Mastro's Ocean Club, Scottsdale AZ

On our first night in Scottsdale, after having flown in and golfed, was a tiring one. We decided as a group to just walk from our hotel, the Westin Kierland Golf & Spa Resort, over to the shops across the street to find a place for dinner. There are a lot of places to choose from and right in front was Mastro's Ocean Club. Jeff & Dana had eaten here before and thought it was pretty good.

It's a big place with a welcoming, warm decor; live music in the bar and dim lighting. The crowd spanned all ages but with very few kids present. Seemed more like a date night place than a family restaurant.

The menu is mostly seafood, of course and looked great. We decided to order a bunch of different appetizer sized dishes in lieu of entrees. To start off with Alan got the Escargot. I chose the Dungeness Crab Cocktail. Jeff ordered the Lobster cocktail. Dana ordered as many dishes as we did but for some reason, they didn't bring out one for her during the first round which always feels a bit awkward.

My crab cocktail had large chunks of Dungeness served with lemon, creamy tartar sauce and a cocktail sauce and was fresh and chilled and tasted exactly as expected; quite good. Jeff's lobster looked pretty good though he had the added step of needing to de-shell his before digging in. Alan's escargot was hot, buttery and with lots of garlic. Also good. The bread, by the way, was served warm with a wide variety of types in the basket.

Second round...Alan ordered the Boston clam chowder; Jeff & Dana ordered lobster bisque and I got the Ocean Club iceberg wedge with bacon, tomato and ranch dressing. I tried Alan's chowder and thought it was lacking any distinguishing flavor. My salad was pretty basic but that's one of my favorite combinations so I was happy.

For the last round...Alan got the beef carpaccio served on an enormous plate with mixed greens in the middle, shaved parmesan and drizzled balsamic. Looked pretty but didn't measure up to the likes of say the carpaccio at Todd English's Olives in Las Vegas. Jeff ordered the seared Ahi tuna. Dana ordered a crab cake and I got the steamed mussels. The mussels were a bit on the bland side. Having just had fantastic mussels at the Mussel Bar in Atlantic City with a broth you wanted to slop up with spoon & bread, this one missed the mark. Once again everything was pretty good, just got great. Dana's salt & vinegar fries showed up around this time as well with good flavor but being a very thin shoestring variety she wasn't loving the combination.

The price tag for dinner was hefty leaving us feeling like the price to quality ratio was off. Next time I think we'll skip Mastro's and try one of the other restaurants in the immediate area.

Jenn's Rating: 76
Zagat: 26-25-25

Phil's Grill at Grayhawk GC, Scottsdale, AZ

We are just back from a long weekend in Scottsdale - golfing, eating and hanging out with Jeff & Dana. The weather was hot, the landscape stark and beautiful and the golf challenging due to their annual overseeding happening this time of year.

Alan and I basically landed, dropped our luggage off at the hotel and drove over to Grayhawk Golf Club to catch up with Jeff, have lunch and make a 1:30pm tee time on Talon. Phil's Grill is the restaurant & bar homage to their PGA Tour ambassador, Phil Mickelson. Photos of him, articles and memorabilia are displayed tastefully but in force all over the dining room along with TVs tuned to the golf channel (plus one showing the baseball game). Leather chairs, a hardwood bar and a comfortable feel overall this looked like a great place to begin our Scottsdale experience.


Jeff was already there, sharing a table with Dell, whom he'd just met that morning as they were paired up together in a morning tee time. Dell (awesomely nice guy, so happy to meet him) had already ordered as we were skimming the menu and placing our order. The Navajo corn chowder he was eating smelled so good it's a miracle I didn't ask him for a bite! He said it had great flavor with a strong kick.

For lunch Alan ordered the Southwestern Chicken wrap in a tomato basil tortilla with seasoned chicken, lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheddar cheese and chipolte mayo served with fries. Not a bad sandwich but a bit on the plain side and while originally thinking it was too hot to order something served warm , he wished he'd ordered the burger.

Jeff ordered the Prime Rib sandwich with pepper jack cheese, au jus and creamy horseradish and fries. The beef was very thinly sliced and layered into a long kaiser roll. Jeff said it was really good.

