Okay, so I know that I live in Arizona and I have for the most part lowered my expectations on having an innovative and passionate food culture like San Fran and NY. Recently however, a trend of pop up restaurants in the valley have given me a bit of a spring to my step, a little twinkle in my eye, and some hope in my heart. Common in big cities are the oh so mysterious and under the radar dining experiences like last minute supper clubs in an unknown until right before the event location or the pop up restaurants that are here today and gone tomorrow. Pop up restaurants are a great opportunity for a local chef to share a focused culinary point of view for a short period of time. In the case of the one I recently attended, our group concluded that it also was in part to market and promote the new hotel that the pop up restaurant was in. Every weekend or so a new chef will bring in their new ideas and cook for a set reservation of people Friday and Saturday evening.
To be willing and excited for these adventures require an open palate and mind as the menus choices are limited and usually very creative. To hand over your control to your chef of the moment is not something just anyone will do. Last Saturday I had the opportunity to try the pop up restaurant of the weekend at Cycle (thanks D & B for the invite) http://cyclephoenix.com/ (scroll down a bit to see the "Experience" menu we tasted). The space is fun, the walls are chalkboards and the staff is inviting. Starters included fried in duck fat fries and frog log lollies. Both were fine, but nothing to rave over. The star entree was the lamb sliders prepared 3 ways, which garnered some oohs and ahhs from the different flavor combinations that included a European and African style burger. The pig ear salad was a major disappointment with the ears fried so heavily, they were tooth cracking. The final entree offered was a smoked traditional pizza with mozz, tomato and basil. That was again perfectly fine, but nothing to daydream over. Lastly, for dessert we had a pizza cookie and probably the most unique course of the night; a deconstructed sundae. It included frozen dehydrated fruit pieces, a frozen egg shell of chocolate filled with cream and rich vanilla ice cream with caramel. It was playful, super creative and we all loved it.
The other recent destination was Welcome Diner in Phoenix where local chef (of Cafe Boa fame) Peyton Curry has set up shop for the next 3 months http://paytoncurry.com/welcome-diner/. You may have heard of this place or seen it driving by. It used to be an operating Diner, but they closed and now Chef Curry has the reigns on the place every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night until the beginning of July. With an ever changing menu and locally farmed ingredients it was one of the more delightful dining experiences I have had in a while.
In a tiny space (I sort of felt like I was in a food cart) you were an arms length away from the chef and could see all of your dishes being made on a tiny grill top. For an appetizer we shared the rutabaga, beet and almond milk take on vichyssoise (a traditionally chilled potato and leek soup). It was pleasantly lightly sweet and was drizzled with a vibrant basil, parsley and lemon oil. We also had a mushroom tart that I was so excited for because of my love for all things mushroom that was quite disappointing. The mushrooms did not shine through at all and instead the vinegary greens that were in the tart were the most forward flavor. There was also spicy hummus on the plate that was good alone, but did not help to harmonize the dish in any way. The fettuccine with braised artichokes and white anchovy and capers was another dish we had. He used fresh pasta, but the anchovy taste was barely there and the pasta was a bit toothsome. I do give points for creativity though.
Butter basted Steak, chimichurri, and bleu cheese on top of braised celery and tomato magic (that is how he describes it on the menu) became the best dish we both had never tried before. This star of the show was taste volumes over all of the other dishes. We had it without the bleu cheese as my bf has a serious intense dislike for its assertive flavor. Without the bleu it was still faaantaaastic. You put the first piece in your mouth and we both looked at each other with the same look of have you ever had anything like this before? I talk about food all the time and this dish is somewhat indescribable. The flavor combination was so unique and yet it made all the sense in the world in your mouth. Chef Curry uses only organic grass fed beef so the texture, cut and marbling were wonderful and it was extremely juicy. The steak had this incredible crust on it that I could not believe he created just from a pan. It turns out he really does sit and baste the steak over and over with butter. He tilts the pan to the side and with a spoon he pours the melted herbed butter until it forms a succulent crust of greatness on the meat. All the elements work together perfectly, the fresh chimichurri sauce, braised celery and tomato magic are savory, slightly smoky and sweet. A bit of a fireworks show on your tongue. Later when you are out of the butter and meat flavor explosion daze you can't seem to even put your finger on all of the flavor profiles in that dish, but you know that your steak bar has been permanently raised.
This diner is such a find. I so encourage you to try it before his time there runs out, and if you can, see if that butter steak is still there. The chef, the small and attentive staff, and customers are just as excited about food as you are. It was really a lovely time and such a fun food experience right here in the valley.
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