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| - My wife continues to be the 'Yelp Queen'. Many of our best restaurant discoveries while traveling are due to her ability to find these kinds of gems among the rubble of restaurants scattered around the city. She finds them, I write about them. This one gets 5 stars!
FnB presents original, gourmet foods like you'd see on those Top Chef TV shows, thanks to Chef and part owner Charleen Badman. The description from their FnB website says:"With a farm-focused menu and exclusive Arizona wine list housed in a charming, intimate setting, FnB has won the trust of diners the world over with its constantly-evolving, locally-sourced menu and a hospitable, unpretentious staff and setting."
It would be wrong to say that the menu is of a single ethnic style or a specific culinary influence - it's not French, it's not Southwestern, it's not Greek or Mediterranean, and it's not asian seafoods. Rather, it's exciting American cooking that includes all of those styles. Chef Charleen draws from ingredients that are locally grown and that change with the growing seasons. And what a treat it was!
Appetizers included duck eggs or lamb manti with yogurt, urfa butter, pine nuts and pomegranate or a cheese spread plate with crispy pita bread along with marcona almonds and elephant garlic.
We ordered several dishes priced between $8 and $15. We sampled the sweet squash with coconut milk dressing and thai hatch chili relish. We had roasted carrots with cardamon raita and cashews. I had a meat-filled filo shell that had hints of cinnamon, honey and pistachios. Everything we tasted was over-the-top delicious and original. We even lusted after the dishes brought to the neighboring tables - razor clams, pasta with sicilian sausage and even scallops. It all looked so good and by the smiles on the other customer's faces told the same story - it was all fresh, original and delicious!
The staff was equally fun. Shantal and Nate served us well and patiently described menu items, made wine recommendations from the Arizona wine list (yes, I was skeptical but they were VERY good!) as well attending to us in a warm, friendly fashion.
Then, just as we were about to leave at about 8:30PM on Sunday night, in walked a man and his wife with a bag full of the most interesting mushrooms I've ever seen. Chef Charleen, the staff and the kitchen crew all gathered around as he poured out the thick, chunky, colorful mushrooms that he hoped to sell. The casual, open atmosphere of the restaurant made it comfortable for me to grab my camera and join the little group gathered around the earthy fungi and snap a few shots. The Chef bought the whole bag by the way. I wish I were around the following few days to see how she ended up using them.
We loved the fresh, new foods we got to try and loved meeting the entire group of folks who make this restaurant a top choice. No wonder they've won so many awards.
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