Culinary Fool

After we had finished touring the Botanical Gardens we had a little time before we needed to get to the airport.  We had been talking about ice cream all weekend and now seemed the prefect time to find something to quench our craving. 

We zipped down to Tempe to see what they had to offer.  Being a college town, we thought  chances were good that we’d find some sort of good ice cream place.  We did a quick tour of the main street that runs along campus and nothing jumped out.  Then we noticed Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks just a block off the main drag.  We decided to check it out. 

We both ordered a chocolate shake.  These weren’t the best shakes I’ve ever had but they were darn good.  Made with good vanilla ice cream and mixed with chocolate sauce they were rich and creamy like a shake should be.  They were even served with a spoon, as well as a straw!  And they were BIG shakes.  I couldn’t finish mine, although teeny-tiny M didn’t have a problem! :-) 

We paid our bill, said adieu to Tempe and to Phoenix in general and took ourselves to the airport.  I’m already looking forward to next year’s trip! 

Islands – Tempe
730 S. Mill Ave
Building H, Suite 104
Tempe, AZ 85281
Phone: (480) 929-9769

Sunday in Phoenix was a leisurely day.  We weren’t going to a game and our flight was scheduled to depart about 5:30.  We wanted a nice breakfast and then we were going to check out the Desert Botanical Garden. 

I had a place in mind that I’d been to a few year’s ago.  Sam’s Café on Scottsdale road.  I remembered the outdoor seating, the Southwestern fare and the friendly staff.  So with business card in hand (that I’d collected from my last visit) we packed up the car and set off. 

We made our way to Scottsdale Road, determined we should head south, based on the address, and drove by the area of the address.  There was no Sam’s Café in sight!  We drove by again and it still wasn’t there. :-(  A quick call to 411 confirmed our suspicions.  While Sam’s Café was alive and well and had two locations, neither was now at this address.  And neither was near where we wanted to be.

Next idea, head to Jacqueline’s – another place I’d been a few year’s ago.  Hopefully it was at the same location!  And it was.  We put our name on the list and waited to be seated outside. 

Last time I was at Jacqueline’s it was called a "Marketplace and Café".  Unfortunately, the Marketplace has been replaced with more café seating.  The Marketplace was a really great collection of gourmet sauces, mixes, foods and beverages.  While waiting for a table it was fun to stroll through the aisles and pick out interesting items to take home.  The only good thing is that now seating is much faster – this place can get really packed on weekend mornings.  Apparently there are new owners and they decided tables were better than the shop. 

We were seated within a few minutes and ordered our breakfast.  I ordered Huevos Rancheros with a side of Chorizo, M asked for the Corn Beef Hash.  Service was a little slow; it took quite some time for our breakfasts to arrive but once they did we knew it was worth the wait! 

My Huevos Rancheros were a thing of beauty!  I’d ordered my eggs over easy and they sat on top of a blue corn tortilla and black beans and were framed by red salsa on one side and green on the other. A little cheese was sprinkled decoratively over the top.  A generous portion of chorizo filled out the plate.    The salsas were more flavorful than hot.  The green was tangy and the red sweet with ripe tomatoes.  I love the combination of flavors that Huevos Rancheros brings together – there is something in there for every taste bud!  The chorizo was excellent, too.  Full of paprika, mild chilies and ground pork it was the perfect complement to the Huevos. 

M’s Corn Beef Hash was great, too.  The corned beef had been shredded, formed into a patty with red peppers and onions, and then fried so that the outside was a little crispy but the inside was the tender strands of corned beef.  It was accompanied by an egg, English muffin (M’s choice of toast) and sliced tomatoes. 

We sat in the sun, savored our breakfasts and then finished with a lovely cup of tea.  When finished we were perfectly fueled for our next adventure! 

No food info in this next part….

We made our way a little further south to the Desert Botanical Gardens.  With all the rain Phoenix has had this year we were hoping to see lots of bloom.  The Botanical Gardens are a really amazing display of cactus, succulents and dessert flowers.  Over the years they have completed many projects that have really improved the experience at the garden.  You wander through different sections that showcase wildflowers, different cactus, succulents, cactus shade plants (yes there are some!) and bees and butterflies.  While you are walking, if you keep your eyes open, you’ll see lizards scurrying around and funky little desert squirrels that resemble prairie dogs going about their business. 

