Archive for January, 2010

FnB you’ve got my full attention!  Okay foodies, I’m sure you’ve read about FnB in the past months or so.  In the place of where Digestif used to be, hails a new victor in culinary truth. In a quaint yet sophisticated space featuring a remarkably glossy multicolored artlike tile floor,  FnB features a  menu that changes sometimes daily with the freshest produce, all from local Arizona farmers.  They also use other fresh ingredient from local vendors.  The freshness certainly shows in the taste and integrity of their food, it is so delicious!

I had been looking to come here ever since I saw a picture on facebookof their braised leeks/mozzarella/mustard breadcrumbs and fried egg phenomenon!  People, this is food porn worthy in my books.  One glimpse of that dish and I simply knew I was destined to dine there.  So, with a drooling comment on my friend Jay’s picture status, I begged him to PLEASE call me the next time you want to go to FnB!!   Happily for me, that day came about a week later Upon arrival we took a seat at the bar.  You could call this a bar, but I call it a food voyeur’s naughty pleasure.  You see, the whole kitchen is surrounded by the bar, so if you choose to sit there you’ll get to watch Charleen Badman work her magic while enjoying a nice glass of Arizona wine.

We were warmly greated by Pavle Milic, the restaurant’s owner and also our server for the evening.  We both got the “Vino del Barrio Blanca”  ($10.0/glass) from Pages Springs Vineyards right here in AZ.  We then ordered up two appetizers to share and relaxed with friendly conversation.  Of course, we ordered the braised leeks/mozz/breadcrumb/fried egg ($13.0).  We also tried their duck/pork pate which was a new addition to their changing menu.  Both were amazing, but I must pay close attention to the best salty and savory thing I ever ate in my life!  Yes, I just said “best…thing I ever ate,” because it is true.  That leek dish changed me forever, as I now crave it in my sleep, it was that amazing!  I watched as Charleen put the fresh mozzarella over the leeks and stuck it under the broiler.  Then,  she prepared the over easy egg in a small saucepan over an even smaller double burner, giving it a generous sprinkle of salt on top.  When the cheese was perfectly melted over the leeks, she pulled it out of the broiler, slid the egg on top and dusted with the mustard breadcrumbs.

best thing I EVER ate

I really could dedicate my whole article on this one plate, as it was for me, perfection.  The perfectly cooked greens, the melted stringy cheese, breadcrumbs,  and maybe my favorite part…the crispy around the edges, over easy egg! It had a salty, savory, creamy, slightly chewy,  and warm flavor in every bite.  I’m pretty sure they saw me scraping the plate to get the crusted mozzarella off!  Oh my god, it was just unbelievable.  When you go to FnB, you’d be a fool not to order this delight.

what a combo

Next was the duck/pork pate.  It came on the plate with two pieces of crispy bread, a few softly roasted cippolini onions, some pickled cauliflower and cucumber and a dollop coarse ground mustard.  This pate was very nicely put together with the perfect amount of fat content and seasoning.  The pate also had pistachios in it that gave a nice texture contrast.  It really tasted like my dad’s liverwurst that he’s been making for years from an old world German recipe.  For me to be able to compare it to something  homemade and authentic from my dad’s market, makes it top notch in my book!  The onions were great, as you could smear them onto the hard crusty bread and accompany with a piece of pate. I loved the bi-colored pickled cauliflower, it was delicious.

flat iron steak w/caper raisin goodness

For the entree it was a hard decision as all of the four entrees on the menu looked amazing.  We went with sharing the flat iron steak with cauliflower, caper, and golden raisin salsa verde ($21.0)  I totally didn’t realize until we got our entree that Pavle didn’t ask us how we wanted our meat cooked and I’m very glad that he didn’t.  This steak was cooked to an absolute perfection.  Nice sear on the outside with a juicy red medium doneness on the inside.  It had a very clear, pure beefy flavor and just melded so nicely with the caper raisin salsa.  You’ll notice we had cauliflower twice that evening, but that was not a problem at all as it was so different each time we got it.  In the pate dish it was cold and pickled. In our entree we were given a beautiful purple cauliflower that was roasted  with what tasted to me like some fresh grated parmesan, but I cannot be positive of this.  Either way, I really enjoyed the distinct flavors of the cauliflower each time, it was really great. 

When we thought we could feast no more we told Pavle we’d be skipping dessert.  However, Pavle simply wouldn’t let us leave without something homemade and sweet in our stomachs.  Such a kind man to make sure my sweet tooth is paid attention to   He brought us some homemade peanut brittle and also homemade butterscotch pudding.

Jay and I were really contemplating the pudding.  It looked super delicious, but we are both lactose intolerant…enough said.  I figured I’d endure the future pain because it just looked so darned good! With homemade, slightly sweetened whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg, it was worth every taste!  The pudding, I could tell was totally homemade as it had a very buttery sweet caramel taste that you can only achieve from getting the sugar butter and cream cooked to the perfect temperature.  The nutmeg was a great accompaniment with the rich butterscotch pudding.  I’ll be ordering that again, it’s a certainty! 

