The Dhaba

 This week's Fun Frank Friday is at the Dhaba restaurant on Apache at McClintock in Tempe.  Here they serve cuisine from India with a few surprises.  We arrived around 5pm just as they opened their doors and entered into a small dining room.  After being seated they were able to serve us our Coke drinks quickly.  For starters where more Western restaurants would serve traditional bread, here they serve roti which is  unleavened flat bread cooked to a crisp like a cracker.  It was served with three different sauces, a sweet tamarind sauce, a spicy cilantro sauce and a red hot chili sauce. 
We also ordered two appetizers but didn't realize how large they were.  Had we known, we probably would have only gotten one.  My appetizer was the Tokri Chaat which was a chef's assorted selection of street treats served in a bread bowl.  It consisted of quite the mixture of the different appetizers available.  There was a cornbread like ball of bread spiced with curry, a baked potato, beans, yogurt, green cilantro sauce and many other items that made this completely yummy.  If you are eating here for the first time I would recommend this appetizer to get a taste of true Indian cuisine.
 Patti was drawn in by the Halwa Puri with it's fried indian puff bread with a sweet dessert made with farina, butter and nuts.  The farina mixture is like a vegetable beaten to a pulp and mixed with a dab of syrup to make it stick together.  This was the consistency of a paste that you then put on the bread.  The spices were sweet and a tad bit like cinnamon sugar.  It was on the addicting side and you just had to keep eating it even though you might be feeling full.

Now that I was feeling completely filled, not even needing more to eat, I hear a sizzling plate come up from behind.  As the server set it down, you could see the smoky steam rise above my wonderful dish of mixed tandoori meats.  The Tandoori Khazana is an assortment of tandoori chicken, chicken tikka kebab, seekh kebab, and tandoori tiger prawns.  All three of these meats are cooked in a clay oven called a tandoor.  This gives a slightly tough outside and a juicy smoky flavor inside.  Each of the meats was seasoned and the seekh made from lamb and goat had the wonderful curry kick you would expect from Dhaba.

Don't ask Patti how to pronounce her entree as it escapes her comprehension, just plan on pointing to the menu if you order it.  She chose the Faislabadi Aam Murgh, a thick gravy sauce of spices with boneless chicken cubes and mango in it, served with brown basmati rice.  Our served asked us for our preferred spice ratings from 1 to 10 with 10 being the hottest.  I of course went for 5 while Patti choose a negative 1.  The best way to judge their spice level is to compare it to the sauces they give you with the roti in the beginning, for example we thought  the sweet one was like being a 1, the cilantro a 5, and the red hot chili being an 8.  We also ordered a side of garlic Naan bread.  That was yummy and it had a good strong garlic flavor on the flat bread.  Patti really enjoyed her meal but by the time she got to the entree she was too full to enjoy very many bites of it.
Those of you who are a little squeamish, this is your warning to stop reading here!  Once we decided that we were finished eating our entrees, I began contemplating the idea of searching the dessert menu to determine what exotic treat I would indulge in.  I caught some movement out of the corner of my idea and turned to see a two and half inch cockroach climbing up the wall next to our table.  I was surprised to see an uninvited guest at our table and discreetly notified a young man who helped clear and serve the tables.  He promptly took a napkin and firmly escorted the uninvited friend out of the dining area.  After this, most people would be mortified with these conditions.   But it would be only those who have never experienced eating in third world countries, who would not have compassion on the proprietor.  The food was excellent and so was the service up to that point.  As a customer I was hoping for a possible compensation on my meal or at least some sort of apology from the management and not just the mortified busboy.  If an apology would have been presented by management, I would probably return there again for the food.  So if you haven't had a chance to try indian street treats and you don't mind unexpected company, try it now.

