Spring Training

Pink Pony has a new chef as of last Nov (?) and they are even better than before.

A quick report on the week in Scottsdale...in short, with one exception, everything we ate was at least just-fine; and in some cases, superlative. We would go back to any and every one of the places listed below.
• Oregano’s Pizza Bistro...we shared a great house salad and a pizza with spinach and broccoli. We brought left over pizza back to the hotel room for snacks and it was good even cold (“frat-boy style,” in the better half’s formulation). Fine local beer.
• The Pink Pony...dodged the main point by not having major grilled meats, sharing instead a pretzel & melted-cheese appetizer, herself having a burrata salad, and me ordering a Hot Mess, which I thought would be chopped up stuff with eggs on top, but proved to be an architectural arrangement of crisp tortillas, beans, green chile, etc. I was still thinking about this two days later. Also: a different fine local beer.
• The Courtyard Café at the Heard Museum. Her salad; me, pozole.
• Frasher’s Steak House and Lounge. Herself: I’d forgotten how good filet mignon can be. Me: char-broiled pork chop. BIG sides of al-dente broccoli and a refreshing mixed-grain salad they call “FGT.” Better than potatoes, that one.
• 5th and Wine: we shared plates tapas-style, stuffed mushroom caps, bruschettas (two, each cut in thirds), a lamb burger that the kitchen divided for us, bottle of Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon...
• Don and Charlie’s: more sports memorabilia than I thought existed in the whole world. Broccoli as a side dish to ribs!, choice of kinds of slaw!, whoever heard of such a thing. She had charred ribs, I had standard, both a lot of fun. Too much main course to consider appetizers or dessert... and damn! If they didn’t have great music on the sound system, serious jazz and a lot of it.
The exception: Anchor Lager beer at Scottsdale Stadium...which...well, we’re all (I trust) big fans of Anchor Brewing Company, their Steam Beer was the first major craft beer, Celebration Ale is quite good, their Christmas brews are a lot of fun. But the lager? A disappointment—which applies, as well, to the half case of it, sitting in the cold room of my house in San Francisco.