Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Big Cheese

Cheese lovers rejoice!! We have a great new resource in Scottsdale at The Quarter, that oh-so-ugly, still a work-in-progress shopping center on Scottsdale Road at the Greenway-Hayden Loop. It’s called Oakville Grocery, and it comes to us from Napa Valley where it’s been in operation since 1881.

The concept is similar to that of The Kitchen (see below). Shelves are stocked with all sorts of gourmet items you didn’t know you had to have. There’s an extensive collection of primarily California wines. There’s prepared foods to-go, and a salad/pizza/sandwich counter. Also charcuterie, a butchers station, and - fanfare - an awesome cheese section. We hit it from one end, where there was a bowl full of little cheese cubes to sample. It was Grana Padano, fresh off the boat from Italy. Like a cross between Emmenthaler and Parmesan it can be grated, shredded, or just eaten out of hand. (I went to the refrigerator just now to check on its name, and I couldn’t leave without cutting off a piece to munch on). We worked our way down the display, which took a while because we were reading about all the cheeses that were new to us. There were some old favorites, too, like those from the Cowgirl Creamery in San Francisco. The friendly and knowledgeable staff say that they will be happy to order anything not in stock (this is store policy, and they have a number of speciality catalogs for you to look at). This is probably the largest and most eclectic selection around. The prices are comparable to those at Whole Foods, or AJ, expensive, but “such is life”. 

The same cannot be said for the rest of the merchandise. I spied an Italian ham for $130 a pound, lamb chops for $40 a pound. When I compared the price of jarred, imported tuna filets at Oakville and AJ’s, AJ’s was $3.00 cheaper ($7 versus $10 for a 7 ounce jar). The sandwiches are several dollars more expensive than those at The Kitchen, and pretty much on a par in terms of taste and quality. We had a serrano ham and machengo cheese sandwich on MJ bread for $8.99, served with a side of pasta salad, both quite good and big enough to share, so the price is not totally outrageous, but still... The Kitchen is cheaper. And speaking of bread, while MJ bread is very good, the selection is smaller and less interesting than the house-made bread at, you guessed it, The Kitchen. Oakville’s pastry selection is, in my opinion, boring at best, and unappetizing at worst.

The aisles in Oakville are cramped, it’s difficult for two of their small carts to pass each other. In an effort to display more merchandise the shelves are set up like a maze, and when lines form at the checkout counters, gridlock results. 

But cheese lovers, don’t let these negatives deter you. Go see and taste for yourselves, you’ll be glad you did.


Oakville Grocery
1501 N. Scottsdale Rd.   Scottsdale     in The Quarter 
480-596-8200
Monday - Saturday 10 - 9     Sunday  10 - 7     
espresso cafe  opens 7AM Monday - Saturday,  8AM Sunday
oakvillgroceryarizona.com  the website does not seem to be working yet

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Changing Tastes

Lately I find my tastes changing. These changes ambush me without warning: not long ago I stopped putting Splenda in my tea - cold turkey. I started liking pastrami instead of corned beef. I stopped watching the news on TV. Is this a function of aging? I don’t know.

One of the more dramatic changes has been my growing appreciation of the overall “character” of a restaurant. I find myself much more willing to overlook small gaffes in the food preparation if the staff is friendly and knowledgeable, or if the ambience is cheerful and interesting in some way. It doesn’t have to be fancy - but it can’t be gloomy and boring.

This was brought home to me today at lunch. Our friend Sue picked a place I had never been to - Spinato’s Pizza. It’s a family owned and run local chain with four locations. We went to the one at Bell and 16th Street. Sue brought along her friend/employer Lee. It happens that Lee’s grandson works in Spinato’s kitchen. He always makes it a point to arrive 35 minutes before his shift begins so he can take advantage of employee dinner and he appreciates being treated like family. The place is cute - decorated in red, green and white. There are striped awnings above the booths, and trellises with vines. The chairs are white with green (or red) seats, and the table tops are white with the Spinato logo in the corners. The patio has tables with red-checked cloths. We were warmly greeted , and our server arrived promptly to offer drinks.

