Randy Schoch is somewhat of an expert on chain restaurants. Over the past two decades, he’s owned five Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses, three Roy’s and a Romano’s Macaroni Grill.
So when the Valley restaurateur decided to create his own casual Asian restaurant, is it any surprise it would take pages from two of the Valley’s most successful Valley-based chains?
The result is Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar & Grill, which opened in January on Shea Boulevard east of the Loop 101.
It’s hard not to compare its Asian-inspired menu to that of Pei Wei, the fast-casual spinoff of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. The two aren’t exactly the same, but there’s a lot of similarity in their rice, noodle and speciality dishes.
And Ling & Louie’s playful attitude — right down to the servers’ T-shirts with corny slogans like “Rice to Meet You” — will remind a lot of people of Oregano’s, if somewhat more strained in its attempted humor.
The combination apparently works, at least for the mostly neighborhood crowd that fills Ling & Louie’s during the lunch and dinner hours, enjoying sumo-sized Kirin beers ($5.25) or two-person Frozen Thai Mais ($9.99)
Starters from the open and noisy kitchen include the expected lettuce wraps ($7.99), potstickers ($7.99) and edamame ($3.50), all perfectly acceptable if not particularly distinguished. An exception are the delicious crab wontons with a sweet citrus-chili sauce ($4.99).
One area where Ling & Louie’s does excel: Servers are very attentive to even the smallest details like bringing samples of sauces, making sure you don’t miss last call for happy hour prices and explaining you navigate the placemat menu.
They’ll point out Evil Jungle Princess Chicken with lemongrass and Thai basil in a spicy peanut red curry sauce ($10.99, pictured above) is the bestseller. Like its menu mate, Wango Mango Chicken in a sweet-and-tangy sauce ($9.99), most of its flavor seems to run off the meat and soak into the rice beneath.
But both feature nice-cooked white meat and fresh vegetables. Both are well-prepared and well-presented. It’s just that neither is that, well, memorable.
The same can be said about most of the entrees I try, from Garlic Pepper Shrimp over egg noodles ($11.99) to Jeweled Beef in a garlicky brown sauce ($12.99) to teriyaki salmon swimming in plate of sauce ($14.99).
Even the more unusual offerings, such as Hop Sing’s Meatloaf with wasabi mashed potatoes ($10.50, pictured at left) and Firecracker Chicken Sliders topped with red pepper and blue cheese ($9.99), don’t trip the excitement meter.
On the other hand, none of these items is disappointing, either. It’s about what you’d expect from a good-quality chain restaurant — perhaps why Schoch already has another Ling & Louie’s in Denver and two more in the works.
Ling & Louie’s
Where: 9397 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale (southwest corner of Shea and 94th Street).
Open: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Prices: Appetizers $3.50-$8.99, salads $8.99-$10.99, sushi rolls $6.99-$7.99, entrees $9.50-$14.99, desserts $4.95.
Info: (480) 767-5464 or lingandlouies.com.
• View a slideshow of Ling & Louie’s
• Check out the menu for Ling & Louie’s
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