We were on the early side of the bloom.  The wildflowers were blooming and many of the barrel cactus had their crowns of flowers but many of the cacti were not quite there, although you could see buds just about ready to pop.  Even the little we saw was amazing.  We also happened to time our visit just right to see the Butterfly House!  It had opened just a few days prior and will remain at the gardens until May 8th.  You get to walk around with hundreds of butterflies in a small, enclosed space so you have the opportunity to really see them.  It’s quite magical!  Outside the main pavilion, there is a Chrysalis House, where butterflies hatch right before your eyes!  Amazing. 

Jacqueline’s Market Place
7303 E Indian School Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85251-3942
Phone: (480) 947-8777  

The Desert Botanical Garden is located in Phoenix, Arizona, near the cities of Scottsdale and Tempe, on 145 acres in the midst of the red rock buttes of Papago Park at 1201 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, Arizona 85008  

After watching the Mariners’ practice session on Saturday we had a hour or so before we wanted to go to our seats.  I love the Arizona sunshine but at this time of year my poor little NW body has limited tolerance before becoming totally fried. 

We walked across the street to The Cheesecake Factory for a cool drink.  Now, I’ve been to The Cheesecake Factory many times but there are two things I think are a little odd:  I’ve never had cheesecake; I’ve never been to the Bellevue or Seattle locations. 

The very first time I tried them out was in Chicago at the location in the base of the John Hancock Building.  In those days, I used to visit Chicago on a regular basis.  The company I worked for had a location on Wacker and we also had several partners in the area.  Every time I was in Chicago in the fall or winter I would try to find coffee drinks.  Not lattes or mochas but Irish Coffee, Spanish Coffee, B52 Coffee, etc.  I could not find a single establishment that served them (and this is a cold city in the winter!) and so it became a kind of quest. 

I tried high-end bars, low-end bars and just about every bar along the Magnificent Mile, Rush Street and in the business district.  Now, having bartended at times in my life I want to interject that I have a respect for bartenders’ time and I wasn’t out asking for these sometimes labor-intensive beverages during the middle of Happy Hour or anything like that.  And during my quest I met many very nice bartenders who offered to put something together if I’d just give them direction.  For something simple like an Irish Coffee, this is all well and good but for something complex like a Spanish Coffee (even this recipe doesn’t describe how to caramelize the sugar and cinnamon on the rim…) that never seems to work as well as it should.  So my quest continued…

And then one day (this was probably in 1995?) this new place appeared a couple blocks from my hotel – The Cheesecake Factory.  Hmmm.  I was traveling with a friend/business associate and we actually just went in to check the place out but imagine my delight when looking over their massive menu and finding a whole page of coffee drinks!  After that it became a regular stop during my fall and winter business trips to Chicago.  I’m sad to say that I haven’t been to Chicago for several years and I am certainly due for a trip there – but that is another story!

At the Phoenix, or actually the Peoria Cheesecake Factory we were not looking for coffee drinks.  We were looking for something cool and refreshing.  Lemonade seemed to fit the bill.  M and I both ordered a glass.  The lemonade was wonderful.  Sweet but a little tart.  Lemony.  Refreshing not cloying.  Upon talking with the bartender we learned that he did not actually fresh-squeeze lemons (this really tasted that way) but used a special Cheesecake Factory mixture, which I’m pretty sure was simple syrup and fresh lemon juice.  He mentioned that it was also featured in their Lemon Drop Cocktails.  Well, that made me sit up and take notice!

We paid our bill and went back to the ball field for the game.  (I should mention that the bartender offered several times to give us refills or send us to the game with lemonade in a to-go cup as part of our purchase.  Very nice!) But as soon as the game was over we beelined right back to The Cheesecake Factory and I ordered a Lemon Drop.  Now there are about a million ways to make this drink – everyone had their own special variation – but not many of them are very good.  The sugared rim should provide a sweet contrast to the slightly tart, icy-cold beverage.  It should taste like the old Lemon Drop candy that my grandmother used to have around.  :-)  To make matters worse I make them at home quite often and so I constantly compare those I have out and about with my own and I mostly always win. 

