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| - A while back I got a chance to meet Chef Payton Curry and try his cuisine at Welcome Diner his short lived concept in Downtown Phoenix, incorporating planned obsolescence. Post Welcome Diner, Curry could be found making guest chef appearances at various restaurants around town as well as throwing "Guerrilla dinners" with his merry bunch of culinary misfits. Over the past few months Curry has been keeping his culinary skills sharp in the kitchen of Chef Charlene Badman at Scottsdale hot spot FnB.
Fast forward to Today and the first service at Curry's newest venture, Brat Haus. Nestled in the space formerly occupied by Oregano's Pizza, Brat Haus is spread out among two buildings with a "climate controlled" outdoor patio. (The 360 degree mister was a nice touch and quite refreshing on a hot day but I don't know if I would go as far as agreeing with our hostess that the patio is climate controlled)
First up from the Haus, a stone hearth pretzel I have been drooling over on Facebook for the past week. This rustic pretzel, served with grainy Haus mustard, is just what I had been hoping it would be (so much for maintaining objectivity). A combination of hard and chewy, kissed with the perfect amount of salt, the Haus pretzel does not disappoint. If I hear of anyone asking for cheese sauce to dip one of these happy little twists in, I may cry).
I've eaten my fair share of Bratwurst including a few while in Germany which were pretty memorable but over-all, i've just never eaten one and exclaimed "DAMN! that's delicious." Well, I can no longer make that statement as the Spicy brat ($5.75) topped with my choices of spicy peppers (of course) and root beer onions nestled in a chewy french roll just plain rocked. Juicy, flavorful and possessed of the perfect meaty texture, the traditional spicy brat is a winner. (there will be many more of these in my future)
Accompanying my brat were thrice-cooked belgian fries ($4.50/Large). Lightly seasoned frites, crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside as they should be, served with choice of dipping sauces (in this case truffle aioli and Sriracha Aioli), the Hause fries are not only a perfect companion to a brat but a necessity in my humble opinion.
Last but not least, the ubiquitous hamburgers, or are they? You will find a "regular" burger in the form of the Haus Favorite but that is where the "norm" ends. There is a brat burger i'd probably want for breakfast every morning consisting of a 1/3lb pork sausage patty topped with a fried egg and swiss cheese ($6.75) and the 800 pound gorilla in the room, the "Pig Mac."($7.25)
What's this you say? The Pig Mac? Let me get this straight, Curry thinks it's a good idea to combine a 1/4lb pork sausage patty with a 1/4lb ground beef patty topped with caramelized onions, bound with something called "Hush Hush sauce?" Well it's a good gawddamned thing Curry has the twisted mind he does because there are few things pork can't make better and apparently a juicy, well seasoned hamburger is one of them. I don't know why I haven't thought of doing this before but it works. This mingling of textures and flavors going on here is like the crossing of the proton streams in Ghostbusters except I didn't end up with marshmallow goo on my face. I must say, I would have rather had a traditional spicy brat split and perched atop my burger a bit more as I preferred its texture and spiciness to the patty but again, this is a winner.
It's about time someone broke the mold and opened a restaurant that didn't fall into line with the current trend of cookie-cutter concepts, frozen yogurt, cupcake shops and gourmet burger joints come immediately to mind. Curry and his Brat Haus have brought something simple, fresh and different to the Scottsdale culinary scene. (I'm sure others will follow in short order).
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