Sam Fox continues his Franco-American hot streak with this winning Scottsdale brasserie.
by Nikki Buchanan| Photography by Angelina Aragon
Scottsdale Fashion Square is so swanky these days, I barely recognize it. This is particularly true of the elegant cadre of new restaurants on the south side of the mall, led by scene-y L.A. import Élephante.
Society Swan – the sexily sibilant new offering from Valley restaurateur Sam Fox, housed in the former Kona Grill space – certainly fits the mold. With its rich fabrics, dark wood and classically inspired art, the two-level restaurant is strongly reminiscent of Fox’s Le Âme, located at the Global Ambassador hotel down the street – albeit done in the casual style of an “American brasserie,” where aspirational seafood towers and sashimi plates co-exist with fried chicken and Wagyu pigs in a blanket. Both places offer a few of the same stalwarts, including French onion soup and a truffled Brie baguette drizzled with garlicky truffle honey. Two starters exclusive to Society Swan are also flat-out terrific – a dainty tartlet layered with aged goat cheese, fresh figs, buttered almonds and arugula, each bite a tiny detonation of rich, nutty, sweet, sharp flavor; and a cute little jar of roasted garlic custard, creamy and luxurious, smeared with tomato pistou and capped with toasted hazelnuts, all smeared on toasted Parmesan baguette slices.
From a half-dozen salad options, the Golden Orchard tosses quinoa, crispy squash, Brussels sprouts, goat cheese and pomegranate in a honey-walnut vinaigrette. Sweet, nutty, salty, sharp – another yummy exploration of flavors and textures.
On the freewheeling but efficient entrée menu, Society Swan switches out the ubiquitous chicken Parm for chicken Francese, a crunchy, buttery panfried cutlet sparked with lemon. Eaten with buttered Parmesan spaghetti, the dish is a lighter, more elevated take on comfort food and my favorite thing at Society Swan. Black truffle spaghetti, a textural jumble of spicy sausage, Swiss chard and pine nut gremolata, runs a close second.
Praline butter crunch cake – airy chiffon cake with pecan pralines, hazelnut toffee and vanilla ice cream – could make you forget you ever knew gooey butter cake. Well, almost.
In any case, Fox’s newest local venture is arguably his best yet. Wait, didn’t I say that a couple years ago about Le Âme?
Society Swan
Cuisine: American
Contact: 7014 E. Camelback Rd., Scottsdale, 480-863-3999, societyswan.com
Hours: Su-Th 11 a.m.-10 p.m., F-Sa 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Highlights: Fresh fig tartlet ($17); truffled Brie baguette ($16); Golden Orchard salad ($17); chicken Francese ($27); black truffle spaghetti ($26); praline butter crunch cake ($14)
