Mini-Review: Lindy's on 4th Avenue

For decades, mankind has strived to create the perfect burger. In modern times there are two schools of thought. There's the upscale approach, popularized by places like Zinburger, that insists on Kobe beef, fancy oils, and only the best ingredients. And then there's places like Lindy's, which take a simpler approach. They don't beat an eye at using potato rolls from Safeway or even, shudder, frozen patties. And yet they still manage to turn out sublimely tasty burgers, as good if not better than their hoity-toity competition.

Lindy's is parked just south of 6th St. on 4th Ave., smack in the middle of the bar scene. Inside are various objets d'art created by local artisans. There's beer on tap and a sports game on the flat-screen most nights. The menu is filled with lavishly-topped, cheekily-named dishes. The Mac n' Cheese Burger is a favorite: it comes slathered with tiny macaronis, melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion. The Dirty Sanchez is the perfect hamburger for spicy lovers: it's loaded for bear with jalapenos, pepper jack, guacamole, and chopped green chiles. It's one of those burgers where every bite is laden with juicy, spicy goodness. Its main disadvantage is that it tends to be quite messy. A side effect of all that guacamole is that it tends to expel quickly onto the plate. All the better for the fries, one might counter. Lindy's fries are decent, but unexceptional, and probably pre-frozen. The main attraction here are the burgers.

Not in the mood for a sloppy burger? Stumbling back from the bars and craving a quick bite? Lindy's has you covered: their corn dogs are excellent and cheap. For under $2 they sell Coney Island-style dogs crisped to perfection. They're the perfect impulse buy.

Lindy's claims to have the best burger on 4th Avenue: a modest claim, yet well-founded. They might even have the best burger in Tucson.

A Tale of Two Salads

"I think this is a canal," she said. "After all, this place is called Canal, isn't it?"

"No, I think it's a runway." We were looking at the peculiar glowing blue glass elevated platform that ran next to our table and divided the dining room in half. On the wall, a series of mounted flatscreen televisions ran endless fashion shows.

Turns out it was a runway, a very small one. Canal is a painfully hip bar, restaurant, and part-time fashion runway in downtown Scottsdale. The waiter tersely informed us that the happy hour specials were for bar patrons only, so we decided to order a few salads and save the $5 Tanquerays for another day. I ordered a Caesar salad and my companion chose the Nicoise tuna salad.


The Caesar was serviceable, certainly picturesque, but the chicken was too dry. The Nicoise, however, was divine, with lightly seared ahi (which I would have preferred to eat raw) and crumbly, moist fingerling potatoes.


Oh, and at the rear there was a staircase leading to this peculiar candy store and fashion emporium. Weird.

The Green Fairy and Stuffed Squid

A friend recently told me she was going to Phoenix for a few days and wanted to know where to go. I was slightly embarrassed to say I had no idea. I don't know what's cool in Phoenix anymore. Or Scottsdale, or Tempe, or in the dark part of the city west of 7th Avenue I like to call Mordor.

But tonight I was dragged to Digestif, in Scottsdale, and found some cool things, notably absinthe:


and chorizo-stuffed squid bruschetta:



More later.

Mini-Review: True Food Kitchen

Speaking of clockwork, every Sam Fox enterprise I've ever been to operates with the lash-induced precision of a Korean animation studio. True Food, Sam Fox's latest restaurant and partnership with holistic healer/professional beard/popular bear fan fiction subject Andrew Weil, is no different. Even though the place has the decor of a laid back San Francisco juice bar, from its warm green and yellow paint scheme to the plain tunics worn by the wait staff, True Food is all business. It's tucked away in the Biltmore mall in Phoenix, where the Coffee Plantation used to be. When we arrived, we were immediately seated, and a friendly server explained True Food's mission and the menu. Interested parties can read the website for more info on Weil's eating philosophy; in short, True Food stresses local-grown produce, sustainably raised cattle and fish rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and other good stuff.

We began with smoothies freshly prepared by our server. I chose the T-Eight, a cocktail of tomato, celery, ginger, cucumber, golden beet, apple, carrot, and parsley ($6), and added a shot of organic vodka for $3. My companion ordered the Ginger Nojito: mint, ginger, lime, honey lemonade, and soda water for $4. I preferred the T-Eight slightly more, but both tasted light and went down easy. We ordered the herb hummus with pita bread and Greek salad ($8) as an appetizer; I selected the salmon sandwich ($14) as my main course, and my companion selected the steak tacos with anasazi beans ($14, $5).

