White Chocolate Grill reflects evolving American cuisine

LOUIE TRAUB/VIEWThe White Chocolate Grill at 9510 S. Eastern Ave. offers guests a contemporary American menu in a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired atmosphere. Advertisement

The White Chocolate Grill is an American restaurant, but co-owner Bobby Fitzgerald said that because the American palate has evolved, so has the idea of American cuisine.

At first glance, diners might notice salads, steaks and burgers, but the eclectic menu is full of unique takes on classics and influences from around the globe.

The restaurant, which opened Dec. 3, offers starters that include sesame-crusted ahi tuna, rotisserie chicken tortilla soup and an Israeli couscous side item, which Fitzgerald said "is a journey. Every bite tastes different."

The house specialty is a soup you must be 21 years old to order. Tomato gin soup is made with fire-roasted tomatoes, cream, bacon, mushrooms and Tanqueray gin. The salad menu features a grilled chicken salad tossed with field greens, goat cheese, toasted almonds, golden raisins, red onion, tomato and croutons in balsamic vinaigrette with yogurt sauce. A full burger and sandwich selection offers everything from a traditional cheeseburger to a Maytag burger made with Maytag blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion and mayonnaise, and Fitzgerald's personal spit-roasted turkey French dip creation, which is made with monterey jack cheese, mayonnaise and wild mushroom gravy for dipping.

"Everything was really good, especially for the price," said Nicole Christian, who dined in the restaurant with friends on the restaurant's second day.

Wood-fired specialties include barbecued baby back ribs, Parmesan- or blue cheese-crusted filet mignon and numerous fish choices.

Fitzgerald said he couldn't put together this menu without crab cakes, which he started cooking in 1984. He named the dish after the first restaurant he worked in when he was 14. The Dancing Crab in Washington, D.C., was where the chef began his cooking career and decided he wanted to work in the restaurant industry.

"It was a joke in my house. (My parents) said, 'What are you going to learn to make? Cheerios?' That's all I'd eat."

Before opening his first restaurant, Cinzetti's Italian Market, in Denver in 1999, Fitzgerald studied culinary arts and management at Johnson & Wales University, the same school as Food Network star Emeril Lagasse. Along with his partner, executive chef Robert Hamilton Kabakoff, Fitzgerald and co-owner John Carcasole opened the original White Chocolate Grill in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2005.

Fitzgerald said everything at the White Chocolate Grill is fresh and prepared from scratch.

A trip to the White Chocolate Grill doesn't seem complete without a taste of the desserts, which include a white chocolate brownie, white chocolate banana cream pie, white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and French white chocolate bread pudding. Dessert portions are large and can be shared.

"We had the banana cream pie. It was awesome," Christian said.

When Fitzgerald and Kabakoff created the menu, they looked at the dessert recipes they had, and Fitzgerald said, 'Why don't we call it the White Chocolate Grill?' "

Fitzgerald said he wanted to create a restaurant that would be upscale and casual. The decor is sleek and comfortable with a stadium-style layout in the bar area. Diners are perched above the bar, which has a backdrop of a colorful wall of liquor bottles. Throughout the dimly lit eatery, pieces of art spice up the rich wood tones, and the kitchen is behind a wall of glass so guests can look on.

Starters are priced between $6 and $12, salads are $9 to $15, burgers and sandwiches are $10 to $14, wood-fired specialties are $15 to $29, and desserts are $7. Burgers, sandwiches and specialities are served with a choice of sides.

The White Chocolate Grill, 9510 S. Eastern Ave., doesn't take reservations and is open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Sunday through Saturday. For more information, visit www.whitechocolategrill.com.