This week, I had a chance to test out to the recommended “steak” restaurant in Phoenix SWITCH Wine Bar & Restaurant (also referred to as SWITCH of Arizona), which was presented as “FUN” rather than the more upscale one around the corner Durants, both on North Central Avenue. Jason Peterson is the current chef at SWITCH.
Despite the name, I wouldn’t say they had an extensive steak offering OR wine menu to be honest, but their signature cocktail menu was pretty fun – see below, all priced at $6.95. Their steaks consisted of one: a Truffled Hanger steak with red wine truffled butter sauce. There were tons of burgers (even one called a Cowboy burger and a Spicy Bleu Burger – other than the name, there wasn’t any French influence there) and salads though accompanied a variety of dishes ranging from Lobster & Seafood crepes, pasta and large dinner salads to a Salmon southwestern and Chicken Pot Pie.
Separate from their wide range of choices on drinks and salads (large dinner salads and sides — $15 for macaroni and cheese — frankly don’t get macaroni and cheese on any restaurant menu), they had an interesting selection of dishes that just didn’t seem to belong side by side.
That said, variety is great at a Phoenix eatery. Take a look: Apricot BBQ feta chicken and a Sangria salad where you could add any kind of meat (fish, chicken or steak) to greens, apricots, rasberries and citrus.
OR, you could opt for a Demi baguette with swiss cheese served with your choice of roast beef or yup, roast beef. Half the dinner salads had bacon in them so no surprise to find a traditional BLT on the menu as well.
Then there was the Murano chicken and Prosciutto with smoked Gouda, Olives and Aioli on Ciabatta bread. They also had a yummy Provence Chicken Risotto served with Pesto sauce and crispy zucchini straws.
While I didn’t try the hanger steak personally, others at my table did and gave it a thumbs up….for hanger steak that is. Below, you can see how they serve it, with au jus and sauteed asparagus.
Below was my favorite…..their lamb appetizer: 4 ounces of grilled lamb served over lemon rosemary dressed greens, with goat cheese, roasted peppers and pistachios.
Any of the large dinner salads could be ordered with salmon, shrimp, beef, or chicken. Below the spinach salad with crumbled egg, bacon, tomato, red onion, carrot, roasted mushrooms and salmon.
Below is an organic baby green salad served with tomatoes, red onion, shrimp, avocado, apple, almonds, strawberries, goat cheese and sangria dressing.
Last but not least, worth trying out is the sesame citrus shrimp served over a salad bed of scallions, sprouts, avocado, sriracha, cilantro and sesame.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