In summary, for me, FnB is my second favorite restaurant and may soon be my first.  I love the simple, fresh, small menu concept.  Their hospitality is supreme along with their food and I can’t wait to return.  FnB without a doubt gets the FOOD-TRAMP-STAMP-OF APPROVAL!

FnB

7133 E Stetson Dr

Scottsdale, AZ 85252

480.425.9463

I ate the whole bag!

What is Cowboy Ciao’s addicting little secret you ask?  Country Velador’s bacon-chocolate-caramel popcorn!  It the most sinful salty and sweet treat that I have had in a long time and it is DELICIOUS!  Country is the pastry chef at Ciao and makes this naughty treat right in the restaurant’s kitchen. Country dubbed her fare The Country Store and sells them at Cowboy Ciao for $7.00 plus tax.  Worth every penny if you ask me!  This gourmet delight definitely gets the FOOD-TRAMP-STAMP of Approval

For those who have never been, Cowboy Ciao is a wonderful eatery that boasts “…modern American food with global influences..” It is located at Stetson and 6th Ave in the Southbridge district.  I had the my first dining pleasure there last night with Foodies Like Us and our Trolley Dine Around adventure.  I cannot wait to return for a full review, and of course, some more popcorn addiction!!

Cowboy Ciao

7133 E Stetson Dr

Scottsdale, AZ 85251

So, a week ago today I visited Kabuki on a blogger invite to get the word out about their new “Japanese comfort food” concept.  I have mixed emotions…so many, that I’ve been putting off this post for a whole week!  Kabuki is a Japanese restaurant for, “..all mankind..”  boasting that,  “…we guarantee you will walk out hooked on our food.”  That is one powerful claim, but that was not quite my experience.

I eat sushi, a LOT of sushi and I enjoy Japanese food.  However, I am very picky about where I eat raw food as I had food poisoning once from ill prepared sushi.  So, with only hearing so-so reviews about the food I did not go for any raw sushi…I wanted to try the cooked food first. 

I brought my husband along because I knew there was bound to be something he would enjoy on their menu.  Food Tramps in Training, let me give you a warning right now:  The Kabuki menu is gargantuan…I’m talking 6 pages alone for their drinks/sake/beer/ wine, 2 pages for appetizers, 3 pages dedicated to sushi, and another 3 for entrees…I still haven’t included the lunch and dessert menu!  I really should have done more homework on their menu because upon opening it I just felt like I was hit by a big truck that was full of WAY too many decisions regarding food.  I did indeed look over this huge menu on the internet before coming to dine, but I never really looked at it…even looking at it online was a little much.

Luckily, we came at the last ten minutes of happy hour and our super nice server, Mike, was willing to give us a few minutes to make some choices from the happy hour menu.  I wasn’t all that impressed with the happy hour menu.  It was less in price than the regular menu, but it was not $2.00 rolls or even $1.00 rolls like I have seen at other sushi joints that have better sushi.  We ended up ordering the sesame chicken ($4.95)  California roll ($2.95) and the shrimp tempura roll ($4.95).  As we were still reviewing the normal menu our server brought us edamame.  I must say that it was the best edamame I have ever had!  If there is one positive, definite thing I could say about Kabuki,  it is their ability to perfectly salt and prepare their those peas

sesame chicken

Our appetizers came and the sesame chicken was good.  It was hot (temp wise) and crunchy and had a great sweet sauce that had a nice hint of spice.  Since I didn’t “know” their sushi we opted for the very clique, common cooked rolls.  They were very good!  The California roll was fresh and just what a normal California roll should be.  I was much more impressed with the shrimp tempura roll.   The cucumber in this roll was sliced in bigger pieces which I enjoyed because I could really taste the light freshness of it next to the crispy shrimp.

pretty good for happy hour

I still had no idea at this point what I should order for dinner.  My husband knew he wanted the breaded seafood ($13.95) listed under “signature dishes”.  I seriously needed two more hours to look everything over and was just overwhelmed…so much so; that I decided to ask the server two dishes he would recommendand I chose one.  He mentioned the curry shrimp ($12.95).  I love love love curry, any kind of curry so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with that. I really should have gotten  a noddle bowl and I’m really kicking myself in the behind for not doing so…but shoulda coulda woulda! 

Jeremy’s dish looked good to the eye, I’m really not into fried seafood unless im in the Keys, or unless I’m at a fish fry so I left it all to him.  He told me it was good.  He mentioned that it all tasted the same though.  He said from the eye he could see what was what between the fish, shrimp and scallops, but he could not taste a difference in any of it.  His dish came with asparagus, white rice and a side salad.  Plenty of food for the price.  My shrimp curry came highly recommended, but I was not so impressed.  It came to me beautifully arranged on the plate.  My first bite was a bite of cold pan seared shrimp along with cold curry sauce.  At first I thought maybe it was just that one shrimp so I tried another and it was cold as well.  So disappointing, but we didn’t have time to send it back and since I was basically eating free I really didn’t want to be “that guy” who complains about his food.  The curry was too creamy and almost chalky tasting and had no zip to it whatsoever.  I’m sure this dish would have been way better had it come to me hot temperature wise and spice wise.  I have no desire to try that again though.

