Archive for February, 2010

Really happy with the results of this dining experience.  I’ve been wanting and waiting for over two years to go to The Melting Pot restaurant for a nice, quiet, romantic, and fun dinner with the husband.  We finally got our chance this Valentine’s week.  We went after Valentine’s Day, because, in my opinion, the $135.00 price per couple just to go the 3 busiest days of the Vday weekend was ridiculous.  We went the day after Valentine’s Day and it was $94.00 a couple, which was more agreeable for the long, wonderful dinner.

They really do provide the necessary atmosphere for a romantic evening out.  We were lucky to get a curtained booth for two. When you call for reservations, just ask for it.  Close the curtain and total privacy…and I mean TOTAL no, just kidding.  There was no hanky panky when we had lobster tail and chocolate coming!  We ordered a bottle of prosecco and our attentive server went through everything.  For the cheese we got the traditional which was a swiss and gruyere blend.  I didn’t love it…they added a cherry liquor to it which I could totally taste and it just wasn’t my thing.  After looking back over the menu I realized we should have ordered the cheddar fondue with garlic, seasonings, and two kinds of cheddar!  How in the world did I miss that anyways, lol??  Still, the cheese comes with bread, green apple slices, cauliflower, celery and carrots.  It was good, we ate it, but I was wishing we would have ordered the cheddar.

the melting and mixing of the cheese

I didn’t take a picture of the salads, because I really wasn’t expecting anything much.  I almost felt that maybe the salads would be an afterthought because of all of the attention on the fondue.  Man, I was sooo wrong! Our Caesar salads were amazing and came with these delectable little honey/parmesan encrusted pine nuts and also the traditional croutons.  This salad was just delicious, not an afterthought at all.

For entrees you can order Bourguignonne style (cooked in oil) , Court Bouillon (vegetable  broth) , coq a vin (wine and herbs), or Caribbean Style Mojo (citrus and garlic bouillon).  We chose Bourguignonne style because everything’s good cooked in oil right??  I’m pretty sure we picked the right choice. We ordered the ”Big Night Out” with the two lobster tails, NY strip, shrimp, bratwurst, ravioli, chicken, as well as a bowl of red skin potatoes, yellow squash, mushroom caps, and broccoli. When you choose to cook in oil you also get a tempura batter and sesame batter.  Tip I learned from my server.. take a mushroom cap, fill with the green goddess sauce and cover with sesame batter and fry…OMG, I ate all the mushrooms in that bowl the exact same way.  I was so happy that my husband hated mushrooms that day.  After evaluation, next year we will get the entree selection with more red meat and less lobster.  The lobster was good, but not as flavorful as the NY strip, and in our choice we only got four small square pieces of steak and we so wanted more!!

Big Night out with 2 tails

whoo, look at all these sauces and two batters for the oil

green goddess mushrooms getting cooked!

For dessert you can choose from a few different chocolate mixtures, but we chose the most popular which is their turtle fondue with milk chocolate, caramel, and chopped pecans.  Holy melted chocolate Batman!!!  It was so good and I have no shame in my fondue game in saying, I took my finger to the hot fondue bowl once or twice near the end. 

all of the goodies about to get dipped

Now, granted folks, this is not a place you would go once a month for a dinner with the family.  This is probably a once or twice a year romantic, time taking dinner that will run you around $150.  To really enjoy it, it will take at least two hours.  The fun is in connecting with your loved one, feeding each other, and spending time.  With the oil cooking style you can really experiment with batters and sauces and it is really fun.  The whole restaurant works as a team at your table and they’ll make sure you have every single thing you need to have a wonderful experience.  You will never find an official menu online, they dont’ have one.  The website is helpful though in viewing the different cheese and entree cooking styles as well as desserts.  The Melting Pot gets the FOOD-TRAMP-STAMP OF APPROVAL!

The Melting Pot

8260 N. Hayden Rd

Scottsdale, AZ 85258

480.607.1799

My hubby and I are pretty bummed that we both just discovered how delicious fresh, big, organic brussels sprouts can be!!  I can’t say that I thought of this recipe myself, I actually adapted it from a dish I had at Metro Brasserie a couple of months ago.  I buy my sprouts from the amazing McClendon’s Select on Saturdays at the Old Town Farmer’s Market. 

