With it’s prow-like roof and throwback Polynesian décor, this Scottsdale diner is awesome to look at – and the food’s not bad, either.
by Nikki Buchanan | Photography by Jill McNamara
I won’t lie. When I heard about the opening of Oliver’s Modern American, housed in the Ralph Haver-designed Polynesian-style building next to The Eleanor (both owned by Valley real estate developer Tom Frenkel), I was more excited about the updated Mid-Century Modern space than I was about the restaurant itself. The food at The Eleanor is not exactly galvanizing, even though I love its airy, comfy vibe. As a result, I went to Oliver’s with low expectations.
And then I left feeling like I’d found a new neighborhood hangout. It isn’t perfect, but there’s a lot to like here.
Chef Kent Macaulay, who spent 10 years at La Grande Orange, offers a globally inflected comfort food menu that works for elevated everyday dining. One persuasive element: five small slabs of Beeler’s pork belly, caramelized at their fatty edges, served with butter lettuce, pickled cucumbers, watermelon radish, peanuts and black garlic aioli. It’s a fun, delicious take on the lettuce wrap.
Dragging tender, lightly battered calamari through chipotle aioli and piquant Creole sauce, I’m reminded that I still love this old standard when it’s done right. Rockfish ceviche, piled high in a stemmed glass brimming with chunky tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapeños and cilantro, needs only a dash of hot sauce to be a habit-forming topper for warm, crisp tortilla chips.
A crispy chicken sandwich, layered with tomato, arugula, red onion, mayo and lemon vinaigrette on a Noble telera roll, may be pretty standard, but it’s also pretty damned good. The rockfish sandwich is even better, zippy with Cajun spices and chipotle aioli. Pickled red onion and napa cabbage bring sweetness, tang and crunch.
Although the fennel-crusted pork chop is a little overcooked, it’s part of an interesting, wonderfully balanced dish of kabocha squash purée, mustard greens and rich demi-glace. But my favorite entrée is a hefty slab of bison meatloaf, sweetened with balsamic glaze and sided with sturdy mashed potatoes and green beans. Pure comfort.
A Napoleon layered with chocolate-hazelnut mousse, orange-chocolate ganache and candied hazelnuts lacks textbook flakiness, but tastes good just the same.
Overall, my visits to Oliver’s included far more hits than misses, and I’ll definitely be back for that meatloaf. And the architecture.
Oliver’s Modern American
Cuisine: Modern American
Contact: 3205 N. Hayden Rd., Scottsdale, 480-582-0006, oliversaz.com
Hours: Su-Th 4-10 p.m., F-Sa 4-11 p.m.
Highlights: Pork belly ($16); calamari ($15); rockfish sandwich ($18); bison meatloaf ($29)
