than anything else. It's a real shame, though, because the ahi tuna on the salad was perfectly seared around the edges and buttery smooth the rest of the way through. By all accounts, Pere's BLT was just fine. When the waitress returned to ask about desert, we had had our fill of the place. Pere asked the waitress if the kitchen staff had changed recently, as we suspected they had given the menu was the same as the last time we visited. The waitress confirmed that to be the case. We let her know how disappointed we were with all of the recent menu changes to which she replied that she had lost some of her favorite menu items as well, and that it was just the owners reacting to the tasted of the patrons. That, unfortunately, hit the nail on the head for me. With all of the families coming in, non-chain restaurants are faced with a dilemma. Do they remain chef-driven and true to the type of restaurant they want to be, or do they succumb to the lowest common denominator ala our other neighborhood bar and grill, Auslers, where there are no less than 6 variations of chicken fingers on the menu, all of them terrible. Apparently Shenanigans has thrown in the towel. That meal was the last one I'll ever eat there. They've had their three strikes, and they're out.