Restaurant Review: Green

Last weekend before going out to see some good music, we stopped in at Green for a date night dinner out. Green is an excellent local restaurant in South Scottsdale, and it is completely vegetarian. We go pretty often, but I thought I would take a moment for a proper review.

This is a hip joint. There are always a bunch of cool kids hanging out and eating delicious vegetarian eats. There’s a neat indie local, sustainable vibe going on that helps make the whole environment so slick.

First of all, always check the board for specials (it’s above the cash register so you can’t miss it). The specials are a great opportunity to get some neat food and some of my Green faves have been from there. Next, be aware that you have to wait in line to order, get a number, and food will be brought to your table. Beverages are self serve either via a cup or getting a specialty soda out of the cooler on your way to the register.

As for appetizers, I am a huge fan of the Artichoke Gratine and the Spicy Buffalo Wings – that’s right wings. Through the magic of science, technology, and hippie ingenuity, we have the pleasures of fake meats. And at Green they are the best. Period. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it to date, but I am allergic to chicken. Since I only found this out a couple of years ago, and at the time I was eating the sweet bird probably twice a day, I miss it. I particularly miss it when it’s drenched in Buffalo sauce.

Green, however, manages to make an excellent Buffalo Chicken meal, whether it be wings or the “G” Sandwich (Buffalo Chicken sandwich) (I prefer it with the veggie ranch over the veggie mayo as I think that mayo is gross). Simply delicious. I think that various Asian noodle dishes are good, though not always for me, but the Oricciette pasta is always a winner. If offered a side, go for the Thyme fries. They are super skinny (sacrilege) but delicious. When we went, we got the wings and I paired it with a Balsamic Picnic Salad (small, no figs). It’s a great meal for going out because it’s light and gives you lots of great energy.

So basically, everything we have had here is good, if not great, if not phenomenal. The only thing we haven’t liked is the pizza. Soy cheese is an acquired taste that we just don’t have, but you might, so proceed as desired. The meat is fantastic here, but the cheeses are not my bag – I just love real cheese too much.

While I didn’t that day, I usually end the meal with a Tsoynami. They’re huge, wicked excellent soy blizzards. I have had everything from birthday cake to tiramisu to strawberry shortcake. Get one.

Plus, how can you not love a restaurant that does this. Love it. Even Muad’ Dib would approve.

Green to the Right

Green Up Above

Numbero 21 esta aqui

My Week in Food – Jan 21-27

This week has been really interesting for me with food. Michelle and I did our usual class. This week’s topic was “Fast & Fresh: Pasta.” I’ll be honest, I was pretty disappointed. They made a bolognese with 59 cent spaghetti and fancy jar sauce with fancy imported pasta. I can’t say that I thought that either was particularly good. I thought they were both bland. Also I thought that combining the jar sauce with fancy pasta was a cheat – even though it seemed to backfire in end. The class (usually 1 hour +) was done in 35 minutes and we booked it to the Old Town Farmer’s Market to get in on Truckin’ Good’s Duck Fat Fries. Totally worth it.

I also managed to snag a serving of Torched Goodness’ Salted Caramel Creme Brulee. I also managed to pick up some more great jam (grape, pomegranate, & plum), a couple of pounds of fresh grass fed beef, and lots of citrus. I have been on a serious grapefruit kick lately and am averaging about 2 a morning. So good. We also got some random veggies from McClendon’s and a killer glass of lemonade from the FNB tent. It was definitely a good haul.

I played Pathfinder in the afternoon, before having a Wizard People, Dear Readers viewing party. Since a few couples were coming over, I made two pastas, one veggie, one not and I can’t say that I thought either one turned out well. While my husband insists that seconds were being taken I was pretty much blah-ed out by the meal. What I did like was the impromptu garlic bread I made with homemade bread, butter, garlic, and Italian Seasoning. Yummy. After that it was a round of pumpkin ice cream for the group.

Sunday seems like it was really busy, starting with a fantabulous breakfast at Mac’s Broiler and Tap. I owe them a review, but I can tell you that I love this restaurant and that it’s one of my top five faves. It is a great community restaurant/bar/hangout/etc and I am down to eat there just about any time. This morning I had the Mac’s Original off the breakfast menu, subbing the hashbrowns for steak fries, and effectively creating a plate of ham and chips. Adding in a side of their amazing (literally best in town) medium wing sauce and it was perfect. After a quick trip to Hoodlums for some musica, and a massage (yay me), I had some church stuff to do and ended up eating Cheerios for dinner.

Monday, I had coffee at Into the Bungalow, a neat little coffee shop that I had only had the chance to check out once before, and I made my awesome tacos for dinner. Tuesday was tacos otra vez and then Wednesday, we had a fun work lunch at Contigo Peru, where I had the best Shrimp Ceviche I think I’ve ever had. Contigo Peru (review to come eventually) is a great little restaurant in Mesa and I really love the food there – especially the home made Alfajores. After that, we snuck over to Dori’s Bakery next door (go go gadget Apple Turnover) for a totally worth it batch of sugar, butter, and all around good cheer.

Wednesday night I went with a friend to check out a “Wild Dining” meetup group, who was dining at an Australian restaurant in Gilbert called Down Under. That’s a whole experience, but I’m glad I went. I actually didn’t get a chance to eat much, so I plan to go back, test it out, and then review it properly.

Yesterday, we went to Cost Plus to look at furniture and ended up walking out with some Dark Chocolate Salted Caramels and a bag of Haribo Raspberry Candies. After eating just about all of them, we met friends for dinner at Boulders on Broadway – a great tempe spot with killer waffle fries. I was really impressed by the Spinach Artichoke Dip. They served it with toasted french bread and chips and it was really tasty. The perfect combo of spinach, artichokes, tomato, cheese, garlic, cream, and spices. I was really happy with it. My sausage stromboli was good but super rich, and I ended up mostly eating fries with Ranch ( a throwback, I know) and just enjoyed my Mango Iced Tea (a must).

So that’s my week in food. A little here, a little there, a little late of a post, but still tasty. Enjoy.