The Prado restaurant

 Have you been looking for a slice of Paradise?  How about a place to go for a nice anniversary or birthday celebration?  Well look no further than  Prado's at Montelucia resort.  Here you will find an elegant atmosphere that lends an air of sophistication to any celebration.  The resort is nestled in Paradise Valley, with a red rock vista that makes for an amazing backdrop to dinner.  As we pulled up to the front doors we are greeted with valet parking, but don't worry the restaurant does validate for it.  We arrived promptly at 5:30 for our reservation.  As we were seated at our table, I was impressed that all the wait staff were greeting us by name.  Their service was impeccable.  I was even impressed that when Patti left to use the rest room, a bus boy stopped by our table and re-folded her napkin.  Although we were obviously assigned to Scott's table, all the servers who walked by our table were aware and attentive to our needs. 

Prado's does have an extensive wine list as well as other drinks and glad to hear that they served Coke products.  We started off with two appetizers.  The first one was a Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with citrus aioli and peppadew vinaigrette.  This was topped with a slice of clementine orange and served on a bed of greens.  The crab cake was light and creamy with plenty of crab meat which went well with the tang from the citrus aioli dipping sauce.  For appetizer number two, we chose off the Vasi portion of the menu a spread made of caramelized onion, tart cherries and balsalmic vinegar.  This spread is similar to a jam and is served with toasted bread and cracker.  The blend of the flavors of the onion, cherry and vinegar is very unique.  When you first place it on your tongue, your first sensation is tart which is followed by the sharp of the vinegar and then quickly replaced by the sweet of the caramelized onion.  I was not sure I would enjoy this at first but soon found that it was quite addicting and I couldn't stop eating it.
After watching so many episodes of Hell's Kitchen, Patti just had to order the scallops and risotto.  Although she was tempted by the grilled stone fruit options, when we asked the server his recommendation he answered scallops without hesitation.  This dish consists of seared sea scallops, cold water lobster served on a bed of fava bean risotto and citrus butter.  The scallops were cooked to a beautiful golden brown and melted in your mouth.  The lobster was tender and full of flavor and complimented well with the citrus butter.  We were especially impressed with the risotto.  The chef gave it plenty of roasted garlic that was thinly sliced so when you bit into it, there was more of a rich nutty flavor more than an overbearing garlic clove.  The risotto texture was creamy with a slight crunch from the fava beans.

 I, of course, had to go for something that was completely different from what you would be served in most Italian restaurants.  My pasta entree consisted of angel hair, mussels, clams, shrimp and fish in a spicy tomato broth.  This also included squid ink.  That's right I said "squid ink".  The squid ink is known to have iodine and strong iron flavor to it.  But for my meal, it appeared to be only to color the angel hair.  Each element of seafood was very tender which is a difficult task to accomplish well when cooking clams, mussels, fish and shrimp all in one dish.  The angel hair pasta made the meal very entertaining to eat despite the extraordinary look.  Don't forget to have your full glass of water close by because the spicy tomato broth packs a punch.

For dessert we decided to go with the Prado Sundae.  When we mentioned this, our waiter asked if we were by chance celebrating an event such as an anniversary or birthday.  We explained that we were celebrating our 33rd week of "Fun Frank Fridays".  When he returned with our dessert, to our surprised they had written "Congratulations" in chocolate on our plate.  He then said "Congratulations...on finding your new favorite restaurant".  Our sundae consist
ed of a vanilla gelato surrounded by caramelized bananas, amarone cherries and then topped with apple wood bacon, warm chocolate sauce, roasted almonds, whip Cream and a biscotti crumble.  Once again we asked ourselves "how can you go wrong with bacon?"  One of the neat things about this sundae was the hard caramel coating over the bananas.  This dessert had everything from smooth to crunchy, salty to sweet, hard to soft in a total yummy goodness.  No matter how much you eat when you go to the restaurant, make sure you save room for dessert.  The entire time we were at the restaurant, we felt like we were treated like royalty.  The personal touch of calling me by name is a step above expected customer service.  Most of you have not tried anything close to squid ink, but here is your chance to try it.  So if you haven't tried squid ink, try it now.

charr, an American Burger bar

 This week we travel north to an area called Moon Valley, at Thunderbird and 7th Street, to a place called "charr".  Move over Red Robin because this place is a true gourmet hamburger place.  We arrived around 5pm and seated quickly at a large comfortable table.  Our waiter came to our table and said those magic words we like to hear "We serve Coke products here".  He then whisked away to retrieve our sodas.  As we looked around the place, we saw that only three other tables were filled and two people at the bar.  You can always tell authentic restaurants by what is playing on the wall tv's.  For example, in a Chinese restaurant they will have an all Chinese program on.  So when I looked up on the wall and saw that the TV was on ESPN and showing baseball, I knew this was going to be a place serving truly authentic American food.