Well this version was perfect! So perfect that I had to order a second one.  About this time I thought it might also be a good idea to have a little food since I hadn’t eaten since our Denny’s breakfast, although M had that yummy Chicken Kabob at the ball park.  On the recommendation of the bartender (same guy as in the morning, although a couple other guys joined him over the course of our visit) I ordered the SPICY AHI TEMPURA ROLLS – Fresh Raw Ahi Tuna Seasoned with Green Onions, Spicy Soy Sauce, Ginger & Garlic Wrapped in Nori and Flash Fried Tempura Style.  It was great, too.  I wanted something on the lighter side yet tasty and this fit the bill. 

Well, that was enough to hold us until dinner.  And after having the perfect Lemon Drop here it was really easy to see why the Bandera version just didn’t cut it. 

The Cheesecake Factory – Peoria
16134 North 83rd Avenue, Peoria, AZ 85382
(623) 773-2233

 Saturday morning we wanted to get an early start to our day at the ballpark. It was our last day to attend a game and we decided to check out the practice fields then take a little break and then return to the game. (Most Spring Training games are at 1:00 pm.) We thought we’d grab a little breakfast in Peoria before we checked out practice.

Across from the stadium are several casual places geared towards sports fans and families and we thought some little breakfast place might be tucked away in there. Wrong. We drove up to the closest major road, Bell Rd and cruised through it’s strip malls looking for some sort of little place. This was about 9:00 am and nothing was open! (Later we found an advertisement for a place at 75th and Bell called the 5 & Diner but we didn’t notice it that morning.)

Okay, there was one place. Denny’s. Not exactly what we had in mind but we also didn’t want to go to the Starbucks we knew was down the road. We wanted a little breakfast. So into Denny’s we went. We were seated almost immediately and the meal was decent – we split a couple of eggs over easy, four pieces of bacon, hash browns and toast. Nothing extraordinary but good.

But what I really wanted to mention was how great our server was! Her name was Deanna. She was one of the most pleasant people I’ve met! We had planned on splitting our breakfast on our own but somewhere during our conversation she overheard us and delivered our meals on their own little plates! We also heard her talking with the table next to us. I’m not sure what they ordered but she helpfully offered to place their order in a slightly different manner – same amount of food but less money. She was just a really nice, friendly person who liked her job and that showed in all she did.

We had one regret. On the way out we mentioned how pleased we were with Deanna to the manager. He was another story. Hopefully he at least passed the praise on to her but I wouldn’t bet on it. Two other servers heard our comments so maybe they shared them with her. We left a generous tip and that will say something but we hoped she’d get more recognition.

Then we were off to watch practice. During Spring Training the AA and AAA teams use the facility with the Bigs. It’s fun to see the new really young guys working out, hoping that someday they’ll get to move up to the 1st practice field. There’s so much hope and promise on those fields you can feel it in the air. (At Peoria Stadium there are six practice fields on each side of the stadium. One side is for the Mariners, the other for the San Diego Padres who share the field. During practice there are literally hundreds of baseball players on those twelve fields.) But most of our time was spent watching the 40 guys who will be pared down to 25 by the end of Spring Training. Perfect start to a perfect day…

Last year we "discovered" Bandera in Old Town Scottsdale.  I think M had found it on a list of places that the Mariners like to frequent so we thought we’d give it a try – and it wouldn’t hurt if we saw some of our favorite guys, too! 

I have no idea if any of the Mariners were dining there.  The place was packed with the queue spilling out onto the sidewalk where future diners sipped drinks and enjoyed the early evening Arizona warmth.  We managed to worm our way into seats at the bar – no small task considering there were four of us! The food was great, the bartenders friendly, the atmosphere festive and energizing so it was high on our list for a repeat this year. 

This summer we were slightly disappointed to realize that Bandera is actually part of a corporate chain.  We discovered this by accident when M, while visiting Chicago, found herself in a place with a very familiar menu… We just decided to pretend that this is a Scottsdale place since it is part of what defines our Spring Training experience. 

