Much to like about Mickey's brunch
Mickey's Hangover has solved the breakfast problem in Scottsdale.
The dearth of quality, non-national-chain places to get breakfast in Scottsdale is a plague. It makes moving to Manhattan just for brunches seem reasonable.
I will spare you the dozen or so stories my friends and I have stored up in our years of brunching misadventures, but suffice it to say: Once a friend felt compelled to leave a 78-cent tip; once I left a breakfast place when a friend was late because I feared the wrath of the wait staff (long story); and once a waitress asked a friend if he wanted his toast toasted.
He said yes.
But the Sunday brunch at Mickey's threatens to unravel both its reputation as a must-visit after-hours bar and my penchant for complaining about not being able to get a decent brunch.
The Old Town bar has always served serious, post-drinking, "this is why you're fat"-style meals (and I mean that with reverence). But with brunch, owner Randy Smith has outdone himself, building a menu that is true to Mickey's roots, but tasty enough to bring in a new, decidedly sober crowd.
Styled like a country picnic, patio tables are decorated with fake flowers in sparkling water bottles, and guests drink cucumber-spiked water out of Mason jars. The brunch has everything from oatmeal and biscuits and gravy to breakfast burritos and corned beef hash.
But everyone will be talking about the chicken. Smith cribbed the recipe from the French Laundry and serves a brined fried chicken that is flaky, juicy and seasoned with something deeply addictive. I thought I didn't like fried chicken. Turns out, I had just never had this fried chicken. He serves it with a peanut slaw, jalapeño cornbread and…a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon, all for just $6.
The stuffed French toast is worth the calories, filled with cream cheese and strawberries, and topped with a pile of whipped cream, $7.99.
The adult beverages are worth trying too, including the light, girl-friendly mimosa flight, $6, and the Arcadia backyard lemonade, $5.50, which tastes exactly like a Mike's Hard, if you've had that particular bottled malt beverage.
But the true standout is the so-thick-you-could-use-a-spoon bloody Mary, garnished with a skewer of pearl onion, a slice of salami, a lemon wedge, a lime wedge, an olive, and a pepperoncini, $6. It's also served with a mini glass of beer. Every one of the pretty people hanging out for breakfast seemed to have one.
Show up after 11 to catch the live acoustic music and note that the chicken doesn't hit the menu until noon.
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