I ordered the Barn Burger with lettuce, tomatoes and jack cheese...and fries. This is the first time I've ever gotten a burger that was shaped more or less rectangle served on a long, also rectangle shaped kaiser style bun. The cheese was a wonderfully melted mess lathered all over and into the bun. I added my normal ketchup, mayo and mustard and bit it. HOLY COW...what a good burger!! A really, really good burger. I highly recommend the burger!!

While we were waiting on our lunches, Dell's entree arrived which looked so good I'm going to note it here as well. He got the Southwestern Caesar with blackened salmon and tortilla strips. I never wanted to eat a stranger's food so badly as I did Dell's lunch. If we go back, I'm getting that salad...and a burger.

Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix AZ

A year ago, maybe two...Alan and I were in Tucson, AZ. While I had to work one day, Jeff suggested that Alan drive 100 miles to Phoenix to try the best pizza ever. Jeff was so high on this pizza I remember him telling us not only how incredibly amazing it was, but that the next day after he & Dana tried it, he woke up thinking about it again. That's quite an amazing experience for anyone to have...especially regarding something as lowly as pizza.

And while Alan couldn't be talked into a 200 mile round trip excursion that time, you can probably imagine how excited we were to actually be in Scottsdale / Phoenix this past weekend with an opportunity to try this pizza perfection.

Located right in the heart of the city on East Adams Street, up close and personal to Arizona State University's campus, sits this little converted brick house with a wood fired pizza oven surrounded by a bar and about a dozen small tables. There's no reservations and it's popular so you have to be prepared to wait it out.

It was a gorgeous evening and the wait we were told would be about an hour. Since we'd smuggled a bottle of wine we'd brought to Arizona with us and glasses from the hotel, we parked ourselves outside in an empty tent with a folding table and chairs (the tents were set up in preparation for the next day's Rainbow festival) and chatted the time away.

Finally called in by the super nice waiter, we got a little table near the front and talked strategy. Jeff & Dana warned us that the pies were personal sized. Seeing one on the table next to us, I was thinking they weren't that small! But I could see from the gleam in Jeff's eye that it was best to order a bit too much then to not have enough. You can see from the menu excerpt below what the choices were with the last two being white pizzas, no sauce. Jeff & Dana were planning on getting two Margherita's and I liked the sound of the Biancoverde - being sold on it once our attentive waiter informed me that if I wanted sauce on that one they would be happy to oblige. Alan ordered the Wiseguy, also with red sauce.

Pizza

• MARGHERITA - Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil 13.00
• MARINARA - Tomato Sauce, Oregano, Garlic (No Cheese) 12.00
• ROSA - Red Onion, Parmigiano Reggiano, Rosemary, AZ Pistachios 13.00
• SONNY BOY - Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Salami, Gaeta Olives 16.00
• BIANCOVERDE - Fresh Mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, Ricotta, Arugula 16.00
• WISEGUY - Wood Roasted Onion, House Smoked Mozzarella, Fennel Sausage 16.00

During the short wait for the pizza we munched on very fresh mozzarella & tomato salad with basil and olive oil and had a bottle of wine.

And then it was show time!! Four pizzas delivered and miraculously all fit on the table. And you know what? Jeff wasn't kidding!!! HOLY COW this is excellent pizza!! I ate 7 out of the 8 slices on my Biancoverde and thought it was perhaps the best piece of pizza I've ever had. The ricotta giving it a little more richness than a standard pizza and the arugula adding a peppery component against the sweetness of the red sauce....this is a friggin' awesome pie.

I tried the Wiseguy and really liked that one as well. The only change that would have been nice there is if the onion pieces weren't so huge. But pushing some of them out of the way so they didn't over power the sausage and we're talking about a pretty fantastic meat pizza.

All in all - go here, wait as long as it takes and order one per person. You won't be disappointed, we promise!

Jenn's rating: 90
Zagat: 26-19-21

I've included the write up from Zagat on this post since it looks like they are spot on as well...

“Believe the hype” say surveyors of this “cult legend” in Heritage Square, which cranks out Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas so “extraordinary” (thanks in part to locally sourced ingredients), they could very well be the “best on the planet”; though you should prepare for a “long wait” (“absolutely worth” it) to get into the “quaint”, brick-walled dining room at dinnertime, things have “greatly improved” now that hours have been “expanded” to include lunch, when “lines are almost nil.”