Buffalo wings are a American iconic food but here at charr, they kicked it up a notch with their "Charred Garlic Chili Glazed Chicken Wings", our first appetizer.  These are chicken wings that have been doused with a spicy sweet chili sauce and topped with green and red bell peppers.  It is served with a side of chipotle mayo for dipping.  The chicken was moist and juicy and complimented well with the sauce.  I did enjoy the amount of sauce that they put on, there was plenty for extra dipping if needed.  If the spicy chili sauce wasn't hot enough for you, then try the chipotle mayo.  Some people might say it will grow hair on your chest, but it for me it only created a five alarm fire in my mouth.

Ok, first dish down and my mouth is on fire, so what do I order next?  Of course the "Red Fresno Poppers".  These are fresno peppers that are stuffed with sweet onion cream cheese & cucumber slaw, served with a side of the chipotle mayo.  These peppers have a nice deep fried crunch on the outside, with a soothing creamy middle.  I was expecting these to burn my mouth right away but I put down the first one without a problem.  It had a little spice to it but I didn't think much of it, then I popped in a second one.  Whoa Nelly, now I could start feeling the heat!  I was even stupid enough to dip it in the chipotle mayo.  I do not recommend this without having a drink close by.

If you haven't noticed by now, I've been rolling with a Southwestern theme in my orders at this restaurant.   After eating my appetizers, I wiped the sweat from my brow in time for the main course to hit the table.  I ordered "The Phoenix".  This consists of hamburger grilled to order (I like mine medium rare) and topped with roasted green chili and char valley cheddar and of course more chipotle mayo in between a garlic knot bun.  My burger was cooked exactly how I like it, flame-broiled and still mooing on the inside.  The green chilis gave an interesting texture but not as much spicy heat as I had expected.  The kick mainly came from the chipotle mayo instead.  I did order a side of truffle fries.  French fries do not automatically come with the burgers, you do have to order them separately.  When they arrived at the table, the appeared to be the skinny, shoestring fries that I really don't care too much for.  But I was found that once I started eating them, it was almost impossible to start.  They had an incredible flavor from the truffle oil.

Patti had had enough of the spicy stuff so she ordered the "Carolina Barbecue.  This grilled burger is topped with a barbecue sauce that is mustard and vinegar based.  It also had applewood smoked bacon, jack cheese, whiskey carmelized onions, butter lettuce, hot house tomato, and a Bermuda onion to add between the garlic knot bun.  I also went for a side order of the house made onion rings.  Her burger came out a bit undercooked because she ordered it medium rather than medium rare.  The combination of the sweet whiskey onions and the applewood smoked bacon paired nicely with the tang of the barbecue sauce.  The house onion rings were beer battered and lightly fried are extremely delicious but I recommend that you eat them all at the restaurant because they didn't hold up in the reheating for left-overs.

charr gives a nice new twist to the old burger.  So when you are tired of same old burger places and you want to get some awesome wings, you should head over to charr.  Because if you haven't tried the truffle fries, you should try it now!

Havana Cafe

 It is getting harder and harder to find unique restaurants that have cuisine I haven't tried yet.  But I have found some of the smaller restaurants that have stood the test of time are some of the best places to eat in the valley.  This Fun Frank Friday, we took a recommendation from our friend Rosemarie and went to the Havana Cafe located at 4225 Camelback Rd in Phoenix.  This restaurant is known for its Cuban cuisine.  I personally have never had Cuban cuisine before and it intrigued me to see how it may differ from other Caribbean or Latin American cuisines.  From my understanding the food is a fusion of Spain and Latin American influences.  It doesn't have the hot spicy peppers and it includes more of the sweet fruit flavors.  We arrived at approximately 5pm and the place was small and had only one other table filled.  Normally this is not always a good sign but I was relieved that by the time we left, the restaurant was three quarters of the way full.

