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Imagine a darkened corner of Tempe. It's a lot of land, sandwiched between the light rail tracks and Farmer Avenue, just a stone's throw away from Tempe Beach Park. This little plot sits in the shadow of the luxury apartment building West Sixth, the US Airways building and, in the distance, "A" Mountain.
It's a place you might not expect to find a brand-spanking new restaurant and culinary concept. It's in that steep drop-off once you walk a little too far west from Mill Avenue. It gets dark, dirty and uncomfortable on the literal "other side of the tracks."
But, if you wander over to 149 S Farmer Ave. in Tempe, you've just found The Yard, a concept brought to little Tempe by Sam Fox, a restauranteur and founder of Fox Concepts. I was invited to attend a pre-opening of Culinary Dropout, a restaurant that could be called the anchor of The Yard as a whole.
This concept is really a copy of the first iteration in Phoenix, but it's pretty darn new to us in Tempe. It's a colonization by psuedo-local "concepts" that pretend that they're not part of the chain restaurant genre. Unfortunately, you can find Fox Concepts (masquerading as local fare) in both Scottsdale and Phoenix.
On the grave of the old Sail Inn, a new Tempe rises. That music venue, open for over 20 years, was sold to a developer who, in the same vein as Postino or Normal Diner, seeks to get Tempe to "graduate, from PBR to wine."
The inside of the restaurant was darkened (by design, not accident), with a slew of interior decorations that we'll get to later. At the recent open-house I attended, the place was hopping. I even saw a few Tempe City Council members.
There were at least five different types of upholstered chairs, and the booths were rounded out with some treated leather. It tinged the whole affair with the scent of a new car.
The main interior design attraction included railroad ties (the ones that look like giant 3-D crosses) strung with lights. It was an ironic homage to an industrial past that Tempe is rapidly leaving behind for a post-industrial utopia.
After being escorted to our table, the photographer and I were hard pressed to hear over the deafening live band. When I asked a waiter, he told me that I had Jake Dean and The Granting to thank for the music.
A Hand for Those from Jake Dean Band on Myspace.
Once we ordered antipasti (prosciutto and something called a fig, date and walnut terrine), we were completely overwhelmed by the "experience." We could not be heard over the music, we could not see because of the dim lighting and we could not look anywhere but where Dropout wanted us to look.
The clientele, though it was a special opening, was of a certain age. There was a fairly good mix of young-ish professional-looking people and what I'd describe as a large contingent of ASU's class of 1975. Gastropubs come at a price, after all. I observed one family at this pre-opening event.
After nibbling on our antipasti, I tempted fate by ordering a drink. I got the Banjo Strum, off the "Two-Handed Shandies" list of cocktails. The menu also includes offerings under headers like "Light and Easy," "Copper-Less Mules" and "Classic Dropouts," to name a few. The drink was $10.
a "banjo strum" at Culinary Dropout on 149 S Farmer in Tempe. pic.twitter.com/0NKOKRTjVZ
— Peter Northfelt (@peternorthfelt) December 6, 2014
I might be willing to treat myself and pay this price, but not for what I was served. I will give the establishment the benefit of the doubt on this one because I'm a firm believer that hard alcohol and beer should not be mixed.
We got our dinner: A kale and sweet potato salad. When it arrived, sporting green apples, pomegranate, goat cheese and walnuts, I dove in. What I found was delightful. The goat cheese and walnuts cut the bitter kale and tied the whole ordeal together. However, the sweet potato was hit and miss. It was a kind of dried, dehydrated (maybe roasted?) sweet potato that I originally confused for Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
The dish costs $11 with a salmon addition for $8. Whole Foods sometimes sells salmon for around $8 per pound on Fridays. I think I'll just go there. Next, we turned to dessert. The photographer ordered a Bourbon Black Bottomed Pie that came with chocolate ganache, graham cracker crust, caramel and whipped cream.
The ganache tasted bitter with the chocolate's sweetness cut by the bourbon. The crust didn't taste like anything. Even the house-made whipped cream missed a healthy dose of sugar. Yes, this was a savory dessert that, on the menu, masqueraded on as a sweet morsel to wrap up the meal. My expectation did not match reality and that's always a little bit upsetting.
Finishing the dessert and escaping the interior as the band came back on, I wandered outside. The aforementioned leather booth design (this time weather-proofed with an interesting fabric) was arranged around fire pits, an uncanny touch to tie everything together.
T-Minus 5 days until the doors open! Are you ready to party? #CDOTempe #dropoutlovesme #temperising A photo posted by Culinary Dropout (@culinarydropout) on
There were also loungers (of at least three different styles) accompanying the fire pit. A little further, there were ping pong tables, shuffle board and corn hole. Oh my! The whole scene was like a Pinterest wedding come to life. The lighting, soft giggling and drunkenness just hidden below the surface all contributed to my feeling that I should ask someone "So, where's the happy couple?"
Even further away from the restaurant proper was another bar called The Coop. Only a few people entertained this as a separate space as it was early on in the evening. I might note that the clever upholstery carried out into this bar area, with some of the chairs clothed, decadently, in a Houndstooth pattern.
As I wandered back to the restaurant proper, I became aware of men in black pants and blue shirts, sporting the Culinary Dropout logo. I realized these were security guards. This Orwellian (and probably necessary) showing of force made me re-consider the soft edges of what I came to see as Pinterest nuptials.
Perhaps this is just another place for people to get rowdy, but presented in softer lighting and with more clever puns on the menu.
As I high-tailed it back to my car, I reflected on this new space. For whom was it built? Why has this space come to us? In the months and years to come, spaces like these will continue to be built.
Culinary Dropout is open Monday to Wednesday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Thursday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Brunch is served until 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Reach the outgoing Arts & Entertainment Editor at pnorthfe@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @peternorthfelt
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