THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Trader Vic’s

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Trader Vic’s Restaurant Review:

TRADER VIC’S HAS CLOSED Okay, sure, the global chain of Trader Vic’s is a bit of a tourist trap. But other cities don’t have chef Charles Wiley. With Wiley at the helm, much of the food is destination restaurant quality. The expected retro tastes---crab Rangoon, barbecue pork spareribs and chicken-ham egg rolls---are all there, but Wiley gives the menu a contemporary spin through ample use of pecan- and oak-wood-roasted meats, exotic fowl and seafood. Two particular winners are the Maple Leaf duck breast with Malagasy green peppercorn sauce, and the veal porterhouse with morel mushroom sauce, pake noodles and asparagus. Fish dishes like a tartare of scallop opihi, ahi poke and salmon lomi and the macadamia-nut crusted mahi mahi with lemon beurre blanc are equally praiseworthy. Even the drinks are special. Consider, for example, Wiley’s signature cocktail: the Scottsdale blooming cactus, which blends prickly pear syrup with Pisco.