Ken and I ordered a large Spicy Italian pie ($19.50) with added ricotta. We also got a salad ($3.99). Lee requested garlic bread ($3.99, $4.79 with cheese), and a small spinach calzone, one of the house specialties ($9). Sue got spinach too, but in the form of a “lil” (smaller than small) pizza ($7.50). The salads arrived first, notable mostly for their large size. While the ingredients were fresh, there was nothing exciting there. The olive oil and balsamic vinegar served with them were of good quality. The garlic bread, eight pieces in the order, was outstanding - lots and lots of fresh garlic and a generous amount of butter. You have to make sure that everyone you’ll be talking to in the next few hours has eaten some too. The staff checked in frequently to ask if we were happy. The pizzas were served on a wire rack, a great idea since the thin crust remains nice and crisp. Instead of slices, our pie was cut into many small squares. I found that for some reason this caused me to eat less. The pizza wasn’t loaded down with sauce, and it had plenty of toppings. I tasted Sue’s spinach pie and it was really good. The spinach is marinated before being put on the pizza, and there’s tons of fresh garlic. Lee’s calzone was quite large - he took half of it home.

The menu isn’t extensive. Besides the pizzas (10 varieties, plus design your own)  and calzone (there’s a spaghetti and meatball one) there are two pastas and five sandwiches. We didn’t inquire about dessert. The story behind Spinato’s is told on the back of the menu. The family was worried that when they left Chicago for Phoenix, back in the “70’s, they wouldn’t be able to find good pizza. What choice did they have but to open their own pizza parlor?! As the family grew so did the number of parlors. While the prices aren’t low, you can go to lunchclub.com and get a 25% off the entire bill coupon. Aren’t coupons great!!

I have to say that if I was doing a blind taste-test between Stumpy’s pizza (see the archives) and Spinato’s, I’d probably give the nod to Stumpy’s. But if you add in those other factors which have become important to me, as a dining destination Spinato’s wins. It’s also won awards from Phoenix New Times, the Scottsdale Culinary Festival and City Search.

Spinato’s Pizzeria
1614 E. Bell Rd.   Phoenix     see website for other locations
spinatospizza.com
Tuesday - Saturday  11 - 9    Sunday  4 - 9      closed Monday

Saturday, January 2, 2010

The Second Time Around

I admit it. I’m a romantic. Sometimes I give my heart away too easily to a handsome french fry here, or a buff egg roll there, only to have it broken on our second meeting. The french fry has gone limp, the egg roll greasy. That’s why I forced myself to hold back after going to Little Saigon the first time. I had to see how I’d feel on our next date. Now I’m ready.

The place is really cute. It’s in one of the little houses that make up much of downtown Glendale’s shopping district. You’d expect to be served Irish stew or corned beef and cabbage here. There are lace curtains in the windows and potted fake plants scattered about. But the food is Vietnamese, and lots of it, too. You can order by number, or enjoy feeling foolish trying to pronounce the Vietnamese names of the dishes correctly - all one hundred and one of them. So far we’ve tried eight.

The dish that first delighted us was #62, bo cuon la nho ($9.99), This, of course, is marinated beef wrapped in grape leaves and served with rice noodles and “paper”. It comes, as do many of the dishes, with a large helping of fresh-as-can-be romaine lettuce leaves, mint, thai basil, coriander, and sliced carrots and cucumbers. It it looks like you’re going to run out of greens, the pleasant servers (none of them Vietnamese) happily bring you more. The beef is tender and flavorful, contrasting nicely with the brininess and chew of the grape leaves. On our second visit,  Ken ordered #55, black peppered bite-size pork ribs with caramelized onions ($6.99). It was served in a pot which came boiling to the table. The broth was delectable, flavored by the onions, and the ribs were falling off the bone with just the right jolt of pepper.

I decided to order two appetizers - egg rolls ($4.99) and banh xeo ($7.99), which are rice flour crepes filled with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts. The egg rolls were good, but not noteworthy. The crepes were delicious. I’ve had them at other places and they usually arrive at the table soggy from the filling. These were perfectly dry and crisp, despite the load of meat and veggies. Our friend Sue, who was with us on our first visit and happily came on the second, had the fried rice bowl ($6.99) both times, so we plied her with our goodies. I bet the next time she’ll go with the ribs.

There are 10 variations of Pho, with rice noodles, and 5 more soups made with egg noodles. Then there are 6 hot pot soups. Many dishes are served over rice, and others with stir fry noodles. Catfish is done 4 ways and shrimp 3. There are 3 green mussel salads and 5 mixed salads including one with jellyfish. I could go on, but if you go on line, you can see the menu for yourself.

As I mentioned above, the servers are friendly and attentive. They actually remembered our names and what we had eaten on our first visit. We had directed other friends to Little Saigon that night, and the servers remembered them, too. The portions are large, the ingredients fresh. And there’s even a cute patio. I think I’m ready to commit.

Little Saigon
7016 N. 57th Ave.  Glendale
623-939-6136
Monday - Friday 11-3 and 5-9    Saturday  11-9    Sunday  11-7
littlesaigonaz.com