Bar food is a fickle master. Certainly, there is something to be said for simple American fare made from high quality ingredients and served hot and fresh by a friendly beer wench with a smile and a wiggle.
That said, so often today, the standard menu of cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches and cheese steaks is abused. The cheese steaks are poor and the burgers bland. With that in mind, one is prone to venture out to one of the higher classes of pub/grill establishements. Skeptical Chymist in North Scottsdale is one of these offering a bit of Irish flavor to tempt the odd fellow in search of beef and beer.
I have yet to see the aged Irish ex-pat responsible for this fine eatery. In fact, I have come to grow suspicious of the somewhat Disney appearance of the decor. Perhaps they tried just a bit too hard. The menu is a lively mix of Irish sounding dishes and the typical American staples. The servers are by and large female and attractive and for the most part friendly, but I digress.
The ruben, as should be expected is traditional and served with a large portion of thick cut fresh corned beef. Possibly a little dry, I would ask for Mayo or extra dressing. The fish and chips are served American style with smaller portions of breaded something or other or more traditionally, as large slab of half a fish in a nice beer batter breading. The stew sounds promising but we were warned away from it by the staff. go figure?
The highlight of the menu is the Belfast Burger. A large patty of quality ground beef cooked to order. Yes, you can get it pink and warm in the middle. Topping this burger is the magic. Grilled onions peppers and shrooms dripping with cheese. A large tasty bun, and a giant onion ring. It is truly a mouth watering delight and when served with an icey Carlburg Lager is sure to leave any Irishman worth his clover feeling sated and happy. A second Carlburg and a Car Bomb later and you will be ready to dance a jig with the lovely little brunette behind the bar aptly named Kelly.
The late night crowd is a disappointingly young group of college aged rugby wannabe's and their not so cute dates but lunch time is a pleasure and Happy Hour on the patio is a treat. Most of the TV's are wasted showing soccer matches off the satelite dish but I suppose it adds to the flavor of this very cute, satisfying, mental vacation to Irie.
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2 comments:
I do like the Belfast burger however can forgo the onion ring (overkill in my opinion). I've sampled the panini sandwiches, reuben and jerk chicken sandwich and while none were bad, the only thing I think of anymore at this establishment is the burger.
My experience with the service is "eh" - it could be simply that I'm not of the right gender however. haha
I do like the patio and agree lunch time is a pleasure and happy hour early is enjoyable.
The WiFi connection is spotty however.
After all this talk today I went with co-workers to the Chymist. I sampled the Irish Cheddar & Bacon Rasher burger. I prefer the Belfast burger still. I do give some leeway about the Irish Cheddar & Bacon Rasher burger however as I was not overly hungry and that could've lead to not being overly impressed.
I have now met one of the 4 gentlemen who own the bar - Trevor. Trevor is Irish (from Cork), one is Scottish and 2 are American.
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