I generally try to avoid fancy restaurants. Really, they just aren’t my thing. But special occasions call for special eats, and so I found myself at Citizen Public House in Old Town Scottsdale in need of some food. And then, like a week later I found myself back there again. No joke, it was crazy.
So on round one, I kept it simple. I went with the Jucy Lucy, which is an import from Minneapolis. But there was a twist to this Jucy Lucy in that it was stuffed with Velveeta. I don’t know if this means gourmet burgers have jumped the shark because Velveeta is inherently like the bottom of the cheese food chain or if gourmet burgers are now better than ever because they can get away with such a thing. Either way, I freaking love Velveeta and I loved this burger. Plus, it’s not like you really ever pay a high price for a gourmet burger because of cheese, you buy it for the meat and everything else and this burger delivered.
On my return, I went more all out on the menu. It began with their Kilt Lifter Fondue, which I assumed was made with the Kilt Lifter Ale and was not intended to lift any kilts. This fondue was served with Asian Pears, hunks of bread and sausage slices. Probably the biggest, and really only, problem the fondue had was that it was heated up by a candle. Sure, it looked cute, but in a restaurant with a whole section open to the great outdoors, the candle failed to stay lit and keep the fondue bubbling. Bubbling or not, though, there was nothing not tasty about this fondue.
For my main course, I ordered probably the best fancy pork I’ve ever had. It was called the Gypsy Pork Shank and it was smoke and salt cured, with fingerling potatoes and Hungarian goulash. The pork was massive and it wasn’t just about the size of this pork, it was the tenderness and flavor that just basically blew me away. All I needed was a fork to take this thing apart and anytime it got a little too rich, I had the goulash to tone it down with some alternative flavor.
Between the burger and the pork shank in two trips to Citizen Public House, I had two amazing meals. It may be a fancy place, but it’s a fancy place made for an unvegan.
