The Culinary Dropout, Scottsdale AR

Ok, I passed by the place in the car and thought I had to go there! It was definitely a cool place with a great atmosphere and set up. I ate at the bar which was fully stocked and then some. They were your typical bar but as soon as you started looking around you could tell that the bar manager definitely had a passion and good knowledge for what he was doing. The bar featured a wide variety whiskeys and Tequilas as well as Mezcals. The beer selection was also not of the ordinary and was surprisingly good. I had the Abita "Purple Haze" from New Orleans, this beer was a perfect combination of a light amber ale with sweet notes to it there were very well balanced and not even close to being over powering. Very drinkable with little hesitation. They served all their beers in Pints and 20 oz. glasses. The other beer I tried was from SanTan Brewing called "Epicenter", a locally brewed beer from Chandler, AR. It was also good, a lot darker and had a bit of a bite.

The bartender's name is Rachelle, and is also very nice. The entire staff were friendly and very helpful, stress free. The feeling of the restaurant was very casual.

As for the food that I had a menu that fit the name to the "T". I started off with a Gorgonzola Chicken salad that had smoked almonds, apple, and a sour cherry vinaigrette. A perfect salad, the flavors and consistency of all the components came together for a nice elegant salad that still had the feeling of being suitable for a down to earth person. The smoked almonds, sour cherries and gorgonzola all were so good. There was also on the menu a separate list of cheeses that could be ordered and with no surprise were very good. I ordered a Spanish aged goats milk cheese called Garrotxa. This cheese was obviously, amazing. On the softer side, texture wise had a small similarity to Parmesan cheese with a pleasant lingering essence on the back of your palette. Paired well with cherry preserves, when put together the sweet notes of the cherries were showcased but did not take over the entire flavor of the combo. Beer friendly: Paired well with the Purple Haze.

As for the main course I had the Salmon that was served a top Fennel, Apples and Farro. Very nice flavor combinations, allowed for the fish flavor to be showcased with a nice sweet flavor from the Farro.

Before I left I had to try at least one of the Mezcals: Ilegal Repo Mezcal, which was apparently just released.

The nose: Very strong, smoky

The flavors: Medium smokiness, manageable heat, almost like a woody smokiness, and a soft flavor down the palette.

Overall I thought it was a good experience and would definitely recommend to other people who are coming through the area.