Opened: September 2024
From Evening Entertainment Group, the hospitality and nightlife gurus who gave us Bottled Blonde, Bevvy, Casa Amigos and other places that tend to make 40-year-olds feel like Dick Van Dyke, comes this volume-drinking playground that also serves a bit of food. And you know what? The food’s not half-bad. Start with the birria quesadilla ($17, gooey and onion-y with melted pepper jack) from the “shareables” menu – which also mystifyingly includes a whey protein shake ($10) but, hey, this is Old Town, so share it, bro – and pick freely from a tidy selection of salads (e.g. the Asian potsticker salad, $16), bowls (e.g. the Mongolian beef with button mushrooms over rice) and tacos (e.g. chicken tinga, $12). The best options, however, are on the handhelds menu, including The Bourdain ($14), a terrific mortadella number with provolone on pressed sourdough, and the Mother Clucker ($17), fried chicken with a sweet smear of hot honey slaw on a potato bun. Disappointingly, management seems to have removed an offbeat and delicious banh mi hot dog ($15) that appeared on the tavern’s original menu. What gives? Don’t protein-shake guys like fish sauce on their hot dogs? Bring it back, Mother Tucker’s!
Wild Card: Mother Tucker’s works hard to make drinking fun. Enjoy duck-fat fries with a bottle of Tassin Brut ($100) or a pair of Don Julio 1942 shots with a bomber of Miller High Life ($75).
4420 N. Saddlebag Trail, Scottsdale, 480-525-9300, mothertuckerstavern.com
