Great review, E. We ate at Eddie's House a few weeks ago (second visit) and once again we were very dissapointed. Maybe we need to try the seder next year. I used to love Eddie's prior restaurants on 7th St and later on Camelback and 24th St. Unfortunately, our two trips to the new place have both been well below average to the point where we really don't plan to go back for a while. It's a shame since I like Eddie so much, but when he's not in the kitchen the food and service seem to really suffer.

Barry

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Eddie's House
7042 E Indian School Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

I'm far from an Italian beef sandwich expert, but holy cow Al's is good! We tried it last week after reading this entry. Easily the best I've had in my limited experience. Even my wife, who doesn't really eat red meat, thought it was outstanding. i was reminded today when she called and asked me where Al's is located (I got it to go last week), so she could stop by for lunch today.

I just saw a Man v. Food two weeks ago with a segment at Al's in Chicago. It looked so good. Then i discovered we have one right here in town. I wish they made the onion rings at the one here.

Great place for a sandwich. Dipped definitely makes it. I had mine with hot and sweet peppers. IMO, much better than Luke's.

Barry

I had lunch there today. The space has been completely redone and looks sharp. It's only been open a few days and things are not running perfectly yet. I'm sure they will knock out the bugs. Overall, my experience is pretty close to ejs. That said, I liked Methode Bistro quite a bit, and the chef/owner here is the same.

I ordered the sweet and spicy burger ($10) which is supposed to have candied jalapenos and fried ratatouille on top. Sounded interesting and the waitress said it was great, although when I asked her how they fried the ratatouille she looked at me like she had no idea what I was talking about. My friend ordered the blt steak burger ($10) with bacon, tomato, etc. We also ordered the herbed fries ($4) and the duck fat fries ($5). The waitress returned a little bit later and apologized that the duck fat fries hadn't been prepped yet. She brought out an extra order of the herbed fries on the house. She was very nice and responsive throughout.

I ordered my burger medium rare. The burger itself is quite large and thick. Mine was closer to medium, but I thought the meat itself was excellent. Very well seasoned ( we could really taste the pepper). It was a little dryer than I expected, but the flavor was very good. The bun is also big, which makes handling the burger difficult. I was able to pick it up and eat it, but my friend resorted quickly to a fork and knife. This bothered him to know end (he did not like the bun).

The toppings on both burgers were disappointing. Mine were almost non existent. I literally looked around to make sure they were they under the micro greens. I could barely taste them at all. That's not good when the toppings are obviously such a big part of the menu item. Also, I didn't notice the slivered red bell pepper or anything else looking fried or crisp at all.

My friend had the same complaint. He couldn't taste or notice the house bacon until he lifted the bum and looked around. The bacon looked very fatty, limp and soggy. He thought his burger was dry. The condiments are ordinary ketchup, yellow mustard and mayo.

The fries were somewhat medium thick with a little herb flavor, but not much. They were for the most part soggy, and almost seemed like they had been sitting around a while. We were the first table in the place for lunch today, so I find that hard to believe. Not memorable at all.

Ice tea and soft drinks are $3. (you can also get a PBR draft for $3). Our bill was $32.75 for two burgers, one fries and two drinks (before tip). Pretty pricey for lunch. I thought the beef itself was very flavorful, but everything else brought the experience down quite a bit.

I would not recommend this place over Delux. We're going to try ZinBurger soon, but with the burger competition in the area, they are going to have to do better to sustain a lunch business at these prices. My friend already said he won't be back.

There is a long bar that consumes the wall for half the length of the narrow restaurant with flat screen tvs above the length of the bar. The space is very cool, and I could see having a drink here after work or late night if I lived nearby. Hopefully, they get the food right.

Barry

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Delux
3146 E Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Methode Bistro
6204 N Scottsdale Rd Ste 107, Scottsdale, AZ 85253

I went there a week or so after they opened but before they started serving dinner. Very cool, retro vibe inside. Wood floors, a few circular leather banquettes, old school furnishings and lights.

We got there at 7:30 for a pre-dinner drink. It was totally empty. The waitress told us it fills up around 11pm. We asked about wine or a wine list, and she told us they don't really have wine. She said they have a red and a white, and offered no other information at all. Our friends arrived after us and asked the same question. I watched as she said it again, to their amazement.

