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| - Starlite BBQ and Whiskey Bar is a mini-restaurant/bar located off of Indiana School in South Scottsdale. The place itself is ran by the same team that's responsible for Ocotillo, a popular modern-American restaurant in Central Phoenix that was actually pretty impressive based on the one experience my girlfriend and I had dining there.
Going into Starlite, I wasn't really sure what to expect. The place is much smaller than I had imagined. If you're sitting indoors, this can either feel cozy or cramped depending on the crowds and where you're sitting. Our table didn't really have enough room to accommodate our food, so I suggest keeping long gaps between your starters and main dishes.
Much like Ocotillo, I can't speak for their craft cocktails, but only their food. For opening weekend, they were providing a complimentary plate of ribs to customers, which we were able to try out. I've never been a big rib person, but quality of the meat was good. They're using a unique sauce which tasted very similar to mole. I strongly dislike mole, while my girlfriend is a fan, but we agreed that it's probably not something we'd order for ourselves. Additionally, a cast iron skillet of cornbread was brought out, which was also complimentary. Although I've always been partial to sweet cornbread, while theirs is more traditional, it was still good.
We also decided to sample their McLendon's Farm organic vegetable board, which came with some pimento cheese which we both felt kind of neutral about. We probably played things a bit too safe in this regard, as it's really nothing but a bunch of raw vegetables.
Usually, when eating BBQ, my girlfriend and I prefer pulled pork. They offer chopped pork, which we assumed would be the closest thing. Quality of the meat was fine, but a bit gooier and wetter than we've become accustomed to. Whether that's good or bad is largely chalked up to personal preference. They have three different sauces that you can add. Our sides of fries and mac and cheese served in a cast iron skillet (they like their skillets here) were both done very well.
Our server checked up on us regularly, but for some reason, had the charisma of a wooden log. We decided to make an ultra-rare pass on dessert, as their options of s'mores, apple pie, and banana pudding were probably pretty similar to what we've sampled elsewhere.
Overall, I'm sure this place will do fine. It has a nice vibe and food that's above average in comparison to your usual bar/restaurant hybrid setups. But if you're going here specifically to seek out BBQ and using the other heavy-hitters in Phoenix for comparison, I feel it's a place that will ultimately end up blending in rather than standing out. As another reviewer stated, this is more of a chef-driven BBQ venture as opposed to a pitmaster serving up what most people are used to. And in the end, there's nothing wrong with that, I guess.
Recommended to check out.
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