Pan Seared Brussles Sprouts in Buerre Blanc

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

McClendon’s organic brussels sprouts (about 15 big ones)

2 cloves of garlic put through a press

1 tsp sea salt

1tsp fresh cracked pepper

2 tblsp good olive oil

3-4 tblsp unsalted butter

Prepare your sprouts by cutting the ends off, peeling one layer of leaf off and cutting in half.  Put them flat side up into a saute pan with about 1/2 inch of water and bring to a boil until you see the sprouts reach a bright green color.  Pour sprouts into colander and drain off water.  In the same pan after it is very hot, put olive oil and butter in…place halved brussels sprouts in flat side down into pan.  Spread pressed garlic throughout pan and season with salt and pepper.  You will know they are done when you get a nice dark color on the flat side of the sprout.  Dress with leftover brown butter in pan.

so addicting, making again this weekend!!

You think I can get out of the OTFM with just one bag of brussles sprouts??? Now way in hell!!! From McClendon’s I also bought a beautiful array of multicolored fingerling potatoes, a bunch of dill, organic honey, green onions, and a gigantic vidalia onion!!  Went home with plans to make some homemade potato salad to go with the brussels sprouts and rib eye steak.  You can tweak this recipe as you like. 

Fingerling Potato Salad

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 1/2  pounds fingerling potatoes (cut into 3/4 inch chunks, boiled, drained and chilled)

chopped fresh dill (add to your liking)

2 sliced green onions

1-2 tblsp champagne vinegar

1-2 tblsp coarse ground garlic mustard

1 tblsp  organic McClendon’s honey

1/2 cup real mayonnaise

4 pieces fried crispy bacon cut into bits

In small bowl, mix vinegar, mustard, honey, mayonnaise and dill…set aside.  In large bowl combine potato chunks with green onion and bacon, slowly add dressing and mix lightly as to not smash the boiled potatoes.  Refrigerate before serving.

I’ve always been a fan of anything Greek, so five years ago when I moved out here and my roommate told me about this place, I wanted to go ASAP!!  I really enjoy My Big Fat Greek Restaurant.  Every time I go, my food is hot and tasty and fills my craving for authentic Greek food.

It had honestly been about two years since I had been to MBFGR , so the hubby and I decided to check out their Old Town Scottsdale location. My Big Fat Greek Restaurant is corporate, but not really.  It’s not widespread all over the United States…with around 12  locations in Arizona and soon a location in Beverly Hills. 

What can you expect when you visit MBFGR?? Cozy atmosphere, attentive service, flaming cheese,  and delicious fare are just some of the things to look forward to.  For the longest time, living in Michigan, I was a gyro girl. I wasn’t educated about Greek food and it was literally all I ordered. After moving here, I’ve eaten it all and decided that I’m pretty much a lamb lover when it comes to Greek, or chicken souvlaki…those are my two favorites.

OPA!!!!!

This was our first night out in a while and my husband had never been to a Greek restaurant so we went all out.  First of all, I need to mention their cherry limeade ($10.0) very alcoholic and very delicious!!  I never did get the recipe, but all I know is that there is cherry juice, simple syrup, lime juice, soda water and vodka.  It is so refreshing I drank two!  For starters we ordered the flaming saganaki ($6.95) and a bowl of my favorite soup (Avgolemono) $3.95.  This is basically a chicken rice soup with a lemony chicken broth.  It was a weekly staple of mine growing up when my stepmother would take us to Kerby’s Coney Island in Sterling Heights, Michigan.  So good, so soothing and MBFGR was the best I have had in a long time, but not better than Kerbys The Flaming cheese is just delicious.  The server poured a little Ouzo over top, lit it up, and “OPA”!!  It was a party on a plate.  Saganaki has a slightly salty flavor to it and I just love it.  It’s melty and oozing with cheesy goodness…yum yum.

hummous and greek salad

Even though I would have normally ordered lamb chops for my entree, the meat lovers for two caught my eye.  Now, for ($34.0)  a couple, this meal definitely delivers.  I really wanted Jeremy to experience it all…here’s a list of what we got in the meat lovers for two: lamb chops, pork-chicken-and beef souvlaki, gyro, mousaka, pastitsio, tzatziki, pilaf, roasted lemon potatoes, fresh grilled veggies, and Greek salad.  Whoa, what a spread…at first, we didn’t even know where to start.  The good thing is my husband is a healthy eater so we actually polished off all of the meat and only brought home some potatoes, pilaf, mousaka, and tzatziki.  My favorite three items if I were to have to narrow it down would be the lamb chops, pilaf, and beef souvlaki.  The lamb chops were just superb with a very rustic seasoning and grilled to perfection.  I can still remember the taste when I’m craving them, lol.  The pilaf was great. My mother-in-law is Armenian and she and her daughter make the best pilaf  I’ve ever had, but this was a close second.  Very light, fluffy and perfectly seasoned.  Man, the beef souvlaki was so tender and I loved the lemony garlic marinade that make souvlaki so damn tasty! My Big Fat Greek Restaurant gets the FOOD-TRAMP-STAMP OF APPROVAL

holy Greek feast!!!

