A So Cal Girl in the Desert

We tried a new restaurant last night, and it was awesome! It's called "Shabu Fondue."

Overall, the apparent decor goal was modern, hip, a teeny bit Asian, and sort-of Vegas club-like. They had a four-story lit-up liquor wall that was striking. The bar area was separated from the rest of the restaurant by a huge wall of glass, allowing it to be separate from the restaurant, yet visually open. People are still allowed to smoke in certain establishments in AZ, so the glass wall was great. You could be part of the party without having to smell it. We had to wait for a table, so we went outside to the bar patio. The weather was so nice. Probably about 90º. As we were sipping our drinks, we realized that the chairs we were sitting in were the same chairs we had on or patio in California. We got them at Lowe's, so we found it funny that this oh-so-hip-and-now place would purchase furniture there. The chairs fit in nicely, I must say. My husband also noticed that they had an item on the bar menu that was very familiar. He'd seen it at the Liquid Kitty before. Here it was called "The Kickstarter," and was a cheap beer (something like Pabst), a cheap shot of tequila, and a cigarette. "They stole that from the Liquid Kitty!" he said. When we were sat at our table, my husband and I started discussing the room. He said he felt like it was a blend of some restaurants he had been in in California. Our table was elevated by about half a story with six other tables (a feature my husband says is a trend now to make diners feel like they are at an "exclusive" table), so we had a nice view of the whole restaurant. In the center of the room was a u-shaped Shabu Shabu bar with burners, and there were tables all around it. One wall was brick, and the others were painted red. There was a lot of black and red in the room with touches of cream. The lighting was dim. Then we started noticing individual items. The chandelier...could have sworn we saw that in IKEA. The bar stools...IKEA? The flatware...IKEA! The divider curtains...definitely IKEA!

Okay, now I'm in love with this place. See, I love hip and cool restaurants, but in Los Angeles you also have to deal with the restaurant owners and staff who turn their noses up at you if you're not as hip and cool as their restaurant. You also have to deal with the other customers who think they are way more hip and cool than you are. So the fact that this restaurant bought all their shit at Lowe's and IKEA really brought it down to earth. It's amazing how stunning the room looked when none of the individual elements cost more than $9.99. Plus, all the people were totally nice. Staff and customers. I've found heaven. A hip and cool restaurant without all the hip and cool bullshit.

Our waitress was kinda cheeerleaderish, but not in the chain restaurant kind of way. More in the "I'm a spaz" kind of way. But she didn't pretend to know more than she knew and was super sweet, so we were down with the rah rah. When my husband ordered a bottle of wine, she asked "Is that a red one or a white one?" I loved her for that. So much better than searching all the reds and whites for twenty minutes, and then bringing out the wrong thing because she couldn't remember what we ordered after all that searching. If you don't know, ask. How honest and refreshing. We took a look at the menu. It was divided into "Shabu" and "Fondue." Makes sense. If you think about it, pairing the usual flavors of shabu shabu and fondue is pretty weird. We were clueless about portion sizes or what we should order, so we asked. Miss Rah Rah told us that a great thing to do would be to order a cheese fondue as an appetizer, then each order a shabu entree, then finish off with a chocolate fondue. Yum! Sold!

We shared a spinach and artichoke cheese fondue to start. We dipped bread, apples, tortilla chips, and pretzels. I could have done without the chips and pretzels. We'll know for next time. The fondue was great! Then we shared three shabu shabu entrees: prime rib, shrimp, and vegetables. Everything was delicious. My stepson had so much fun cooking his own food. Oh, and there were six different dipping sauces. Ponzu, horseradish, peanut sauce, garlic teriyaki, BBQ, and something else. After dinner, we ate chocolate fondue with strawberries, pineapple, marshmallows, graham crackers, and cherries. Yum!

Toward the end of the meal, with chocolate all over his face (and I mean he was eating it rough), my stepson announced to Miss Rah Rah that "our dog's middle name is Piggy!" Why that came to mind at this particular time, I don't know. Could have been the chocolate face mask he was wearing. She didn't miss a beat. "Oh yeah? Well my rat's middle name is McNugget!" Totally on the same level. They then discussed the benefits of rats and guinea pigs, and my stepson told all about how a guinea pig is a big responsibility and how his teacher is giving them away for free and how his parents might let him get one. She talked about how her rat sits on her shoulder while she does her homework and can even do tricks. Friends for life!

My husband asked about the restaurant. We found out that it's independently owned by three college friends who traveled to California and incorporated what they liked from several restaurants into their own Arizona restaurant. So that explains it! It totally, surprisingly works! So thumbs up on Shabu Fondue! Down to earth--yet hip--friendly, delicious, and fun! We'll be back for another feast.