The hummus was zippy and fresh. Made several times daily, along with the pita bread, it is a house favorite -- and with good reason. The cucumbers and tomatoes in the salad were equally tangy and delightful. Our server pointed out that the dish would be vegan if the feta cheese were removed, and that it is a favorite of "raw" diners. To that point, the entire menu is very friendly to vegans, vegetarians, gluten-free eaters, and people with allergies. Each menu item is marked according to its suitability for various eaters, and the kitchen is happy to make substitutions.

With little pause, our main courses arrived. The salmon sandwich was served open-faced with shiso, lime, avocado, and cilantro aioli, and a side of sweet potato hash. Cooked to perfection, the salmon yielded gently under my fork, and was perfectly moist and juicy. The sweet potato hash was a Platonic side dish: perfectly prepared, not too sweet, not too memorable, and above all else it did not distract me from the main course. My companion reported (and I confirmed) that the steak tacos were similarly juicy, although I found them a touch too salty. Although she enjoyed the tacos, she felt they were "a little too Chipotle" (which I take to mean they were too conventional for her tastes). The beans were quite well-done, if perhaps a touch soggy. Up to this point, I was surprised that so-called health food could be this tasty.



For dessert, we tried the orange olivello sorbet. Olivello juice, derived from sea buckthorn berries, is a powerful anti-oxidant. True Food claims to be the only restaurant in the country that provides this juice and features it prominently in several dishes. We found the dish powerfully sweet, more than I typically enjoy. This dish, like all the others, was excellently prepared and served promptly.

I greatly enjoyed my meal at True Food Kitchen, and I'm happy to know there's another restaurant I can take my vegan friends to without reservation.

Shrimp Toast

This was Christmas Eve dinner at Cafe Pacific, my favorite Chinese place in Tucson. Near as I can tell, Cafe Pacific is run by two people, and they run it like clockwork. This is one of their unique concoctions, a delightful appetizer that combines two of my favorite things into one delicious, tasty morsel. It is a fusion of fish and bread that looks both adorable on the place and yet slightly unnatural, like a specially bred fish you might find in Willy Wonka's artificial sea.



om nom nom nom

Zinburger - mini review

Zinburger opened last month in the spot formerly occupied by Bistro Zin, on River Road west of St. Phillips Plaza. Like its predecessor, Zinburger is owned by Tucson-based restaurant powerhouse Fox Restaurant Concepts. Unlike its predecessor -- a ritzy contemporary cuisine joint -- Zinburger focuses on burgers and shakes. Or to put it more accurately, burgers and shakes with that gilded, upscale, au courant gloss that Fox RC is so famous for.

Zinburger is essentially a more focused version of Fox's late Metro Grill, which was also heavily burger-oriented. Pastoral pictures of cows line the walls, and a stylized cow logo sits perched over the entrance. Small flat-screen TVs tuned to various sporting contests are spread across the dining area, concentrated near the bar. The place was packed when we arrived at 6 pm. The hostess ushered us to a common booth area that was slightly cramped. Our server was friendly and attentive, although service in general was quite slow; I suspect the staff is still working out the kinks of their floor service.

The menu is simple and uncomplicated. Burgers and shakes are the keystone, supported by an array of sides. I chose the Kobe burger with wild mushrooms and cheddar cheese, and omitted the mayo in favor of maple bacon from the extra topping menu (extra toppings are $1 each and include jalapenos, bacon, mushrooms, and BBQ sauce). My companion chose the Samburger with American cheese, maple bacon, and thousand island dressing, and added mushrooms. As a side I selected the double truffle fries (truffle aioli and truffle oil). I chose to forgo the shakes (which looked imposing and delicious) and ordered a beer instead.

The burger was marvelous: a perfectly-prepared, half-pound patty of Kobe beef, cooked medium rare, and bursting with flavory, meaty juices. But at $13 (plus $1 for the excellent maple bacon), it damn well better be. (The Samburger is priced at a more reasonable $10.) The truffle fries were equally marvelous, deeply fragrant and rich. Once again though, at $5 a basket, there's little margin for error. Each hamburger is presented well, with a heaping of pickles and container of ketchup.

Overall I was quite pleased with the food, less so with the prices and slightly sluggish service. I am anxious to try those shakes, however. Perhaps alongside a second helping of truffle fries.