We actually ended up at Bandera on both Friday and Saturday nights.  That wasn’t really the plan but on Saturday as we wandered around trying to make a decision Bandera kept calling our name.  Both nights we sat at the bar.  I was a little disappointed as the bar staff this year was not nearly as friendly as last, with the exception of one woman who was really great.  The lead bartender was rather sulky and unfortunately was there both Friday and Saturday.  However, the friendliness of other people at the bar more than made up for the staff.  I’d venture to say that at this time of year 90% of the people in Bandera are in town for Spring Training.  Nearly everyone we spoke with was a Giant fan, which makes sense since Scottsdale Stadium is the spring home of the San Francisco Giants.

On Friday we ordered much like we did last year, only we ordered a little less since there were only two of us this year.  I had a glass of wine from their short but nice list of wines by the glass, M had soda and cranberry.  Then we started with the Roasted Artichoke with Remoulade.  If you even slightly like artichokes you will love this preparation.  Basically, they steam, or maybe parboil, an artichoke, cut it in half, remove the choke and then grill it in the wood-fired oven which slightly caramelizes the edges of the leaves and imparts a deep smoky flavor to the artichoke.  The contrast of that smoky artichoke flesh with the bright flavor of the remoulade is to die for.  I don’t think we spoke more than a word or two while we devoured our servings. 

Next we split a Macho Salad.  Technically the artichoke is an appetizer and the salad is an entrée but portions here are large and so these two items were more than filling for the two of us.  The Macho Salad is a wonderful combination of everything but the kitchen sink!  Mixed greens form the base.  Generous portions of their rotisserie chicken, avocado, dates, goat cheese, nuts and corn bread croutons (M hogged all the croutons!) round out the offering.  As I’m writing this I’m thinking there must be some sort of dressing but I have no idea of what it was.  The flavors and textures of the ingredients are what standout in my mind.  The combination of flavors is just lovely.  You can identify the individual tastes but they become even more satisfying when combined.  It’s a light, yet filling dinner. 

On Saturday we went a different route.  I started with a Lemon Drop which I do NOT recommend.  It was yucky, although I did manage to finish it. :-)  What made it even worse was the absolutely perfect Lemon Drop I’d had earlier in the day – but that will be another entry.  On Friday, as were leaving I’d noticed someone with a slice of cornbread, which I had missed on the menu.  On the appetizer list they have a pan of cornbread, which we’ve had before but it’s a lot so we hadn’t ordered it.  I didn’t know you could get just a slice!  So on Saturday I was bound and determined to have a slice of that cornbread!  Especially since M had hogged all the croutons the night before! 

(Okay, I have to admit that she didn’t know she was hogging them.  When we ordered our salad the night before they split it for us in the kitchen and it just turned out that she got all the croutons.  We didn’t discover this until she was done with her salad and mentioned how good they were.  I was sad.)

Back to our dinner… We decided to order the Steak and Enchilada plate AND a PAN of cornbread.  Hooray!  The cornbread arrived first, warm from the oven, in it’s own little cast-iron skillet.  This cornbread is moist, almost cake-like, and filled with corn, cheddar and mild chilis.  It’s slightly sweet with a crispy crust.  You can ask for butter if you’d like but it is not needed as this bread is perfect as it.  I made myself stop at one piece, as I could have easily devoured the entire skillet on my own but that would have left me without room for our dinner.  And M might have been upset if I didn’t leave any for her. 

Our Steak and Enchilada arrived soon after.  We’d asked for our steak to be cooked medium-rare and it was done to perfection.  Again, the grill imparted a smoky, slightly charred taste to the crust of the meat.  It melted in your mouth.  The enchilada featured the rotisserie chicken, cheese and a sour cream based sauce.  I’m pretty sure there was avocado, too, although I didn’t note that so maybe it’s just my imagination.  This was another wonderful meal.  After I’d had my steak and enchilada I did manage to put away another piece of cornbread – I mean we wouldn’t want it to go to waste after all! 

I highly recommend Bandera, although it would be best if you like grilled, smoky flavors.  There are other options but the small menu leans heavily in that direction.  If you go, be prepared to wait or bring out your best vulture-like skills so that you can swoop down on bar seats as they become available. 

Multiple Locations, although I couldn’t find a corporate website. 

Bandera – Scottsdale
3821 N. Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, 85251
(480) 994-3524