Blue Bottle Cafe, Hopewell NJ

Six of us got together for dinner at a little BYO in Hopewell, NJ a few weeks ago. This was our second time trying the converted house with blue glass bottles decorating the walls. Ordering two courses each we pretty much covered the small, seasonal menu. It had just turned over that evening...

For appetizers the ladies ordered salads including Dana's Blue Bottle Salad with mixed greens, sliced red grapes, toasted hazelnuts, red wine & honey vinaigrette with shaved manchego cheese; Mary's Arugula and spinach with Chiogga & Yellow beets, butternut squash, rutabega, marinated cauliflower and pumpkin seed vinaigrette and my Frisee lettuce with duck confit, roasted shallots, haricots verts, mushrooms, creamy truffle vinaigrette and fingerling potato chips.

I tried all three salads. Mary's had a lot of root vegetables in chunks that I didn't think blended in well with the other flavors. My duck salad was quite tasty but was a bit thin on the duck - could have used more meat, literally. I thought Dana's was the most well balanced and had the best flavor profile overalll; really liking the little bit of sweet that the grapes gave the dish.

I know Alan ordered the sauteed calamari with chorizo, piquillo peppers, chick pea croutons and paprika citrus vinaigrette and that Steve had the celery root and apple soup with toasted pistachios and cider gastrique. I can't remember Jeff's dish. I didn't love either the soup or the calamari but the calamari was a unique dish with plenty of kick (which is why I shied away) that is worth a try.

For entrees Dana and Alan both ordered fish...Alan got the Arctic Char  prepared over sweet potato and pear chutney with savoy cabbage in tomato ginger lemongrass broth. Dana requested a substitute to put the Mahi Mahi with the preparation of the Arctic Char listed above. Alan's fish was well prepared, moist and flaky and complimented by the heavier Fall mix of vegetables.

Steve and Mary both ordered the pan roasted tenderloin with potato and bacon croquettes, smoked onion and horseradish jam, creamed swiss chard and a red wine reduction. Again, no recollection of what Jeff had. I went with the pan seared day boat scallops served with sauteed leeks, fingerling potatoes, fennel and baby carrots in a saffron emulsion sauce.

The tenderloin was nicely prepared but forgettable though I really liked the creamed swiss chard. My scallops were large, cooked to just past translucent and paired nicely with the fragrant saffron sauce - a nice dish overall.

For dessert...

We ordered and shared the dark chocolate and hazelnut tart with nutella anglaise and whipped cream pictured above; a trio of profiteroles with caramel sea salt ice cream and hot fudge and a pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing, walnuts, caramel and cinnamon ice cream. The tart was really good - the other two only just ok.

While it was a fun night out no one was blown away by the food and since the restuarant is seriously in the middle of nowhere, this is most likely our last hike out to the Blue Bottle Cafe.

Jenn: 77
Zagat: 26-18-23

Eleven Madison Park, NYC

Six of us went to Eleven Madison Park this past Friday evening. A superstar with four stars from New York Times, 3 Stars from Michelin (the ratings bible), 28-28-28 from Zagat and a Grand Award from Wine Spectator, this restaurant is the IT place to be right now if you can get a reservation.

We were celebrating Steve & Mary's birthdays but this group doesn't seem to need a reason to go out to eat. Excitement had been building all week long and when the big day arrived we started off in style ~ champagne in the hotel room! Alan and I started with a 2007 Kutch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir as we waited for everyone to arrive. When the six of us were together we toasted the evening and the birthdays with a 2000 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut and a 1995 Tattinger Comtes de Champagne Brut.

After those bottles quickly disappeared it was time to walk over for our 6:30pm reservation. Upon entering the lovely, modestly decorated eatery located at 11 Madison Avenue with it's super high ceilings and soft maple accents, we were greeted by name from the waiting maitre d'. Our table was a spacious oval located immediately behind the entrance wall with direct line of vision to the bar.