 My Big Fat Greek Restaurant

4218 N Scottsdale Rd.

Scottsdale, AZ 85251

For one thing, Radio Milano has a pretty genius Twitter page, boasting their happy hour “when Camelback turns pink it’s time for drink!”  I love it!  They’re always advertising neighborhood night which is Mondays and Tuesdays where you can get an entree + salad or dessert for only ($20.0) which is an amazing value for the quality and quantity of their food.  I first heard about Radio from a fellow food writer who did a review for FoodiesLikeUs and it just sounded yummy!  Then, after continuously reading their twitter posts from RM I was just waiting for a fellow foodie invite or a chance for my husband and I to get a night out so I could go see for myself! 

I got the chance two weeks ago thru a fabulous new food networking company called Tastecasting that I joined here in Phoenix.  A really stellar concept:  we all know how networking is taking over the internet and is driving the decisions people make and the places people go.  Tastecasting is simple.. we go to a restaurant that would like media exposure and they trade a fabulous menu sampling for us and in turn we plug the crap out of them on Twitter, Facebook, Stumble Upon and other social outlets.   It really works and it’s a great chance for foodies on a budget to get to try out some really great fine dining destinations in Phoenix and surrounding areas.

I believe this was Phoenix Tastecasting’s third restaurant since it started in our area.  This is where the food tramp hopped on for the ride and it was a great one!!  After being seated our server and their general manager came out and greeted us.  We were served warm bread with fresh olive oil and garlic and offered a drink on the house.  I started with their ginger press ($9.0) which coincidentally tasted exactly like my favorite martini at Metro!!  A gin based lemony ginger cocktail that included ginger ale as well, mmm mmm tasty.

Next we were bombarded by almost every appetizer on the menu.  Deviled eggs ($5.0), shattered potato chips ($6.0), crispy calamari ($9.0), celery Caesar ($9.0), and the caprese salad ($10.0).  I was utterly stunned when I saw the deviled eggs as I have never seen them in a restaurant and they were out of this world!  The calamari was probably my favorite, nice and lightly crispy.  I wasn’t a fan of their caprese salad.  I am a real traditionalist when it comes to caprese.  I want cold tomatoes, soft fresh mozzarella and basil.  Radio’s version had roasted tomatoes and a stronger cheese and I was just a little surprised.  But, try it because you may just love it!

loved this bread w/garlic oil

yummy calimari and deviled eggs

homemade chips

Entrees were flowin as well.  I wish I could show every single picture I took but I just don’t have room.  There were seven of us dining that evening.  We each ordered an entree and Radio threw in a few extra entrees just so we wouldn’t leave hungry!!  Talk about amazing food! Everything looked remarkable and tasted even better.  At first glance I wanted to order the house made parpadelle ($17.0) but then, I saw the cowboy ribeye steak ($25.0) which is my favorite cut of meat on earth so I chose that.  I’m glad I wasn’t shy cause that was one major cut of meat, wholly moly!! The taste was also better than any steak I have had in a restaurant this year.  They cook it over mesquite wood chips and wow, you can really taste the smoky flavor.  It was so juicy and delicious.  It needed no accompaniment at all.  It was so humongous that I saved half for my husband and will soon be taking him there so he can have his own!  

parpadelle (i'll get this next time)

what a ribeye!

salmon

even better-meatball sammie w/fried egg!!

Dessert..oh Radio Milano, you’ve spoiled my sweet tooth with your amazing treats.  I was excited to try the olive oil cake ($7.0) as it stood out and was a different concept that struck my curiosity.  We also received three scoops of amazing gelato from Grateful Spoon Gelato that were to die for!  I have to admit, I am pretty committed to The Gelato Spot, as they make the most amazing coconut gelato I have ever tasted.  When I tasted Grateful Spoon’s pistachio gelato I felt bad and wrong, like I was cheating on the Gelato Spot, but it was just so amazing, I couldn’t stop myself.  Let’s not forget those sinful mini butter cookies in the basket by the door.  You know the ones…with the mini chocolate chips?? Yeah, next time I’m there if that basket goes missing, I know nothing about it  

the triple threat from Grateful Spoon