the shrimp curry that wasn't

fried seafood

We decided to get dessert as I was curious if they could get that right.  I chose the item on the menu that was marked “chef recommended” so I was assured that it would be good.  I ordered banana tempura ($5.95)  I love anything tempura. I was envisioning fried bananas with some ice cream, maybe a little cinnamon sugar or confectioners sugar on the bananas with lots of yummy sauce of some sort.  It ended up being many pieces of tempura banana with a light dusting of confectioners sugar paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some caramel sauce.  For me the best part was the caramel sauce.  There was not enough sweet to go with the savory of the thick tempura crust on the banana.  I think there needed to be much more powdered sugar and more caramel sauce.  I ended up removing the tempura completely and just ate the banana with the ice cream.  My husband ate only two bites and was not impressed either.

more caramel sauce please!

All in all I have come to this conclusion.  I will not put Kabuki on my “worst of” list but I certainly could not put it on my “best of” list either.  If I ever walked through their doors again it would be for , sushi, sake and happy hour.  For me it’s all about keeping it fresh and simple and that’s not really what Kabuki is about.  I can see why we may never strike a BFF culinary friendship. If you’re curious though, you should definitely go and see for yourself.  Please comment back if you’ve had a great experience and a dish that was amazing, I would love to hear!

Inside Tempe Marketplace adjacent to Barnes and Noble

2000 E Rio Salido Pkwy

Tempe, AZ 85281

489.350.9160

Do you enjoy gourmet food and wine?  Do you like to view art and listen to relaxing opera or toe tapping jazz music?  Would you like to be able to experience all of this at one amazing venue this March?  Well, mark your calendars for March 13th and 14th and do just that at Devoured Phoenix.  Being held at the Phoenix Art Museum is the annual event that features Phoenix eateries, fine wines, and fine art.

Headed up by Devour Phoenix and Local First Arizona, this event is put on to promote local Arizona producers of fine food and drink to further show that Phoenix is a top international dining destination.  The museum’s Dorrance Sculpture garden will be the scene for the over 40 food, wine, and beer showcases.  Also, in the museum’s Great Hall, there will be live interactive food seminars, farm to table presentations, wine pairing, beer pairing and top nutritional experts sharing their secrets with you on stage! 

Here is a current list of some of the participating restaurants: Bario Cafe, Caffe Boa, Chelsea’s Kitchen, Cheuvront, Christopher’s Crush, Cibo, Coronado Cafe, Cowboy Ciao, Estate House, Fez, Green, Hana Sushi, Mable’s on Main, Maizie’s Cafe, Modern Steak, Nine-05, Olive and Ivy, Over Easy, Petite Maison, Postino, St. Francis, Stoudemire’s, Switch, Ticoz, and True Food Kitchen.

A list of wineries currently participating are: Alexander Valley, Anne Aime, BR Cohn, Buehler, Cecchi, Decoy, Gloria Ferrer, Hangtime, Hess Suskol, Iron Horse, Jam Red, Lockwood, Los Rocas, Martin Codax, Panther Creek, Purple Hands, Robert Craig, Robert Hall, Rodney Strong, Rombauer, Souverain, and Trefethen.

To purchase tickets please click here or call 1.866.977.6849.  Tickets are $65. per day advance purchase or $90 for both days.

There’s nothing too tough about this recipe.  You can get as basic or as creative as you want and in the end you’ll have the most moist and tender chicken you have EVER cooked in your life! I highly highly suggest using the Chef Prudhomme’s poultry magic.  Even though it is a small 2oz. container it is one of the best seasonings in my spice cupboard.  I use it for my homemade Thanksgiving stuffing, my rice pilaf and much more.  For my chickens I use the Bayou Classic Chic Can cooking rack.  It’s only ($6.99) at Bed Bath and Beyond and it is well worth it.  I’ll be going this week to get another in case we want to cook for more than just our family of four.

Ingredients

1-  3 to 4 lb frying chicken

1- can of your favorite beer

2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce

2 tsp fresh minced garlic

Lawry’s seasoned salt

Lawry’s garlic salt

Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Poultry Magic

Fresh ground black pepper

Open beer and pour half of contents out.  Put worchestershire sauce and minced garlic inside can with remaining beer. Place can inside the rack and place inside a pie tin or 8in square grill-safe pan.  Clean chicken and  season with above listed seasonings tucking  wings in.  Place chicken over top of the beer can.  Close off the open chicken neck with either a potato or onion. Pour about 1/4 cup of water into bottom of pan, I replaced this water as it evaporated out until chicken drippings began to form.  Cook with indirect heat over your grill.  Meaning, either have the right or left burner on medium and place the chicken on the other side.  Cook for two hours, rotating the pan ever so often to allow the skin to crisp evenly. Once the wings get to desired crispiness you may cover with tin foil to prevent burning…today mine were a little extra tasty crispy if you know what i’m sayin!

going on the grill

yum yum!!