After a full day of shopping Fashion Square, we went to try Sweet Republic. Having read many postings about the place on Chowhound, Chow Bella, and Yelp, I've been wanting to try this place for a while now.
Here's a (not so good) picture of the exterior:
and two of the interior:
I tried samples of Salted Butter Caramel (soft buttery caramel ribbons in creamy vanilla with a sprinkle of salt), Honey Blue Cheese (buttermilk Roquefort blue-cheese with a hint of wild desert honey --> YES, you read that correctly - blue-cheese ice cream), Real Mint Chip (Fresh mint leaves and chocolate chips), Pear Ginger (cool pear meets fresh ginger root for a refreshing breeze of flavor). BTW, the first three are ice creams and the last one is sorbet.
Can't remember but Patty may have sampled a few others...
For those of you wondering about the the Honey Blue Cheese flavor - it was very good!
We decided to order a triple ($5.50) of Strawberry (luscious, sweet strawberry bliss), Real Mint Chip, and Pear Ginger. Here's a pic:
From the top, the pear ginger was excellent. The strawberry was very good, although it didn't particular "blow us" away. I'd say it was pretty similar to Haagen-Dasz's Strawberry. The Real Mint Chip was incredible - our favorite of the three (slightly over the pear ginger).
The great thing about Sweet Republic is that everything is natural...and not too sweet!!!
We both loved Sweet Republic. Highly recommended! Too bad we live so far away...
For dinner, we went to Kampai. We've been to Kampai many times, but have never posted about it before. It's probably our favorite Japanese restaurant in the area. Kampai was first recommended to us by one our Japanese classmates, during our MBA studies. The food is consistently good and the ambiance is very low-key/no-frills (unlike many of the "sleek and modern" sushi bars around town). Here's the exterior:
and interior:
We ordered:
- Agedashi tofu
- Caterpillar roll
- Soft shell crab roll
- 2 pieces of salmon nigiri
The agedashi tofu was great. I love that they load a bunch of bonito flakes on top.
The rolls and nigiri were also great. The rice was properly prepared - this is very important!
Again, too bad we live so far...
Places mentioned:
Sweet Republic
9160 E. Shea Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Kampai
2945 E. Bell Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85032
4 comments:
We live about a mile or two from Kampai. I've been quite a few times and agree it's a great place for basic sushi. It's definitely a neighborhood sushi bar. We went on a Wed or Thurs once and it was packed with a line. Prices are very reasonable, too.
Still, when the moods hits us for sushi (well, ME, and recently Tara had a craving), we head for Hana at 7th Ave and Missouri. Pricier, but the fish is always amazing.
Kampai and Sweet Republic are both immensely worth visiting, even though I also find them both inconveniently situated. My favorite flavor at Sweet Republic so far is the lime basil. It reminds me of the flavors in good Thai food. It also recalls the basil cheesecake dessert at the now-defunct Eleve on Camelback.
Tim -
We need to re-visit Hana one of these days. We tried it soon after they opened and thought it was just okay.
David -
I'm definitely trying the lime basil next time we go to Sweet Republic. I remember reading about the basil cheesecake @ Eleve but never tried it personally. Can't wait for NOCA to open (in the same location).
David - just made the association to silverbear (CH). Welcome!
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