These Phoenix restaurants open for takeout
A curious thing happened over the past couple of weeks.
Even before Arizona restaurants got the green light to reopen their dining rooms starting May 11, a number of places that initially shuttered back in mid-March decided to dip their toes back in the water, launching carryout and delivery rather than remain closed.
The reasons, it seems, are varied, and in some cases, it’s a combination of many.
With more time to step back and assess their practices and procedures, some restaurants that initially closed for safety reasons felt they could now reopen while keeping their customers and their staff safe.
Others were successful in securing stimulus loans, but qualifying for loan forgiveness requires spending 75% of the money on employees. That’s difficult to do when the restaurant isn’t open.
And some, initially expecting that a shutdown would last a couple of weeks, simply couldn’t hold out any longer.
How delivery and carryout options continue to evolve as dining rooms start to reopen next week remains to be seen. But here are three excellent restaurants that initially closed, but have recently reopened for carryout or delivery.
Hush Public House
It’s a little-known secret that Hush Public House has always offered their full menu to go, though they didn’t do much to publicize it. But even before getting the green light to reopen the dining room, Dom Ruggiero and Charles Barber had recently made the call to resume carry out business.
Starting on May 7, Hush will offer an abbreviated menu for no-contact takeout, focused on the dishes that travel well alongside a handful of to-go cocktails and wine. Call in your order, pull up to the curb and they’ll drop the food in
your car.
Abbreviated though it may be, the menu offers some of Ruggiero’s best work.
You’ve got his steaming hush puppies, pull-apart tender, filled with crab and dipped in sweet corn remoulade. Luscious chicken liver mousse with boozy cherries is a perfect carryout candidate, and won’t suffer one bit for a quick trip in the car. Ruggiero slings a killer steak frites, paired with bright salsa verde. And bathed in a silky Madeiralaced jus with melted chard and mushrooms, Ruggiero’s roasted chicken is one of my favorite birds in town.
Details: 14202 N. Scottsdale Road, Phoenix. 480-758-5172, hushpublichouse.com.
The Gladly
The Gladly and its sister restaurant, Citizen Public House have reopened for curbside, and you’ll be shocked to learn that the chopped salads are flying out the door.
(Nobody is shocked that the chopped salads are flying out the door.)
But while we all love and appreciate
chef Bernie Kantak’s contribution to the salad pantheon, it’s worth remembering that he slings other fabulous dishes as well.
In particular, I’m awfully enamored of his coffee-rubbed short ribs, rich and complex and set upon a parsnip puree with a sweet cherry barbecue sauce. And anybody sleeping on Kantak’s chimichurri chicken should really check it out, slathered with a potent herb blend, lighter on the vinegar and heavy on the scent of toasted cumin.
The Gladly’s barflies won’t feel neglected, either. Beer, wine and cocktails are all available to-go. Call in your order, and they’ll drop dinner and a Manhattan in your trunk.
Details: 2201 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix. 602-759-8132, thegladly.com.
Otro Cafe
Doug Robson was among the first to close his restaurants out of concern for the safety of his staff, and it’s been far too long since we’ve been able to sample the wares of Otro and Gallo Blanco.
But as Robson and his team take a slow and cautious approach to reopening, Otro recently launched carryout and curbside, and Gallo Blanco won’t be far behind.
Otro’s online ordering system is quick and easy, and while Robson is currently offering an abbreviated menu, it’s still deep with most of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.
Bright salads — like the corn nut and crunchy pea-strewn cortado — are ready to go, along with heftier house specialties like breakfast burritos and Robson’s excellent pollo asado, bathed in a sticky, smoky tamarind glaze and served with fiery aji aioli.
Robson felt that individual tacos don’t travel especially well, so Otro is offering assemble-your-own taco platters in multiple varieties, alongside a list of tortas and burritos.
And yes, Otro is still slinging some of the best flapjacks in town.
Yes, at a Mexican restaurant.
No, seriously.
Details: 6035 N. Seventh St., Phoenix. 602-266-0831, otrocafe.com.