Olive & Ivy - Scottsdale, AZ

It was a HOT 100+ degrees out in Phoenix, Arizona (I think it hit 113 degrees that day), and because I'm spoiled and lived in San Diego all my life, I was dying in the dry heat in the middle of July.

However... the weather does not stop me from experiencing a new restaurant for my food blog. I love that Phoenix has SO many mom n' pop restaurants so you can imagine how excited I get to try something new. I'm like a dog ready to go out for a walk or a ride in the car. Before you know it, I'm in the car. OK, bad analogy, but yeah, I was ready to get my grub on!

We were actually on the way to La Grande Orange Pizzeria for some crispy, hot thin crust gourmet pizza. The funny thing is that I consider pizza a "snack". I'll have two slices, and then I'm done with the flavor. One hour later, I'll get hungry again but for a new flavor. But for some reason, pizza sounded REALLY good this day.

And then we get there. What the? No pizza/baking until 4:00 PM? On a weekday? Monday through Thursday, to be exact. I look at the white board of lunch menu items. Salad. Eh. Sandwiches. Not bad. I wanted something warm and comforting. Yes, pretty random especially on a scorching hot day where I could fry an egg on my mother-in-law's SUV hood. Mike asked me, "So, do you want to stay here or go somewhere else?" I give him this look and said, "Um, yeah... we can eat here." The minute words come out of mouth, he replied, "OK, let's go."

My hubby knows me so well. Hesitation and my facial expression gave it all away.

I was now interested in a good ol' burger and fries.

We ended up at Olive & Ivy near the Scottsdale Fashion Square, this amazing shopping mall where the Nordstrom's White Chocolate Ice Storms taste better when it's hot out, and where they have a Dillard's and a BCBGMAXAZRIA store that has the best sales.

We entered through the Marketplace and noticed that they have fresh baked goods and a coffee counter. Yum. Olive & Ivy's flavors are influenced by the Mediterranean (hence, the olives) and the coolness of California.

This was a first. I had to "study" the menu since I did not research beforehand, but we all knew what I was going to order. I immediately ordered the Angus Burger (cooked medium) with aged cheddar and sweet caramelized onions.

Our server came out with freshly baked foccacia strips and this pesto dipping sauce that was simply divine. Simple: pine nuts, basil, parmesan cheese, garlic, and olive oil. Dee-lish. The bread came out warm and when I dipped it into the pesto sauce, it just soaked up all the oil & goodies in the sauce. It was so good.

YAY, my burger was served! It arrived on a fresh bun with a single large piece of butter lettuce, beautiful tomato slices, a plate full of thin, cut french fries and a little dish of Heinz ketchup (I can tell). The meat of the burger was cooked nicely and it was seasoned very well. The burger patty was warm and it was good, but if it was served five minutes later, it would have been cold. The fries were nothing to write home about because they seemed like frozen shoestrings, in my opinion. I tend to like a crispy fry, or one with obvious "depth" (not sure this is the word I am looking for), but these were a little limp and boring. Ho-hum.

I have to admit, I was a bit jealous of what Mike and his mom ordered. They both ordered the Braised Short Rib sandwich with Havarti cheese and a side of my FAVE, creamy coleslaw.

I know, right? Sounds way better than a cheeseburger, but I listened to my craving.

The sandwich was served with the braised rib jus on the side -- like a fancy French Dip. Oh, it was awesome. The meat was nice and tender, bread was fresh, and just like the foccacia sticks, the bread soaked up the jus making every bite of that sandwich one of the best things you ever ate. Jealous.


Well, my craving for a burger that day was satisfied although I started off craving pizza. I never got my pizza, but I was over it and went back thinking that pizza is just a snack.