I ordered a scotch on the rocks. My glass was filthy, like it had never been cleaned. Lipstick, water stains, nasty. The waitress was no where to be seen, so I went to the bar and showed the bartender. He poured me a new drink, but didn't apologize. I was half expecting him to pour the old drink into the new glass.

I like Aaron May a lot, and we always enjoyed Sol y Sombra, but this was pretty bad. I think they are looking for a young, club crowd with bottle service, lines out front, etc. I didn't try any food (which they are now serving), but if the service we received was any indication, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a good dining experience. They were only open a week, but if you open the doors you should be able to pour a drink in a clean glass and train the staff enough to at least bring you a wine and cocktail list.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has been there since and tried to food.

Barry

Ah. I missed that discussion. I wouldn't think of FnB as a gastropub either (I hope I'm not insulting anyone). I agree with your assessment, hohokam. It's a cool little restaurant, great food, great service, great value. We went there shortly after it opened and had a wonderful time. I meant to post about it here, but never did. I think we'll be back on Saturday. (Did I just hijack my own post?).

Two great new places, The Main Ingredient and FnB. Locally owned by people in the industry for awhile, both opened smoothly and professionally, and I think both will become fixtures in their respective neighborhoods.

I was actually there two weekends ago and it happened to be the grand opening. The place was open for a month, but I was able to get in for the party. I also went back on Sunday morning as my friend made a quick bet on the Cardinals v. Colts (big mistake).

The food at the party was very good, although I don't know much of it is on the menu. This is a sports book/restaurant/sports bar. TVs everywhere. The stadium section has teired, sofa seating facing a giant screen with 12 smaller screens surrounding it. This is where you want to be to watch all the games. However, there is a $50 per person PER GAME F&B minimum. So if you want to spend the day watching college football, each person in your party must spend $150. That's a lot of beer and wings. If you don't mind the minimum, the place is fantastic. You can reserve an area (sofa, chairs, table) for your group, waiter service right there and frankly about the coolest sports book ever. The betting windows are at the base of the stadium. There are many other seating areas around the facility. Some have the $50 min, too, but others have no minimum at all. There is a tv for almost every seating area, so you can watch what you want. There is also an outdoor patio right on the strip with the same seating.

The Sunday morning we left the place was packed and every seat and table were accounted for. I'm guessing reservations are required on the weekend. The menu looks good with updated takes on sports bar food. Please report back if you go.

Barry

We had breakfast at Over Easy on Sunday, as well. We arrived around 8:45 and were able to grab a booth inside right away. The service was very friendly but quite disorganized. It was their first weekend open, and not unexpected. I could see the servers did not know the table numbers yet, as they kept coming to our table asking if the food they were carrying was ours. We waited a bit long for what we ordered, but really not too bad. The waiter forgot one thing we ordered, but brought it out quickly once reminded. The line waiting definitely started to get longer, and there really isn't much of an area to wait other than along the window or in the middle of the room. The "overflow" room, as they called it, was in use and full when we left. That room has a more generic feel and not the retro look of the small main room. The patio is very cool, if you can get a table there. I liked the main room, too. It seemed like there was a lot of empty floor space, and our waiter confirmed they have more tables on order. Seems like they can easily fit more tables outside and in the main room.

That said, the food was very good. They have a very inexpensive kids' menu, and my sons enjoyed the chocolate waffle and Reeses Pieces pancakes (each $3). We got them a kid side of fruit and tator tots ($2 and $1) and they ate it all.

I had the lox, onion and egg scramble, which was very good ($10) with choice of potato (hash browns were good, well seasoned, not the best ever) and a piece of rye. My wife had the steel cut oatmeal and coffee, and she liked both.

I liked Over Easy, and we'll be back, although I don't think we'll stand around waiting if the line is ridiculous. The food is very good, but not mind blowing, and I'm sure they will work out the kinks in time. The patio, however, would be a great place for breakfast this time of year.

Great spot, but I'm afraid it's going to be packed once everyone realizes they're open. Go early if you don't want to wait.

Barry