Triple D...

BRANDY'S RESTAURANT - Flagstaff, AZ

I must admit, I have been a lover of Food Network since it was added to the basic cable channel lineup. One show in particular always has the ability to make my mouth water,
and that show is Diners Drive-ins and Dives, hosted by Guy Fieri.
His over-the-top personality is great entertainment, but I really only watch it for the food.

He has visited Flagstaff twice now, but the episode that stuck in my head was for Brandy's Restaurant. Now, I grew up in Flagstaff and Brandy's had always been known as a great place for pastries, a cappuccino, and maybe a turkey sandwich on your lunch break. I had no idea they were even open for dinner,
my favorite meal. Since then, every time we pass it I think about how we need to eat there for dinner, and I tell myself to remember the next time we are in a conundrum...
Whenever that same ol' question comes up, "Where do you want to eat?" my boyfriend and I always say the same thing, "I don't care." You know that we both care, we are just too lazy or indecisive to come to a decision, which is usually why we wind up ordering chinese take-out...(not that there is anything wrong with that, just don't ask 50% of Americans' digestive tracts...)

LUCKILY...
I just downloaded the Urbanspoon app to my smart-phone!
This thing is awesome. Even though we "shook" it at least 30 times, which was very satisfying, it reminded me somewhere in there about this amazing restaurant I have forgotten about over and over again.
Tyler was skeptical at first, and we actually decided last minute on sushi, but I missed a turn (this happens often..) and he suggested we just go to Brandy's,
and I very happily accepted.

When we got in there, there were only two other tables seated, but it smelled incredible, and we were both starving. Their dinner menu was a lot larger than I expected it to be, since they open so early, and apparently have separate menus for each meal. I had a very hard time deciding, because everything I read sounded delicious. I finally decided on their version of "Beef Stew"
and Ty ordered one of the pasta dishes they had on special for the night.

I'm not sure if I was just incredibly hungry, or whether it was out of sheer excitement, but when the food came out of the kitchen I found myself saying "Oh my GOSH!" and literally giggling and giddy. My crap-tastic cell phone camera gives this dish NO justice! It was the most beautiful red-orange color, brimming with fresh spinach, freshly sauteed vegg, and melt-in-your-mouth beef tenderloin. Not to mention, this was all piled on top of a mound of tasty mashed potatoes, which the menu referred to as a potato cake. It was amazingly delicious, and the poblano peppers that are mixed in with the veggies create a
lovely southwestern flare, which is actually a theme of the dinner menu.

I'm not really sure what else I can say about this but GO TRY IT!
Oh, and it was only $15.99...
I had absolutely NO problem forking out less than $20 for a dish made with beef tenderloin,
because that is normally the minimum you would pay for something like this.

Ty's pasta was only $11.99 and was piled high with artichoke hearts, veggies, grilled chicken, and a delicious cream sauce. I can't go into much detail because after I took a bite of his,
I couldn't leave mine alone anymore!
He loved it though, and actually looked forward to eating the leftovers.
Tyler doesn't usually even take his leftovers home, if that says anything for ya!

Somehow, we had room for a (perfectly made) latte and desert, which was...get ready for this...Chocolate Bread Pudding Fruitcake with Banana Cream and fresh fruit compote.
I thought this was 3 different deserts until it came and was one fabulous little concoction.
 The "cake" was moist and had the feel of a dense bread pudding, the banana (whipped) cream was fabulous
and had JUST the right amount of flavor, and the compote was the perfect balance.

The desert didn't last long enough to snap a picture...That says a lot!

I have a feeling that Brandy's Bakery & Restaurant
will become a dinnertime staple....
I want to go back for the 10 other things on the menu that made my mouth water!