Test Kitchen

 In your adventures of eating out, you should be on the look out for a key element that is critical to an enjoyable meal.  That element is fresh ingredients.  That is what drew us to the Test Kitchen restaurant.  Located at 10411 E. McDowell Mountain Ranch Rd.in Scottsdale.  Truly the complete opposite side of the valley from where we live.  The ingredients used at this place are gathered fresh from a local farm and thus the menu changes each week.  You can check out current week's menu on their Facebook page.

The meal consists of a set price for three courses.  You have a choice of one of three appetizers, one of three entrees and one of two desserts for that set price.  It is a small and cozy place so reservations are a must.  Patti chose for her appetizer the Italian Wedding Soup.  This had excellent flavor and took the chill off on a cool evening.  I chose the Grilled Eggplant and Mozzarella en Carozza with Puttanesca Sauce.  The eggplant and the cheese gave each other a great texture contrast but the true flavor was brought out with the Puttanesca sauce.

 For our entree I ordered the Grilled Veal chop on wilted kale with roasted red potatoes and Bernaise sauce.  This is where the true freshness of the meal shone through.  A fresh tender veal is a rare treat to find.  The bernaise sauce is definitely to die for!
 Patti went with the Pan seared opah on wilted baby bok choi in soy broth with daikon and mitzuna garnish.  For those of you who (like Patti) are not familiar with opah, it is a white fish very similar to a tuna steak.  Despite being in a broth the fish was a tad bit on the dry side, although still tasty.

For our final course Patti was drawn to the Chef Lou's mixed nut brownie with Udder Delights Chocolate Nutella Ice cream.  Being a huge fan of Nutella, she was intrigued in the concept of it being in ice cream form.  She was a bit disappointed when the server informed her that they did not actually have Nutella ice cream but instead it would be vanilla.  Obviously sensing her disappointment, the server informed her that the chef would try and make a nutella-like sauce that would go over the ice cream.  The brownie was more cake like but delicious and needed the ice cream to balance the texture.

I chose the "Four Cheese Cheesecake (not made in a factory)".  At first glance I was a little disappointed in the presentation of the dessert.  It looked plain and typical of a cheesecake, nothing out of the ordinary here.  That was until I took my first bite.  I am a cheese lover at my very soul and this cheesecake was exquisite in it's cheese flavor.  There was a tang of citrus that kept my going back for more and more bites until it was gone.

This restaurant was a hit and miss when it comes to ordering your food, but it truly does make a difference when you can tell the food is fresh.  So if you haven't tried from "Farm to your Fork", then try it now!