The Mission (Scottsdale)

I read great reviews about this place so we took advantage of a night that we had to kill some time in Scottsdale, and of course, spent it trying this it out. Prior to eating here, we walked the surrounding area in Old Town and came across what we want to be our next Scottsdale eating venture.... Through large windows we gawked at people enjoying their dinner in this posh, modern, very cool spot with legs hanging from the ceiling. It turns out to be a Burger joint. Its called AZ 88. The menu looks great, the food we were checking out on peoples tables from the window was very tempting. But that is for another night.


Now here we are at the Mission. We couldn't have a table due to the busy eve...and it was a week night! So we sat at a community table that the borderline snooty server led us to, which was fine. We looked over the menu and ordered the Mission Mary while we scanned the menu. It was a bit pricey so we hoped it would stack up. Let me say, IT DID. It was the best bloody Mary I ever drank. (Thank goodness you can find how to make it on their website. Later at home we very closely mimicked it.)


 
We decided to split the fish tacos and ordered an extra one for $3 (we were mis-informed when we called. Earlier over the phone they said that you can pay and extra $2 and they will make this dish for two). So this plate of 4 small tacos was close to $20. Was it worth it?

Despite the irritation of the small tapas size, we were impressed. The fresh ingredients were nicely placed on top of the fried, battered fish, and the taste was delicious. 

We ordered the sweet potato fries, which were also very good. They were served with two dips. One was an aioli, and the other was a spicy ketchup. Both were very good (when is an aioli not good).

And we got a side of beans (they almost look like mashed potatoes) that had a lot of flavor.

Overall we were pleased with the flavors, and the quality of the food, and tell everyone about the "Mission Mary" we had there. The service, though, could be a little friendlier. I just dont see the justification of a packed out place with good food, pricey food at that, and the staff is too cool, and busy to be friendly. It is not an attractive eat out feature even if a restaurant does have a lot of hype.  

The Loving Hut

Our first trip to this 100% Vegan Restaurant.

Yes, I know this is not in Central Phoenix. But anyone who eats Vegan knows that this city is sorely lacking in Vegan choices as far as Restaurants and Bakeries go. For a city with so much happening, it is really taking a turn for the better. But, I will say I hope there are more Vegan friendly options (please give me some Vegan Pastries!) headed our way!

When we first walked in I was getting a little nervous at the fact that it felt a little too Kyoto Bowl for me. But over-all we were loving the food!

Heres what we got:

Chai

Pink Lady, I really loved the Rose Petals

It was taking a little long to get our drinks. But the little old Asian lady bringing us our food was so polite, how can you be mad.

They brought out a bowl of soup at the beginning of our meal.

Our Appetizer, Stuffed Fried Wontons. They tasted almost like pork! Full of flavor. We enjoyed.

My AMAZING soup dish. The "meat" was surprisingly good. The broth and the veggies are great and I especially liked the sea vegetable that resembled tripe.

The Hamburger! Very tasty comforting treat..

Are you sure this is not real shrimp? It was hard to tell this was not the real thing. The panko crumbles on top were good but a little on the salty side (coming from someone who loves super salty food), but that did not ruin this dish.

And for Dessert...

Fried Bananas..

..and Carrot cake. Just looking at this picture makes me crave the very creamy "cream cheese" icing on the top. My only complaint with the icing was that it needed more. The cake was moist and delicious. The carrots were a little stringy. When you take a bite the carrots just string out of your mouth, it makes it a little weird. But it was really good.

Mr Sushi or Akaihana Sushi Bar & Grill

We call it Mr Sushi. Why it has two names? I guess because this little Sushi place is owned by Akaihana Sushi Bar and Grill, but named Mr. Sushi. As far as Happy Hour goes, and even as far as good Sushi goes, I was surprised with the quality and the amount you get for the price.

(By the way this seaweed salad was half-eaten by the time I got to shoot a photo-and delicious it was!)

Blue Flame, and Tropical

Vegetable Tempura, Tootsie Roll, Fried California Roll,

and Spicy Tuna

 

And, yes, these are all off the Happy Hour Menu! The only downside, is that there is nothing with Eel on the Happy Hour Menu but dont let that prevent you from missing out on the rest of the great eats that are available!