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| - We found Fresh Mint while searching for vegetarian dining options in Scottsdale. It was a bit of a drive from where we were staying down on N. McDowell Road, but totally worth it!
The restaurant is a smallish (but very bright and cheerful) storefront operation in a large shopping complex a few miles north of downtown Scottsdale. The first thing that hits you, as you walk in, is "wow...something smells fantastic!" (always a good way to start a relationship with a restaurant!). Jasmine rice and ginger...one of my favorite combinations!
We chose to sit inside (there is what appears to be a good-sized patio seating area as well). I was very impressed by the décor, which was very bright, clean, and modern...despite the size and the location, it doesn't have the look or feel of a fast-food joint. Service was prompt, friendly, and knowledgeable.
It's always a bit overwhelming for us when we can eat anything on the menu without having to ask "does this have meat in it?" or "is this cooked with fish sauce?" so it took us a few minutes to decide what to have. We finally settled on an order of the fried imperial rolls to share. For our entrees, I went with the Golden Soy Chicken Delight (the words "ginger sauce" get me every time!) and my husband chose the Signature Lemongrass Curry (with the Japanese eggplant option rather than tofu). We were both pleased that they offer brown rice as an option (we'll eat white rice, but prefer brown).
Everything is prepared fresh to order there, so we'd expected service to be a bit slow, and were pleasantly surprised at how quickly our appetizer came out. The imperial rolls were absolutely delicious! The texture of the taro-based filling was perfect, and the slight sweetness was nicely off-set by the tasty, vinegary, sauce that was served alongside. A single order was perfect for two.
Our entrees came out shortly after we'd finished the imperial rolls, and it was love at first bite! I had planned to ask them if they make their own meat analogs and forgot, which is too bad, because the texture was unique and very pleasant (often meat analogs can have an unpleasantly chewy texture, but my "chicken" was nicely tender). The sauces were wonderful! Mine had a nice, gingery edge, and my husband's curry was deliciously complex, with a lovely lemony taste from the lemongrass.
Presentation was very attractive. If I have to nitpick, the one thing I would change is the ordering of the food on the plate. Both our entrees had the rice and the saucy, meaty stuff separated by a large "dam" of lightly steamed vegetables, which made it difficult to combine the entrée with the rice. The veggies were tasty and well-prepared, but there were too many of them and they were cut too large to make them easy to incorporate into the dish. I would suggest cutting them more finely and serving them on one side of the plate rather than between the rice and the "meat." It's a very minor point, though.
The restaurant doesn't serve alcohol, so we both had tea with our meals. Soft drinks were also available.
One interesting thing, that some diners may want to know about...the restaurant is certified kosher! I overheard the owner speaking with a Jewish couple at a nearby table and evidently when they opened in the area, an early patron strongly advised them to get kosher certification, as there is a large Jewish community in that part of Scottsdale. It's nice to see a restaurant that is truly sensitive to the needs of the community in which it finds itself.
All in all, a very pleasant dining experience!
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