Band of Banderas

It is nice to be back in the world of good food, good service and an ambience that adds to the dining experience... Bandera 3821 N Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Only one word comes to mind when I think of Bandera: excellent. Although we had a bit of a time parking in Old Scottsdale, and there was a few minutes wait, the experience was worth it. In fact, the biggest problem with the waiting time was the fantastic smell, which made 5 minutes seem like an eternity. Talk about your Pavlovian Response.... Rachel, our server, promptly greeted us - such a little thing, but something that is a rarity these days. In fact, as I sat there watching the staff, I realized that they had another quality that you just don't find in many restaurants - teamwork. It was amazing to see how well the servers worked together to make all of their jobs more efficient. Let me take a moment to mention one of my pet peeves, the empty glass. I can make quite a few "allowances", if only my glass is full through the whole meal. The Bandera crew was AMAZING in this area. All of the staff teamed together - a server who had the section next to ours brought me an iced tea... none of the "its not my table" attitude. I was floored. I was never without a half full glass. This is one of the greatest accomplishments I have seen in the food service industry in quite a few years. Even if the food was less-than-stellar, which it wasn't, I would come back.... and THAT is saying something. Our "Dip Duo" appetizer featured a wonderful Chipoltle Pimento sauce - highly recommended. Diane had the lamb sandwich, which was cooked to perfection. I went with a slightly less carnivorous selection... One warning here: vegetarians need not apply. Bandera is all about meat. Diane's cole slaw, with its peanut oil seasoning, was worth the price of admission and the sweet croutons in my salad were notable - something you rarely say about a piece of stale bread! Sadly, we were too full for desert... Professional staff, nice decor, FANTASTIC service, melt-in-your-mouth-good food and the smell... oh, the smell.... enough to convert a patchouli wearing vegan into a carnivore.... Bandera gets a 9.5. We will be back.

On The Road Again

One year, one month and four days later, I return to the scene of the crime. Diane and I have been busy moving back to Arizona, remodeling the house and - as usual - finding the good, the bad and the very, very ugly.... as far as food goes, that is. Our adventures have taken us South of the Border to La Reforma in Agua Prieta, Sonora... to Phoenix's Biltmore for Sam's Cafe... Marathon, Texas gave us Valentine's dinner at the Gage Hotel's Cafe Cenizo... To Sunland Park, New Mexico for the State Line BBQ.... Corrales, New Mexico for the Village Pizza... the Rocking V in Kanab, Utah... and even local Bisbee attractions such as Cafe Roka, Santiago's and the High Desert Market. For the bad side (you know there has to be one), there was some random Mongolian BBQ place in Tucson that was not even good enough to remember the name... and we didn't have to go far for the very, very, very ugly - Bisbee's own Banditos and Lawmen. We are starting out on the "Big Adventure" of 100% travel. So, stay tuned... we are back... and better than ever....

The Best of Augusta For Real!

Really! No kidding – the best meal we’ve had in Augusta! On Friday David and I made our way downtown to the White Elephant Café on Broad Street. Charson our favorite sushi chef from Matsu Sige had recommended it and knowing that he was also the chef at the Café we had really high hopes for a good meal. For once we were NOT disappointed! The White Elephant has all of the things we look for in a dining experience and at a great price too! The service was right on the money. Our waitress Nicole had an engagingly quick wit and was equally speedy on the delivery of food and beverages. No lollygagging going on at the Elephant! We were also greeted by Jai the owner, and Charson and I was reminded that it is the personal touch that makes the real difference in how a restaurant is run. I noted that other customers were greeted warmly as well and it made no difference if they were old friends or newcomers. All were made to feel welcome. The décor and ambiance is tasteful with a hint of humor and clean scrubbed to a shine just like we like it! The ladies room had some eyelevel framed wisdom to impart…Flush your troubles away…Words to live by! I’m mentioning the food down the bottom again as I often do but in this case because it’s nice to save the best for last. The food was excellent! The starter of sweet potato fries had an incredibly good chipotle dipping sauce. The salads were slathered with a rich, garlic loaded potion that I could slurp by the vat. I had the Peach Filet en Croute – rare – and it was actually perfectly cooked! It was seared on the outside and juicy red on the inside, tender and flavorful topped with a not to sweet peach glaze and sliced peaches. David had the meatballs with couscous – savory meatballs on a bed of fluffy couscous with a fruity-spicy chutney on the side. Both meals vanished without a trace in record time! The only minor nick was the coffee that was not quite on par with the rest of the feast but next time we’ll try the espresso which I suspect will be excellent. Unfortunately the ample portions left us too full for dessert so we’ll have to save that for our next trip….and there will be a next trip very soon I assure you! I’m giving The White Elephant a 9.5…the Best of Augusta on our list and a restaurant that would stand up favorably to good food anywhere!