Our waiter came over and asked us what we would like to drink, we were happy to hear that they do serve Coke products.  Both Patti and I ordered sodas and one of the nice touches of this place is that not only did they refill our sodas frequently but they also brought extra over in a small carafe.  This is the type of service that we continued to see throughout our meal.  Our waiter was extremely knowledgeable about the food and professional in his approach.

After much debate, arguing, hem and hawing over which appetizer to get, we finally agreed on three of them.  The first one was the Maduros Fritos (sweet plantain bananas).  These were lightly fried to a golden brown.  The outside had slight crisp texture while the inside was a firm, sweet banana texture.  The next was the Sun Spots (sweet potato rounds) served with their house specialty banana guava ketchup.  The sweet potatoes were excellently cooked, fried to a nice crispy texture outside while maintaining the smooth potato inside.  The house ketchup is to die for!  Patti insisted on ordering these because she wanted to try the ketchup and I have to admit it was a good idea.  It was more like a sweet and sour sauce with a spicy kick amid a fruity flavor.  This combination with the sweet potato made for an incredible appetizer.  The third one was "Datiles con Chorizo".  These were medjool dates stuffed with Spanish chorizo then wrapped in bacon.  How can you go wrong when the menu says "wrapped in bacon"?  This is one of the most innovative appetizers I've had in a long time.  The idea of taking a small piece of sausage, placing it in a sweet date, wrapping it in bacon and then baking it, is pure genius.  The combination of the salty, smoky bacon with the soft sweet date complimented by the tang of the inner sausage makes for a mouth watering experience.  We loved them so much that when the time came to leave, we asked for two more orders to take with us.

Patti decided to go with the "Emparedado Cubano" (but please don't ask her how to pronounce it as she kept tripping over her tongue to try and say it.)  This is Cuba’s famous pressed sandwich with roasted pork, cured ham, mortadella cheese, swiss cheese and a pickle on buns that are then grilled similar to a panini.   On the side were moros which is a Cuban black beans and rice combination along side of  a heaping dose of french fries.  If you like cheese this is the sandwich for you.  The moros was an interesting mix of the beans and rice with rich spices and a slight tang.  I enjoyed the rice mainly because the beans gave it a new texture and the flavor was more rich than a typical Spanish rice and not as bland as a refried bean dish.

I couldn't decide on one dish.  I wanted to taste all the Cuban cuisine, so I went with the Havana Combination.  This plate included moros, tamal cubano, yuca frita, maduros, and ensalada de col.  Our waiter suggested that I add the masas de puerco for the inner carnivore.
The moros was excellent, the maduros or fried plantains were also excellent but a repeat of what we had for an appetizer.  So to get the root of the matter, let's talk about the yuca frita.  The root of the yucca plant is cut into strips and deep fried.  They have a similar taste and texture of a thick french fried potato.  Here is served with a drizzle of mayo on top.  This mayo gave just the right tang of the yucca.  Between the plantains and the yucca was my Cuban tamale (tamal cubano).  Most tamales I have had, the outside breading is just a vehicle to get the inside meat to your mouth.  It is just the opposite for this tamale.  I was surprised on the sweet fruity flavors.  The tamale had an excellent smooth texture and was well prepared.  The ensalada de col is a cabbage cucumber salad.  This salad was well minced with light flavor and perfect for cleansing the palate between bites.  Of course, I added the masas de puerco.  This was a few cubes of pork tenderloin, fried to a crispy brown with the center remaining tender and extremely juicy.  Here at the Havana Cafe you can expect excellent food and great service.  And if you haven't tried stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, you need to try it now.