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| - After a recent visit to Ling & Louie's Asian Bar & Grill ( http://www.yelp.com/biz/ling-and-louies-asian-bar-and-grill-scottsdale ) in Scottsdale, which was incredibly lackluster, we decided to give this new L&L concept a fair shot at redeeming the family name after hearing some great things about this new Biltmore spot.
Allow me to lay the groundwork, if you will, with a rundown of our first experience- certainly not meant to detract from the review being given to L&L Phoenix...
Their Scottsdale location left us wanting to go back to Pei Wei and never return... we were greeted by the bartender promptly, a hostess appeared next to seat us with little delay, and our server approached quickly with menus and offering drinks... all pretty good... and that's where it ended. The server was probably a nice guy- to his friends and maybe his co-workers- but had that attitude an employee can get when they would rather be somewhere else doing whatever else they thought was better than making money and taking pride in his professionalism. Was he courteous? Mostly. Was he quick? Well... yeah... too quick... and distracted... and hurried. Oh well, everyone has an off day, so I digress.
Finishing this up to move on to the well-deserved kudos, L&L Scottsdale's food, when it arrived (quickly enough), only served to further taint the experience we had... My dish was bland and unexciting, especially for a dish like Kung Pao, which should be spicy, savory, and leave you with a satisfying sting with each bite... KUNG POW! Sadly, even with my non-meat eating swap of pineapple and mango for the standard chicken, this was a Kung Pass :( My girlfriend's meal was no more exciting, having ordered the Evil Jungle Princess dish, she was left wondering if she had instead been served Glinda the Good Witch's Bland Chicken and Rice (Wait... there was chicken in there? Perhaps the Evil Princess ate it all before service?)
So, here we are today in Phoenix, appetites ready and palates cleansed...
We enjoyed a couple of frozen Happy Hour margaritas and opened our dinner with the fabulous Margarita Flatbread appetizer, also on Happy Hour... Very nicely done AND each for just $5? That just improved the taste! Shortly after, but not too soon and not too late, our main dishes arrived- I read another review which stated the portion sizes were "smaller than typical"...? Hardly the case, perhaps they were used to buffets?
My girlfriend chose to give the Evil Jungle Princess another shot... I think she may have a secret attachment to the name that touches her... silly girl... anyway, throughout her entire meal, she could not stop glowing about the vast and wonderful difference in the incredibly improved flavors of the dish- moreover, she was totally impressed with the sheer amount of chicken that was in this preparation, commenting on how nearly every bite she took, up to the very last, did not lack for that tasty chicken.
I, on the other hand, elected to forgo my usual Kung Pao plate and went with the Veggie Tacos- unique to the Phoenix L&L (likely due to its Black Chile Grill background)... What I received was three delicious mini-tacos served on tasty flour (my choice) tortillas, a bowl of borracho beans and a helping of sticky rice (NOTE: The regular sticky rice is made with chicken stock, so is not vegetarian friendly... thank you Manager for relating that to me before it was too late).
Before we ended our visit, we took a little tour of the building, courtesy of the Manager, when we inquired about their facilities in regard to booking parties and special events... and WOW... what a great place where one could host a fantastic meeting or soiree, with a lower-level banquet room with a 70+ person capacity and complete with upscale furnishings, total A/V setup, elevator service, remote bar top, and full-catering offered!
Reputation redeemed! While the Biltmore area has some great choices for dining and happy hours, I'd say that despite what a few other reviewers may want to lead you to believe, despite being part of a "national chain", Ling & Louie's Kitchen Phoenix is a go-to destination nestled within a crowd of other foxy places in the Biltmore ;)
P.S. For those who call Ling & Louie's Kitchen "Asian Fusion", well, that was your first mistake and where you probably biased your tastebuds... Guests slapped that label on the "menu"... Founders McDermott and Merritt call it "Asian inspired cuisine and American comfort food"... Fusion not included ;)
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