By Susie Timm, Chief Operating Foodie

Interview by Beth Cochran, Wired PR

Like many Scottsdalians, I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of Barneys at Scottsdale Fashion Square. The “Barneys Wing” has been a work in progress for well over a year and a half, so the anticipation has been growing.

We look out across Camelback at Fashion Square so we stay pretty aware of the day-to-day “happenings.” With great shopping typically comes great food. In this case, were asked if we wanted “face time” with Chef Mark Strausman who is the Managing Director of Fred’s. Sadly, both Jay and I were out of town the day we were scheduled to interview Strausman. Our PR manager, Beth Cochran happily pinch-hit for us. In the meantime, we scheduled a lunch date so that Jay and I could sample his food and include the review and interview together.

Yesterday, we arrived at 11:30 am for our Fred’s experience. We parked in my favorite new “secret” parking lot underneath Modern Burger and went up the elevator to the 2nd floor of Barneys. A quick walk through the very unique “Home” department and arrived at our destination.

Fred’s overlooks Scottsdale Road on one side and Camelback Road on the other. We were seated against the windows in a booth next to the Scottsdale Road side. The first observation I had were the bright (and I mean BRIGHT) red menus, ties on the waiters and reading lamps at our booth. They stood out like blaring beacons against the beige, wood and off-white tones the rest of the restaurant showcased. The main dining area was almost tunnel-like with a curved wooden wall decoration. It reminded me of the curved walls in the subway stations in Washington D.C. (and I happen to think those stations are quite lovely) With really cool red accents.

Unique interior design

We settled in to assess the menu. The lunch menu has appetizer, pizza, salads, pastas, main courses and sides to choose from. The average priced salad, pizza or entrée ranges between $15-$18.

This photo cannot possibly even caputure how red this menu is in real life.

Our server arrived and excitedly told us about the menu, explaining the importance the Chef places on using locally grown ingredients, and his culinary training. Their motto is “Farm to Table” and really pride themselves on the fact that all dishes are personally sourced and prepared by Strausman and Executive Chef Todd Henderson. He also raved about the “Spaghetti and Meatballs,” so Jay and I plan a return trip to try those!

Strausman sent out a Pizza Campagna that had a light, bubbly crust and was topped with mushrooms, salami, balsamic and red onion. It was cooked perfectly and was a great starter to our lunch.

Yet another dish I forgot to take a pic of until it was half eaten--

Next we tried the crab cake that our server fervently endorsed as an “East Coast Style” crab cake. It had a spicy remolaude sauce that complimented the meaty cake well. We aren’t completely certain what “East Coast Style” is, but we are taking our server’s word for it…

East Coast Crab Cake.

I had originally ordered a pizza, but our server immediately offered to change my order after the surprise pizza was served to us. I settled on the Fashion Square Shrimp Salad. Excellent choice! This salad is comprised of mixed spring greens that are chopped, a huge portion of shrimp, egg, hearts of palm, tomato and is mixed with their “Green Goddess” dressing that is made of chervil, spinach, parsley, mayo and sour cream. First and foremost, I will state, typically I refer to spring mix as “front lawn salad” as it’s about as easy to eat as a mouthful of weeds. However, this salad is chopped so I can enjoy the flavors of the lettuce without choking to death on my lunch. Also, since I am actively involved in a love affair with hearts of palm, I was pleased those round bits of salty joy were incorporated.

Check out the shrimp in this salad!!

Jay ordered the lobster ravioli with a sambuca tomato sauce. The ravioli were packed full of lobster chucks vs. the shredded lobster product that tends to show up inside ravioli. The sauce had a sweetness that brought back childhood memories and he found quite satisfying. The homemade pasta was done to perfection.

Lobster ravioli--not quite as red as the menus...

For dessert we tried the profiteroles that arrived swimming in a lake of dark chocolate. I realize this is a dessert that’s relatively hard to screw up, but Strausman’s profiteroles have an extra special “something” that really left an impression on me. As I write this, I am daydreaming about the salad and dessert…

Profiteroles languishing in chocolate sea

During the dessert course, Strausman made an appearance at our table to introduce himself. His passion for food and for locally grown ingredients was quite apparent. He boasted that he has never ordered from Sysco in his entire career as a chef. We swapped war stories about our iPhones. He was a hoot.

Jay and Mark humoring me by posing for a shot

Beth found him to be a compelling interview—check out his take on spices, cooking implements etc here:

Interview with Chef Mark Strausman,
Managing Director Fred’s Restaurant
October 13, 2009

Q.    Are any of the dishes inspired by the Arizona region – aside from the Fashion Square Shrimp Salad?
A.    What’s really inspired by Arizona is the farming. I went to this Singh Farms and he’s got this whole sustainable thing, and one thing we’re doing here that we don’t do in any other restaurants, is composting. What also is going to be reflective of Arizona is the dessert menu. I’m really looking forward to is putting a little more heat in the food. I like to take what we already have and use local ingredients, that’s where the inspiration is. It’s unbelievable the amount of intelligent farming here.
Q.    Supporting local farmers is a primary goal, which in Arizona do you use? What local products are you using on your menus?
A.    We use Singh Farms as much as possible. We use goat cheese from Strawberry, dairy products from Shamrock, local eggs, and we’re continually doing more research.
Q.    There are some very traditional selections on the menu, how have you put the Fred’s thumbprint on them?
A.    Most of those salads are all my salads that I invented or fantasized.  I dream of those things in the middle of the night.
Q.    What is your all-time favorite/go-to ingredient?
A.    I grew up in New York, and people don’t realize that New York is a port city so I always loved to cook fish and it’s also a challenge to me. I think my favorite thing is fennel pollen. It’s like this magical ingredient to me. It’s amazing. To me right now, what’s most challenging and fascinating is teaching people and cooking in the desert. I didn’t realize we are 3,600 feet above sea level, which has affected the ovens. It’s different from New York. There’s a very diverse clientele and a lot of great food here.
Q.    Which three cooking tools or gadgets are your favorites?
A.    Mezzaluna, a planetary mixer and serrated knives.
Q.    Fred’s is American-Italian (traditional) cuisine, have any other regions influenced the menu?
A.    I would say it’s Continental. The pasta is Italian. The salads are American and European. It’s like Barney’s and it kind of reflects the clothing in a sense, and that’s what it (the menu) was originally designed for.
Q.    What do you think people will most like about this menu?
A.    I think there’s some tradition and it’s kind of fun food. I don’t want to be the place where people come to celebrate. I want to be the place where people eat everyday. I like to make more everyday food.
Q.    In your opinion, which are the most overrated — and underrated —seasonings?
A.    The fennel pollen is the most underrated and the most overrated is black pepper. Why would take white pasta and put black pepper on it?
Q.    You’re famous for your spaghetti and meatballs…what’s your secret?
A.    Veal, beef and pork. My secret is I don’t sauté the meatballs. I stew them in the sauce. I have become famous for meatballs…something I never thought when I was in culinary school.

Fred’s is open for brunch, lunch and dinner: Monday-Saturday 11 am-9 pm and Sunday 11 am-6 pm. Fred’s is located inside Barneys at Fashion Square, 4500 N. Scottsdale Road.

There are also locations in New York City and Chicago.