Scottsdale: Bandera

06-Apr-2006

Another Spring Training trip and another stop at Bandera in Old Town Scottsdale! This has become one of M and my standards on these annual excursions. There are so many good options on the menu! This year, as we fulfilled our quest to try more new places, we only stopped in for a cocktail and some of the best Skillet Cornbread in the world! It is a meal all on its own; moist, with a great crumb and chock full of vegetables that add an additional sweetness and bit of crunch.

M’s Margarita was superb, as usual, and my Lemondrop was the perfect sweet-tart combination! The only comment I have is that the friendliness of the servers seems to be waning. Our first visits to Bandera were absolutely perfect both from a food perspective and because of how nice the people were. Last year we hit a day when the people were a bit iffy – out of the three working the bar, one was really friendly, the other two did their job. This year, I’d almost venture to say the the staff did what was necessary but that was it. And, in fact, they were a bit gruff. M asked our main bartender if the cornbread recipe was available anywhere. The woman sarcastically responded, "Oh sure, I have a copy in my back pocket." This at a time when the bar was not even half full and there were three bartenders at work – not exactly a stressful time… normally a time when you expect bartenders to be a bit chatty and relaxed. M went on to explain (as if she should have had to!) that she meant in a cookbook or online and the woman just snapped out, "No." Maybe the woman had had a bad day but if this had been my first time there I would not feel as good about the place as I think I still do.

So the food is still great but be a little careful of the help…