Our other "10"...

Today we went with Dad to Watchmaker’s at the Fitzpatrick Hotel in Washington Georgia. It really has become one of our favorites. Their Sunday brunch is just excellent. I’ll have to admit it’s not the most opulent brunch buffet I’ve ever visited but everything they do they do very well. The decor of the restored hotel is lovely with brightly polished wood floors and paneling complementing mellow gold walls covered in tastefully framed watch memorabilia. It's not stuffy or pretentious, just quietly elegant. We arrived ahead of the after-church mob and the place was virtually empty. We were greeted by the hostess with a smile and a “well you’ve been here before so I sure don’t have to tell you what to do”! She’s right, this is our sixth return trip to Watchmaker’s and for good reason… they have great food. This visit was no exception with the highlights being a succulent traveler’s roast pork, superb squash casserole, crispy fried chicken, their specially stone ground grits with creamy shrimp sauce and so many other treats to numerous to list…. The service is always good, but today it was even better than usual. We just had to raise an eyebrow and someone was there to refill coffee or cheerfully fill a request and as the platters on the buffet emptied they were instantly refilled. Dad commented that it was almost like they were reading our minds. All of that would be saying something when they were in the almost empty phase but the fact that the superb service continued even after the place filled to capacity is a testament to how well this staff has been trained. The chef was there to oversee the whole affaire and came by to ask how we enjoyed our meal. It was nice to be able to tell him that it was excellent and mean it whole heartedly. We shall of course return………!

Finally, a 10!

Gorizia Worthington Springs, Florida I am having trouble believing it myself. Driving to Cedar Key, Florida on Thanksgiving Day, Diane and I thought we were going to be relegated to eating at - of all decrepit places - McDonald's. It seemed that Mickey D's was the only place cruel enough to have their employees working schelpping McFood, rather than eating turkey and dressing with the family. Our route took us down US Highway 1 to Folkston, Georgia (gateway to the Okefenokee) and from there GA 121 to the Florida state line and FL 121 down to Gainesville. As we crossed Interstate 10, Diane made some rumbling about stopping at the next open McDonald's - out of sheer desperation. I think that her hunger had somehow weakened her mind. The hunger had maddened me as well - I was going to stop. That all ended when we rolled into Worthington Springs, Florida. I am pleased to announce that Gorizia: real Italian Restaurant has received a 10. Let me say that one more time... Gorizia: real Italian Restaurant gets a 10! Stop me, I must be dreaming! We were at once impressed with the eclectic Florida tiki bar motif - not exactly what you would call rural Tuscan....but, then again.... who cares?!?! "No Preachin' No Politikin' No Whinin'" are the rules of the house...good with Diane and I, we are sick of all of the above. It looked like it was someone's house - and I suspect that it may be. Open on Thanksgiving? "Sure...why not...come on over to our house for dinner" was the attitude we found. We ordered - at the owner's recommendation - the lasagne special for $22 for two. At first I thought that seemed a bit high. Of course, that was until I got the first course: a plate o' salad with handmade balsamic vinaigrette and feta cheese. This was a mound of salad! Then came the rolls. Let's just put it this way, there were no vampires stalking us for a day or so after eating this mound of bread. These are the kind of garlic rolls that just ooze butter and garlic down your hand. You have to use a napkin just to eat the bread - that is my kind of roll! By the time the lasagne got there, I was ready for the finale. The entree did not disappoint! A big ol' plate of lasagne that the lady hand cut and personally served to Diane and I.... this was too much to hope for! A place with good food, prompt service AND nice people! I cannot recommend Gorizia any stronger! John will make you a good Italian meal and then sit down and talk about...stuff... with you. According to their web site: "Don't see it on the menu? Just request it! If we have the ingredients...we'll make it." I fully believe that to be true. This is one good place...sorry to keep repeating myself... Toto, we are not in Georgia any more.