We knew ahead of time that EMP had just recently gone to a single option, price fixed, 16+ course tasting menu. The theme was a homage to The Big Apple with many courses either directly tying into New York City or with ingredients sourced from around the state. I at least was surprised to still get the four-by-four white ingredient card and told everyone could choose one from each row to customize their experience. These would be the "main courses" if you will while we'd all share in the many appetizers that would come before. A quick discussion round the table ensured that we'd get every ingredient covered. Here's how the break down shook out:

Susan: Langoustine, Lobster, Sweetbreads & Chocolate
Rich: Foie Gras (seared), Potato, Mushroom & Fig
Steve: Beet, Potato, Pork & Pistachio
Mary: Foie Gras (seared), Parsnip, Mushroom & Plum
Alan: Lettuce, Tilefish, Sweetbreads & Chocolate
Jenn: Foie Gras (terrine), Lobster, Squab & Fig

Wines by the bottle were ordered including the 2002 Le Brun Servenay Vieilles Vignes Brut, 2007 Pousse d'Or Clos des 60 Ouvrees Volnay Premier Cru, 2008 Rhys Family Farm San Mateo Pinot Noir, 1996 Rocche dei Manzoni Vigna d'la Roul Barolo.

Course 1: Black & White
Created in Utica, NY as a way to use up leftover cake batter, these cookies are a New York staple at every bakery and diner. The first course of our evening was a savory take on the tradition cookie with black truffle and Parmesan. My take on this course was that while cute and theme appropriate it didn't pack that first bite awesome I have come to love at fine restaurants (think salmon tartare ice cream cone at French Laundry ~ if you've had it, you'll always remember it).

Course 2: Apple
Smoked tea with celery root and apple chips. The chips were a mixture of different flavors and consistency from melt away delicate to super crispy. The tea was excellent in my opinion. I loved this course. The interaction of getting to open your little pouch to find the chips inside and the smells that accompanied the whole dish were so very Fall in New York State.

Course 3: Tomato
This was a crowd favorite. A gelee of tomato with gooseberries and tarragon suspended throughout. A light, slightly sweet, refreshing sort of course it was easy to eat and delightful.

Course 4: Cucumber
This is the first course I heard a rumbling of something other than glee. The course was covered in a cucumber snow that I thought looked beautiful but lacked flavor. It had lapsang souchong and tarragon for texture and spice but was rather forgettable.

Course 5: Sturgeon
I loved, loved, loved this course. Presented in pieces you constructed your dish. It came with the smoked sturgeon that was perfection and accompanied by everything bagel crumbs, pickles and caviar plus creme fresh and toast points. I could have just eaten this one all night. Loved the salty, smokey combinations.

Course 6: Variety
I had the foie gras terrine with toast points, Mary & Rich both had the foie gras torchon with maple, walnuts and cremini mushrooms. Susan had the langoustine with fennel, sour cherries and clam. Alan had the lettuce salad with yogurt, sunflower and apple and Steve had beets roasted with horseradish, rye and wasabi. What I remember about this course was that the foie gras dishes were killer, the langoustine pretty good and both the lettuce and beets nothing but average.

Course 7: Carrot
This course was presented to us along with dialog from our server as he attached a hand crank ricer to the table and proceeded to slice up finely several beautiful New York State carrots. The course was a take on tartare served with rye bread and condiments. The condiments were numerous - salts, egg, capers, onion...little amounts of each. I dumped all of mine into the carrot concoction and ate it on my bread. I thought the presentation and hands on approach was fun and unique but it didn't matter how fresh or how many ingredients, nothing could disguise that it was carrots and not beef or tuna. I don't love carrots so this was a miss for me.

After our carrot course we were asked if we'd like a tour of the kitchen. YES, of course!! We were escorted back, told a lot about the inner workings of the stations and staff and treated to a handmade cocktail using liquid nitrogen. A fun experience and a great cocktail!

Course 8: Variety
Back at our table, Susan and I both selected the lobster poached and served with escarole and almond. Mary went with the parsnip. Alan selected tilefish poached with turnip, radish and dill. Steve & Rich both chose the potato baked with pike roe, bonito and bay leaf. I really liked my lobster dish, just wish is was more than that small bite. Alan's tilefish was magnificent. The potato was pretty salty-spicy and the parsnip was totally bland.

Course 9: Clam Bake
A take on the traditional New England Clam Bake, this course had clams, tomato, corn and zucchini. Now let me put it out there. I LOVE CLAMS. Seriously, love them. My favorite shellfish to be sure. This course didn't do it for me. I could barely find the clams in my dish. It came across as a few bites of vegetables and no distinguishable flavor. When we were at EMP a year ago they did a dish akin to this one but it consisted of the most heavenly clam chowder. I missed that dish.

