new in town
DREXYL MODERN AMERICAN
Upscale restaurant aims to be a neighborhood staple BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ PHOTOS BY JOANIE SIMON
W
ho says you can’t go home again? “Certainly not me,” says Chris Mercato, director of operations at Drexyl Modern American, The Shops at Gainey Village’s newest eatery. A native of Arizona, Mercato grew up in Scottsdale and met Kelly Cordova when he took a job at the now-legendary
Marco Polo in Scottsdale. Years later, after spending time working with a laundry list of local restaurants including North, Maloney’s, Jilly’s and Barcelona – and working every restaurant job save for doing the actual cooking – Mercato was introduced to local brothers Mark, Craig and Trevor McDowell, and their long-time friend Chad Ahrendt. The six men quickly began developing the Drexyl concept. “It was always my dream to develop a restaurant with upscale food and vintage cocktails, but with more of a neighborhood vibe, where folks fresh off the golf course feel just as comfortable coming in as those dressed up for date night,” Mercato says. “When space became available at Gainey Village, we – and our other amazing partners – all agreed it was time.” SO SCOTTSDALE! |
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But what would a great space and concept be without equally great food and creative cocktails? Enter Chef Robert Eckhardt, whose local culinary star has been on the rise after notable stints at LON’S at the Hermosa Inn, Tonto Verde and Desert Mountain Country Club. A graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York, Eckhardt spent many years training under the likes of chefs Michael Mina and Roy Yamaguchi before making his way to the Valley in 2012, but he credits two Italian women for igniting his passion for food. “I grew up in Northern California in the small city of Castro Valley, where my early culinary influences were my greatgrandmother and grandmother,” Eckhardt says. “They didn’t speak much English but managed to teach me how to cook through doing, rather than listening to specific instructions over and over.” As a result, when it comes to his food, Eckhardt keeps it simple. “It’s about enhancing the natural flavor of ingredients, not masking them with overly complex recipes and heavy sauces,” Eckhardt says. Take your pick from a couple standout menu items: the Fried Ravioli, with housemade pasta, gorgonzola, beef tenderloin, yellow tomato puree and pea shoots ($12), or the Heritage Pork Chop, a house-smoked and double-cut chop with grilled apple butter, truffle goat cheese orecchiette pasta, candied bacon and seared Brussels sprouts ($23). Like the food, the cocktail menu is similarly simple and approachable, yet playful. Developed with direction from Alliance Beverage, Drexyl currently features 10 highlighted specialty cocktails for $10 each, as well as an extensive wine and beer menu. Try an interesting take on sangria with the Crown Apple Sangria, of Crown Royal Apple, sauvignon blanc, Stirrings Ginger Liqueur and cranberry juice. Though only open since mid-February, Drexyl’s success has been so fast during dinner service, they launched lunch service in March. Drexyl is located at The Shops at Gainey Village at 8877 N. Scottsdale Road; Scottsdale; 480.840.1861; www.drexylusa.com.
| APRIL 2016
3/28/16 8:00 PM