Hidden up a stone staircase, above a popular Gelato retailer, resides a soon to be not so unknown restaurant. With the food and service that is being provided at Second Story, you can be sure it will be a Scottsdale hot spot soon. Set up in the style of a yester year Speak-Easy, this locale provides more than libations. The food that the Executive Chef is creating is so tantalizing, that you might forget about the availability of liquor.
The menu offers many small and easily shared options as well as a select amount of Main Entrées. The shared plate menu items can be shared easily amongst more than two patrons. They also have a Starters menu as well, so this would be a great place to start your evening as you are enjoying all that Old Town Scottsdale offers the community. There is a real emphasis on using as many fresh and local ingredients as well as Organic when possible.
The first item we selected was from the Shared menu grouping. The Roasted Carrot Fondue ($11) is a vegetarian selection that may be short on meat, but is long on flavor. This dish is comprised of puréed carrots and mixed with Serrano chili peppers. It is than mixed all together with Pepper jack cheese and finished with a corn flake gratin crust. It is served in the baking dish and you are given assorted vegetables and bread to dip into the mixture. The vegetables consist of carrots, roasted broccoli, and roasted cauliflower. The bread was Pumpernickel-style bread, cut into cubes and perfect for dipping. The carrot fondue had an under tone of heat from the cheese and pepper, but was served with a Serrano pepper in case you want to add more pep. The entire dish was very robust and filling.
We then decided to order two items from the Main Dish section. The first one we enjoyed was the Tommy’s Famous Cast Iron Chicken ($25). To say that this dish was delicious would still feel like you are underselling it. I also have to say, this would be a very simple dish to share amongst three people. It is a very large braised half chicken that is so juicy and moist. It is served in the cast iron baking dish and adorned with seasonal vegetables, such as on this occasion, roast corn on the cob and cauliflower. It is also amplified by having the pan drippings for a pseudo gravy to swirl the chicken into. The other item that really blew our minds was the fresh biscuit. This is in the style of a drop biscuit and is created from an 18th century family recipe of the executive chef. If you have ever eaten a quick biscuit from a yellow grocery store box mix, it is along those lines. But taken to the tenth degree. I would go back and order this chicken every visit, even though there are so many other great sounding options on the menu.
The last item we enjoyed this evening was the Cast Iron Ribeye Steak ($65). This is a very large cut of beef that is sourced from Niman Ranch from Oakland, California. It was so tender and it was cooked to perfection. It had an added dollop of herbed Maître d’ butter to add extra flavor. It does not come with any vegetables, but it is so big, I am not sure there would be room for any in the dish. You can also opt to add one of the biscuits for an additional amount ($5). The steak was excellent but would feel like more of a once in a while, for an extra special occasion. This I mean as opposed to the chicken, which you may want to enjoy twice a month.
The wait staff is all dressed in roaring Twenties inspired outfits and you have a very intimate, yet relaxed vibe throughout the entire restaurant. It is known for its love of Whiskey, but I say forget that and enjoy the food. This chef is a wunderkind and I foresee many great things to come for him. So venture up the stone staircase to a culinary delight and eat with exuberance.
Location and Website –
4166 N Scottsdale Rd #102 Scottsdale, AZ 85251