Course 10: Variety
I had the roasted squab with plum, kale and bone marrow. Excellent dish. Steve selected the winner of the round, the pork confit with red cabbage, black bean and grey peas. Alan and Susan didn't hesitate to go for the sweetbreads glazed and served with hazelnuts, fennel and pear. Mary & Rich both tried the mushroom dish. This course was pretty great across the board.

Course 11: Add On, Muscovy Duck
Yes, we added on a course. Couldn't help it. Duck breast smoked and served with heart, sesame and pickled lettuce roasted with lavender and honey, apple and quinoa. By the time the duck came we were starting to lose steam. It had already been about four hours. The duck was perfect. Perfectly medium rare and red inside, perfectly seasoned and perfect to the taste. It was fantastic and I'm glad we added it to the meal.

Course 12: Greensward
New York style pretzel served with mustard and tiny pints of beer. Loved the pretzel, didn't try and beer but I think everyone else liked it.

Course 13: Malt
Egg cream malt with vanilla and seltzer. It was great - an almost a pallet cleanser.

Course 14: Variety
For our final personalized course Rich and I went with glazed fig served prepared with orange, sage and tapioca. Mary choose plum that was marinated along with jasmine and cashew. Alan, Steve and Susan to no one's surprise opted for chocolate (they were able to select dark or milk and all went with dark) with lavendar, orange and Maldon salt. That course was the winner though in fairness I could barely eat anything at this point.

Manhattan Cart - cocktails tableside
I have no idea how they did this but Alan, Susan & Mary still managed room for another drink. Made tableside, they had Manhattans stirred and served.

Card Trick
They came around with another course of chocolate and performed a card trick. The card you got managed to coincide with the ingredient under your plate that was the ingredient inside your chocolate. Cute and fun...mine was mint so I was a happy camper.

Remaining Courses, 15, 16 & 17
Huckleberry goat cheese cheesecake with lime
Pretzel covered in chocolate with sea salt
Soft, sweet black & white cookies
Homemade granola

In summary...this is a super special, once in a lifetime (or three, depending on your threshold for gastronmical adventures) meal. We were there for over six hours. While it didn't live up to the last experience Alan and I had before they changed the format this is still one of the best restaurants in Manhattan. I could use with a little less of the theatrics, a few less courses and more of the traditional dishes. But all in all, a super night.

Zagat: 28-28-28
Michelin (before the new format): Three Stars
Jenn's Rating: 95

Maialino, NYC

A few weeks ago we had a wonderful experience at a restaurant I was not familiar with...Maialino. A Danny Meyer establishment in Gramercy Park, its Italian done right.

After an hour of drinks at the bar and with a group of six we sat down at a table near the back in this bright and cheerful bistro style eatery. We ordered and shared everything starting with appetizers of caprese salad, a seared octopus dish  and an animelle ...these were good but didn't necessarily set the evening up to be one we'd later declare as having great food. The excitement started with the next round - pastas.

We ordered four different ones to share including Carbonara with black pepper and egg, a Spaghetti Vongole of white wine, garlic and clams, Bolognese with pig ragout and Parmesan and a Cavatelli made with sausage and tomato. All four of these dishes were spectacular. It was literally impossible to determine which one was the best - they were unique and oh, so good.  The only draw back is that with six hungry people and now four spotless dishes, we were still in need of that heavier, filling dish.

The last course we ordered and split was labeled as the Full Maialino. An entire suckling pig deboned and presented with potatoes and au jus. WOW. Seriously. WOW. Fantastically prepared, rich and succulent as only pork can be. And the potatoes cooked in the drippings were out of control. One of the best dishes I can remember from this entire year.

Wines we ordered with dinner included a '99 Barolo, Gattera Bovio; an '08 Rosso di Montalcino, Siro Pacenti, a 1999 Valpolicella, Ca' de Merlo, Quintarelli and an '05 Barolo, Carobric, Paolo Scavino.

This restaurant should be on everyone's list ~ excellent meal, great food and affordable wine list.

Zagat: 25-23-25
Jenn: 89