The Scottsdale reviews #1, PF Changs

The first night in Scottsdale, after traveling 1900 miles (and boy, were my arms tired), was a voyage to PF Changs . The chain's store that we visited was on the far west edge of the Kierland Commons. This particular store seems larger than the stores here in Columbus, Ohio, but the food was just as good.

Yeah, I kinda like Changs, especially the Ground Chicken and Eggplant. The online menu says it is "Stir-fried with scallions in a savory soy chili pepper sauce". It's pretty darn tasty, that soy chili pepper sauce...

We were 3 weary travelers for dinner, and after waiting a good half hour for a table on a Friday night (it was even after 9 PM!), we were quite ready to eat. We quickly decided on 2 of our 3 dishes. Jan chose the Eggplant Chicken and I chose the dish that Heather highly recommends, the Kung Pao Scallops. The third of our tired and hungry trio, Jeanne, had never been to Changs before, so she looked to our server, Misha, for a suggestion. He did not let Jeanne down, suggesting the Salt and Papper Prawns. After a delightfully short wait, our plates were served. We each had some of all 3 dishes ("Sharing is caring" as the server pointed out...), and overall, they did not dissapoint.

Although the Eggplant chicken didn't pack near the heat that it normally does at the Columbus (Tuttle) store does, it was warm and satisfying. The scallops were nice, too, though lacking the heat I would expect from something called "Kung Pao". They were cooked perfectly tender and moist, though, without a spec of toughness that has so easily ruined too many of these delicate bivalves. An' I do loves my scallops...

The last dish, the salt and pepper prawns were exactly as advertised and made for a nice balance to our meal. the "sweet mustard sauce" served with the prawns lent more heat than we expected and went well with the scallops, too.

I think Jeanne had the best result at Changs for the night, though. She was not a fan of "chinese food" when we walked into the restaurant, but decided that she could easily go into the Changs in her hometown in Wisconson and enjoy almost anything from the menu now. A very successful journey.

Moral of the story: P.F.Changs is a safe place to visit when you're in another city. The food isn't spectacular, but it is good, the prices were EXTREMELY reasonable for the Kierland Commons area, and staff friendly and helpful. If you like it hot, though, be sure to ask for it.


Oh, and one other thing that I noticed... The hostesses are quite pretty (and very young) at all of the PF Changs I've been to, but at the Kierland store in Scottsdale, ...well, I'll just say WOW and leave it at that...

Go, and enjoy,
Lorence