Posts Tagged ‘Old town Scottsdale’

Who doesn’t love a great plate of poutine after a late night bender? Or how about some delicious roasted chicken or a perfectly cooked metro burger? Let’s not forget the warm, crispy, and sugary beignets for dessert!  Well, until September 17th at Metro Brasserie you can taste all of your favorites and get a fantastic discount on top of it.  Simply, click here and give Metro your email and they’ll send the coupon right to your inbox, it’s that easy! I already did one for myself and it worked perfectly…I think I may know where my GNO is going to be tomorrow

http://metrosouthbridge.com/enews/coupon_629/index.php?coupon=WEBSITE954

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

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

With a last minute decision for a staycation at the Valley Ho, my husband told me to pick where I’d like to go for dinner.  We were a short walk away from old town, so without hesitation I chose Metro Brasserie of course!  I had no camera, just my cell phone…so this is why I call it my mini review.  I will be back again with proper pictures next time, but this time I’ll just tell you what you shouldn’t miss on their menu

Upon arriving we were given water and bread with a fabulous herb compound butter. We ordered drinks, my fav there will always be their ginger martini, it is just so delicious!  We ordered the potato soup and shrimp cocktail as our first course.  The shrimp were ginourmous and looked super fresh.  The potato soup at Metro is pureed and always comes piping hot.  It contains lardons which, for me is like finding hidden treasure in every spoonful!

All Jeremy wanted was a big piece of meat, so he ordered the cote de bouef, which is meant for two people.  He happily ate the full 18 oz of rib eye with a bite for me of course.  The rib eye had perfect marbeling and was cooked to a medium temperature and was screaming with yummy beef flavor.  I wanted the poulet, which is not the chicken dish listed on their website, but let me explain it for you.  This was the most moist chicken breast I have ever tasted in my whole 29 years of living!  The server told me that some diners find it salty, but since i’m a salt lover I told him no big deal to me!  This chicken breast was boneless with skin on which was seasoned and seared to a crispy deliciousness which must have been the salty part, but it really gave the chicken a wonderful flavor. It was laid over a buttery potato puree with sauteed mushrooms, leeks, pearl onions and lardons with a brown butter.  OMG!!!! I really cannot describe in words how incredible this dish was, so all you food tramps in training will  just have to go taste for yourselves.

It goes without saying that we got beignets for dessert.  These came with a vanilla creme, raspberry, and chocolate ganache dipping sauces.  The beignets had the perfect texture, cooked wonderfully with lots of yummy confectioners sugar sprinkled all over..it was hard not to eat all six myself!

Metro is such a consistent, delicious, and fun place to wine and dine.  Every time I’ve been, I’ve had top notch service and the bartender there is fun and very knowledgeable…next time I’ll have to get his name!  This place definitely gets the FOOD -TRAMP- STAMP OF APPROVAL !!!

Metro Brasserie (At Southbridge)

 7114 E Stetson Dr ste 105

Scottsdale, AZ 85251

480.994.3663 for reservations